The first time I ever heard the idea that cow's milk was unhealthy, I was shocked. I thought "How could milk be unhealthy? Shouldn't I be consuming it daily for strong bones?" My sister told me her professor was teaching that the human body is not meant to process milk from cows and for many years I buried my head in the sand regarding this truth.
It wasn't until January of 2015 when I started researching nutrition on my own that I discovered the truth about dairy. Kimberly Snyder, C.N., helped me realize I don't need milk to be healthy, prevent osteoporosis, or for strong bones. Though the dairy industry would like to keep the lid on how dangerous dairy is for our health, many health researchers and professionals are speaking out and I will continue to stand with them. If you're wondering what is so bad about consuming dairy, here I'll provide just a snapshot of the mountain of evidence proving we should all ditch dairy ASAP!
Nature's Purpose for Cow's Milk
Cow's milk is created for one purpose only; to grow a baby cow into a large full grown animal. So what happens when a human consumes it? Our bodies don't know what to do with this foreign substance and therefore, a whole host of health problems, acute and chronic, develop. Dairy will cause weight gain because of the growth hormones they contain. It's also extremely addictive and is designed that way so the baby cow will keep coming back for more.
"The chemical composition of cow's milk is different than that of human milk, and therefore our bodies are not designed to break it down. Lactase is the enzyme needed to break down and digest the sugar in milk called lactose. Most of our bodies stop or greatly diminish the production of lactase by the time we are two to three years old, as nature did not intend for us to be drinking mother's milk after that." -p.100 of The Beauty Detox Solution by Kimberly Snyder, C.N.
Dairy Destroys Health and is Linked with Disease
Dairy is extremely acidic when inside the human body. It's main protein is called casein, which has a strong correlation with promoting the growth of cancer. "Dr. Campbell, a professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University...found that casein most 'consistently and strongly promoted cancer' and that it 'promoted all stages of the cancer process." -p.101 of The Beauty Detox Solution.
Remember all those health problems I was talking about? Cancer, diabetes, MS, eczema, acne, weight gain, kidney disease, arthritis, asthma, sinus issues, Crohn's Disease, and constipation are just a few ways dairy consumption destroys our health. For more information, please visit http://www.whatthehealthfilm.com/facts.
Kimberly Snyder also explains how dairy causes mucus in our bodies on p.25 of The Beauty Detox Foods. "When you ingest milk, cheese, and other dairy products, it puts a huge burden on the body to try to get rid of the mucus. Dairy products begin to wreak havoc on your body as soon as they are ingested, so your body then tries to desperately get rid of them in different ways such as phlegm, mucus, or pimples."
Milk is Full of Pus
In What the Health, Dr. Alan Goldhamer, founder of TrueNorth Health Center had this to say about pus in dairy, "Dairy products in general have a lot of other products associated with it, not the least of which is pus. I mean, they actually have laws limiting how much pus you can have in milk and still sell it. I believe it's like 750,000 pus cells per CC." This was the first time I ever heard of pus being allowed in milk and I was truly disgusted.
The Deception of the Dairy Industry
The dairy industry did a great job in the 90's with their "Got Milk?" campaign because the myth that dairy is necessary for healthy bones spread like wildfire. This milk myth has such sway because the dairy industry is rich and powerful. They constantly pay their way into mainstream guidelines so their products are promoted and they can continue to get richer and more powerful.
They have been successful in making the public believe we need milk for calcium, but don't believe this lie! "Cow's milk does, in fact, have a lot of calcium in it, but much of it is not easily assimilated or used by the body. There is a lot of phosphorus in dairy products, and it binds to the calcium in your digestive tract and makes most of the calcium impossible to absorb. In addition, dairy products are extremely acidic to the body, and the increased acid load causes you to lose calcium from your bones, since calcium is an alkaline mineral and neutralizes the acidity." -p.26 of The Beauty Detox Foods
You can get calcium from a myriad of plant sources without the toxic risks of consuming dairy. To name a few, almonds, bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, cucumber, dates, figs, kale, oranges, romaine lettuce, sesame seeds, spinach, and sunflower seeds are great sources of calcium.
I don't miss cow's milk in my diet at all. I don't miss that sour aftertaste from forcing myself to drink milk "for calcium" or the feeling of thick mucus forming in my throat. I never liked milk and the dairy items I did enjoy are now replaced with even more delicious alternatives. Please check out my blog, The Best Dairy Alternatives to discover an abundance of delicious non-dairy options!
If you're still on the fence about ditching dairy, don't just take my word for it. I'm not an expert, I just study nutrition, a lot, because my health and the health of my family is extremely important to me. This isn't something I just read online and all the sudden believed. I have felt the effects in my body from ditching dairy such as, improved digestion, clearer skin, balanced cholesterol, and increased energy. There is a ton of research on this topic. Please refer to my sources below for more information!
Sources:
What the Health Film (http://www.whatthehealthfilm.com/facts)
http://drjaygordon.com/health-concerns/dairy-2.html
http://epicanimalquest.com/blog/is-there-really-pus-in-milk/
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=plant+based+news+dairy
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