Calcium, Is Milk the Answer?
Milk has one of the most successful marketing campaigns in history. Very few people know the actual truth behind this false advertising. I will do my best to share with you the facts that I know about. But, you say, wait a minute – I need my milk for calcium and my good health! You may want to sit down if you think that milk is actually good for you.
Let’s look at the “facts” that the dairy council is telling us. 1) Milk is an essential food. 2) And it is the best source of calcium. 3) And lately they are pushing the issue that it will help us lose weight. So let’s explore this information.
Store bought milk – First, let’s talk about regular store bought milk. This is your average milk that you can purchase just about anywhere, even at most gas station marts. This milk is from cows of course, and it doesn’t matter whether it is whole, 1 or 2% or fat free. These cows are all fed hormones and steroids (to increase milk production), antibiotics (to prevent illness, because the cows live in horrible conditions), and are given food that has pesticides in it. In addition to that, this milk is also pasteurized, homogenized and contains synthetic ingredients and growth hormones. What are these processes you ask? Well, pasteurization is when they heat the milk to 150-170 F degrees for at least 30 minutes in order to kill bacteria to reduce chances of infectious diseases. Interesting that they do this when a temperature of 190 degrees in necessary to kill E. Coli, typhoid, tuberculosis, and other dangerous organisms, such as streptococcus or salmonella. (FYI – there are over 2 million cases of bacterial gastroenteritis every year from salmonella. Gosh, I wonder where it comes from?) Unfortunately what it does destroy is probiotics or beneficial bacteria, such as Acidophilus, which as we learned about last month in Voice Of Choices is very beneficial to our bodies.
Pasteurization also removes vitamins, minerals and enzymes (See June Voice of Choices for more information on enzymes). In this case, the enzymes that naturally occur in the milk are necessary for our bodies to absorb nutrients from milk. Yes, milk has calcium in it – but without those enzymes – you will not absorb it. In fact, when you drink milk the calcium in it turns into calcium chloride, which is a harsh mineral salt that can often cause intestinal issues such as constipation and diarrhea. So what this means is now we have a product that has more bacteria in it, and less nutrients then when it was originally milked from the cow.
In addition, it has been proven in studies that if you take a baby cow, and give him regular store bought milk, he will starve to death. Because there are no enzymes, no probiotics, and no natural fats from the cream to feed the baby cow correctly.
Organic store bought milk – Okay, so you think, purchasing organic milk is better, and it is a step up from the standard milk, but only a little step. Yes, these cows are fed only organic food and are not given any steroids or drugs. Unfortunately, “there is no such thing as hormone free milk” – states Robert Cohen – author of www.notmilk.com. Robert also states “The healthiest milk from the healthiest cow is naturally loaded with lactoferrins, immunoglobulins, steroid, and protein growth hormones. In an effort to provide their children with healthy foods, mothers and fathers search out products that are advertised to be "hormone free." Such marketing is deceptive. When drinking body fluids from animals, or eating their flesh, you ingest their naturally occurring hormones.” So what does this mean? It means that milk is an essential food only for baby cows – they need those natural cow hormones to help them grow. We are people, not cows, so we need hormones that our bodies can utilize, and the best source of these is from plants so our body can produce our own hormones naturally. Organic milk also is usually pasteurized as well – so there is still the issue of no enzymes and probiotics again.
Okay, so then there is milk straight from the cow, which is how I had it growing up. I fondly remember squirting the cats with the milk as we milked it out of the cow. This must be good right? Well, it is definitely the best of the three options given so far. There are enzymes, probiotics, and the natural cream. There are local farmers around that sell these milks. They are typically not on store shelves other than some health food stores. So is this good or bad? In Natural Foods; The Safe Way to Health, by Otto Carque’ written in 1925 – Yes this information was known in 1925 – The author states: “…milk products are far from being absolute necessities for the maintenance of health and vigor of the race. The milking of animals is an unnatural process. It lowers their vitality and often makes them victims of disease, while it impairs the quality of the milk.” In the Outline of History, written by H.G.Wells, he states, “The use of milk originated with the Neolithic man some 10,000-12,000 years ago.” Milk is not only NOT essential for humans, it is not natural either. In fact, it was only after much breeding that a continuous supply could be produced from cows for human consumption.
Some other reasons milk is not good for you:
Next month see many alternatives to cows milk.