Is milk good or bad for us?
As with any other nutritional advice, one size does not fit all. Milk is neither bad for everyone nor good for everyone, but for many reasons it is often wise to avoid it.
People such as northern Europeans and some African tribespeople whose ancestors ate and drank a lot of dairy likely have plenty of lactase to digest the lactose in dairy products; for them, milk is a good thing or at least not harmful. Other ethnic groups, about 75% of the people in the world, have not traditionally eaten much if any dairy, and are more likely to be intolerant of it.
So what can you assume about your own tolerance for milk? It is the experience of those at CAM that many if not most people, especially those with health issues, are not able to utilize milk without having problems.
Not all dairy products are created equal
Not all dairy products are the same – liquid milk, yogurt, and cheese can affect the body in different ways.
Fermented – also called cultured – dairy products include yogurt and kefir as well as cheese and sour cream. Some people have problems with fermented foods, but others find that these fermented forms of dairy are more digestible. Bacteria in yogurt and cheese digest the lactose in the milk, making it more easily tolerated. When buying yogurt, though, beware: some yogurt contains beneficial bacteria and little if anything harmful, while many commercial yogurts contain plenty of sweetener and flavoring, and little if any live bacteria. Read the labels.
Not all milk itself is created equal
It’s very possible, even likely, that bad reactions from milk, from the gastric disturbances of lactose intolerance to the formation of excess mucus, come from the adulteration of milk rather than from the milk itself.
Milk in its usual commercial form is pasteurized and homogenized. In pasteurization, the milk is heated which kills both bad and good bacteria. Homogenization keeps cream and skim milk from separating by permanently breaking cell walls, resulting in an adulterated product that can have negative health effects. Commercial dairy cows are often given hormones (rBGH and rBST) to increase milk production, antibiotics to treat and prevent infection, pesticides to keep the flies away, and other chemicals. Many commercial high volume dairies milk cows throughout pregnancy, so their milk tend to be higher in problematic estrogen.
All of these additives and hormones end up in our milk. If you have a problem with milk, it is very possible that the issue isn’t with the milk itself, but with these additives and processes. Try organic milk, especially raw milk if it is available in your area and from a reputable source.
But we need the calcium
Milk is promoted as being one of the best sources of the vital mineral calcium, necessary for bone health. But is this the case, or is it marketing hype? Although dairy products contain a good amount of calcium according to laboratory tests, most people have such a hard time digesting dairy products that the calcium is barely available for the body to use.
The connection between more dairy=less osteoporosis doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. Parts of the world that consume few or no dairy products tend to have lower rates of osteoporosis and bone fractures than in the US. In fact, there is ample evidence that dairy products are a major cause of osteoporosis.
Cows grow bones that support 1000 pounds of weight, yet they don’t drink milk after weaning. They get the calcium and other raw materials to build bones from grass. Vegetable material provides plenty of calcium for people as well.
Vitamin D
People in developed countries tend to lead indoor lives, restricting their exposure to sunlight. To offset this, milk has been fortified with vitamin D, which is normally synthesized by sunlight. Although milk is fortified, most other dairy products such as cheese, yogurt and ice cream are not. When it is added to nonfat milk, it is essentially a wasted effort since vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin.
Vitamin D can be obtained easily through supplementation so fortified dairy products are not necessary to get sufficient vitamin D.
Lactose intolerance and milk allergy
It may be difficult to distinguish between lactose intolerance and milk allergy, but the difference, determined through testing and some experimenting, can determine what milk products you can safely consume.
Lactose may promote chronic inflammation and thus disease. Symptoms include pain, gassiness, bloating, and nausea soon after consuming dairy.
But I like dairy products. What can I do to be able to consume them?
There are a number of things you can do to maximize benefits and minimize harmful effects of milk:
- Allergy clearing, done at CAM
- Choosing certain kinds of dairy products such as high quality yogurt rather than liquid milk
- Getting the purest products possible, preferably organic
- Getting lactose-free dairy products if it’s the lactose component that’s a problem for you
- The enzyme lactase can be purchased to help with lactose intolerance
- Some people find that they can better tolerate dairy if they eliminate wheat and gluten from their diets
Some people who can’t eat soft mild cheeses that are only cultured for a short time might do just fine on cheeses that are aged longer. Not all milk is from cows; sheep and goats also produce milk that might be more digestible. Milk substitutes such as from seeds, nuts, coconut, and rice are less likely to be problematic and can be substituted for animal milk.
But do you really like dairy, to the extent that it starts to resemble an addiction? You might actually be having what is called an allergic addiction; this can be tested for and treated, or dairy can be avoided altogether.
The bottom line
Should you drink milk or eat dairy products? You can, if you have tried dairy after doing the detox diet and have no problems with it, and you enjoy it, but don’t count on health benefits from it. The milk you drink and dairy products you consume should be organic whenever possible, and not sweetened. Nutritionists at CAM can help you determine whether, and in what form, milk is a good idea for you.
