Milk and the Dangers of Dairy

     I'm finally back!  We still have boxes adorning our living room, and tools in the kitchen but at least there is an end in sight!  All in all I gained 10 pounds!  Yes you read it right "TEN POUNDS"! However, since getting settled back down I have lost 3!  Seven more to go until I'm back to where I was before this hullabaloo started.

     Today I thought I would touch base on milk.  There is so much about milk that we thought was good.  I remember as a child, we had Winder Dairy delivery come and leave glass bottles of milk on our porch.  It always tasted so good ice cold from that glass bottle.  Mix it with a little Nestles's Quick and it was fabulous!  I also remember as a child going to the factory to watch how it was bottled, and getting free samples of milk and a little loaf of bread.  Those were the days!  Very fond memories.

     All through my growing up years I drank lots of milk, ate lots of ice cream and discovered yogurt! My dad even made yogurt, and we were hooked.  Then I was married, and my husband was a huge milk drinker.  We went through gallons of milk in a week.  We started having a family, and the pediatrician told us that our children should be breast fed, and when they were weaned to a cup should drink whole milk until they were two years old to help develop their brains because of the fat content in the milk.  I believed this.  Why shouldn't I believe them? After all they had been to medical school, and knew all about nutrition.  So I was compliant to their suggestions, after all milk at that time was thought to be a complete protein.

     What are doctors saying now about milk?  It really depends on which doctors you listen to as most doctors still do not have the educational background on nutrition.  If you don't believe me google it to see how much training medical students receive on nutrition in medical school. http://www.sarahbesthealth.com/think-doctors-know-about-nutrition/  If they want more info on nutrition, they have to go somewhere else to receive that knowledge.  Sad really.

     Dr. Michael Greger has done extensive research in the area of nutrition.  His book "How Not To Die" (which I have mentioned before) has a lot of information contained in his book.  Here is a quote from that book.  Page 213.
    Humans are the only species who drink milk after weaning.  It also seems a bit unnatural to drink the milk of another species.
     "Milk it does a body good?"  All foods of animal origin contain sex steroid hormones, such as estrogen, but today's genetically "improved" dairy cows are milked throughout their pregnancies when their reproductive hormones are particularly high.  These hormones naturally found even in organic cow's milk may play a role in the various associations identified between milk and other dairy products and hormone-related conditions, including acne, diminished male reproductive potential, and premature puberty.   Is this why my daughter started her period at age 10?  More and more female children are starting their periods at a young age.  More and more people are becoming lactose intolerant.  We were not meant to eat or drink animal products.

     Think about that baby cow and how fast it puts on 100 pounds after birth.  Makes a person think about what dairy is doing to our bodies.  Milk has been linked to asthma, blood pressure problems, cancer, bone fractures (because calcium is leached out of our bones from drinking milk)  http://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-protein-bad-to-the-bone/  It has also been linked to flatulence, Parkinson's disease and saturated fat causing heart disease.

     Milk per-say wasn't hard for me to give up.  The only time I drank it is when I ate cereal, at least as an adult...but ice cream?  That is a different story.  Now though you can get ice cream made with different milks and nuts.  My all time favorite is from SO Delicious made from cashews.  Salted caramel is my favorite flavor.  Also nice cream made with frozen bananas is amazing as well.  Check my recipes for that.  Cheese was a bit hard as well to give up, and I'm not fond of any of the nut cheeses or Daiya cheese.  I figure if it's processed I prefer not going to eat it.    I just have given up cheese all together, and really don't miss it.

     I'm thankful that I have done the reading and studying to figure out what is good and bad for our bodies.  My son since being home from college has gotten off his high blood pressure medications because his pressure has come down.  I'm sure it is because of the dairy that we have been consuming since he was a little boy.  I would admonish everyone to find out for themselves and do what is best for your families.
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