Dairy & Your Health

Dairy and Your Health

Many researchers and health advocates agree that cow’s milk is simply not designed for anyone but a cow! All of the nutrients which we need can be gained from a diet of whole foods without the use of dairy-based products. That we need to consume dairy products to obtain calcium is a myth endorsed by the Dairy Council and uneducated individuals. We can simply use our own common sense in determining what is best for our bodies. Just look at how many people have adverse reactions to dairy and the industry which has been created to deal with the side effects of milk-based products, not to mention many other processed foods which are difficult to digest and assimilate. Why would something which is supposedly good for us, have an entire shelf in the drug store dedicated to products which will help us digest it, or deal with it’s side effects!

Please note – soy isn’t necessarily a healthful replacement for dairy, as some have been misled to believe. Please see the information on the hazards of soy on this website.

Heart Disease

The consumption of modern dairy products has been found by researchers to be a leading cause of arteriosclerosis, heart attacks and strokes. The highest death rate from heart disease in the world is found in Finland, a country with one of the very highest rates of dairy product consumption. Compared to people in the US, the Finnish people consume one and a half times as many dairy products, and die one and a half times as often from heart disease.

The higher fat forms of dairy products have been implicated as the culprit in contributing heavily to heart attacks, strokes, and arteriosclerosis. The higher fat dairy products are also those most likely to contain unsafe levels of environmental contaminants including pesticide residues and dangerous radioactive substances. Dairy products are high on the food chain, and dairy fats tend to collect very high concentrations of these pollutants. Of all the foods available to Americans, full-fat dairy products such as whole mile and cheese rank with fish as carriers of the highest levels of dangerous environmental contaminants.

What about low-fat dairy products?

Low-fat dairy products are higher in protein. Many people mistakenly assume this to be a health advantage. But as a result of their higher protein concentrations, low and especially non-fat dairy products make an even greater contribution to osteoporosis, kidney problems, and some forms of cancer than do their higher-fat counterparts.

What about allergies?

Modern Western dairy products are the leading cause of food allergies, and the lower-fat versions are actually more allergenic than those higher in fat. It is the proteins in dairy products that induce allergic reactions in humans.

The list of the most common symptoms of dairy allergens is a long one, as are the benefits often obtained by sensitive people who remove dairy products from their diets. Many studies have shown allergies to dairy products to cause irritability, restlessness, hyperactivity, muscle pain, mental depression, abdominal pain, cramps, bloating, gas, diarrhea, bad breath, headaches, lack of energy, constipation, poor appetite, malabsorption, nasal stuffiness, runny nose, sinusitis, asthma, shortness of breath, rashes, eczema and hives.

Scientific literature contains numerous accounts of dramatic improvement, not just for the above problems, but also in cases of ulcerative colitis, obesity, enlarged tonsils and adenoids, and iron deficiency anemia occurring with the removal of dairy products.

What about Calcium and Iron?

The dairy council distributes an attractive booklet free of charge to hospitals and schools throughout the country. Titled “Is it safe to be a vegetarian?”, the booklet provides a remarkably self-serving answer. The booklet says yes, it is safe-so long as you substitute more cheese, yogurt and milk for the “missing” meat.

In fact, what the Dairy Council is suggesting is likely to cause food allergies and is an open invitation to iron-deficiency anemia. If you consume too many dairy products, be they in the form of skim mild, whole mile, cheese, yogurt, butter, ice cream, or whatever, there is a very real possibility of iron deficiency. Cow’s milk is so low in iron that you’d have to drink many gallons to get the iron available from a single serving of any dark green, leafy vegetable!

Not only do dairy products provide no iron, they also block it’s absorption. Breastfed babies, for example, have a much higher rate of iron absorption than those fed cow’s milk formulas, even if they are especially fortified with extra iron.

*NEVER FEED AN INFANT COW’S MILK FORMULA (note from Energetic Balancing).

In our society, breast-feeding mothers often consume more dairy products than usual, thinking they are doing themselves and their babies good. Sadly, though, they aren’t. Breastfed babies can get colic and other symptoms of cow’s milk allergies if the mother consumes dairy products. The dairy proteins pass into the mother’s breast milk, make their way into the baby’s intestine and blood, and may result in persistent crying, fussing, and many other expressions of allergic reactions.

(from an article by John Robbins)