I'm dropping dairy and here's why.

[Nuli]

I've always been a milk drinker, especially in the last few years when I start weight lifting. I would say I went threw half a gallon a day with protein shakes,oatmeal, and cheeses. I've always kinda questioned the health issues with milk, there are seeming more amounts of people that have chosen to give up dairy. It really hit me when I started to think about how we are the only mammal on planet earth that 1) Drinks milk from another species and 2) Drinks it threw out our entire life, after we are done developing. These cows that we get our milk from are injected with god knows what to further increase their milk production and antibiotics to keep them alive in terrible conditions. Drinking milk doesn't seem natural to me.

I've always had a little mild acne through out my teenage years and I think milk played a part in this. When researching the connection between acne and milk, I came across numerous sources stating the connection was because of the hormones in the milk. The two main ones I was concerned with were hair loss's best friend, DHT and IGF-1.

Heres one of the articles I read:

http://themilkblog.blogspot.com/2007/05 ... -acne.html

"So milk is full of hormones: not only ones intended to help the calf grow, but also those produced by the placenta to aid the cow's pregnancy. They include DHT, and other hormones that are the pre-cursors to DHT. In other words, the hormones teenagers naturally produce are plentiful in milk. It of course contains other growth-enhancing hormones too - as Danby says: "Milk is, after all, specifically designed to make things grow."

Another worrying hormone, as far as acne is concerned, is IGF-1. This "growth factor" peaks at age 15 in girls and 18 in boys, coinciding with peak acne levels. IGF-1 is thought to works with testosterone and DHT to cause acne. IGF-1 is present in cows' milk anyway, but levels rise by 10 per cent when cows are given injections of recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) to increase milk yield. Drinking organic milk is not a solution because the cows are still pregnant while lactating, so they have the same hormones in their milk as non-organic cows"


I will be increase my green vegetable intake to make up for the lost calcium.
I am on day 3 of being dairy free and I plan to make this a routine.

 

[HughJass]

Good move. Dairy cows are usually treated terribly and if the China Study is accurate then avoiding cow milk can only be a good thing for your health...




I switched to platypus milk some time ago and the benefits have been enormous.

 

[billythekid]

i use badger milk personally

 

[HughJass]

do you have to milk the badger yourself?

 

[ali777]

Half a gallon a day??? That's way too much for an adult.

I have about 250ml with my breakfast cereal, and maybe another 250ml in a protein shakes 2-3 times a week. Overall, I have half a gallon (imperial) in a week.

There are so many studies out there that show adults shouldn't drink too much milk. I don't know what the acceptable limit is, but you should drink it in moderation.

I bet even my consumption is above the recommended limit.

 

[Petchsky]

I read somewhere that milk in America has bovine growth hormone in and is full of anti biotics, which explains human beings growing resistance to anti biotic drugs.

Pretty sure this is mainly milk in USA, but from what' i've read, i'd be very careful what I eat and drink in America.

The FDA seems to be in cahoots with big business and gives the green flag on many drugs/substances that turn out to have serious complications attached to human health.

 

[casperz]

I gave most milk about 15 years ago and I have never regreted
it but the transition was tough. Stopping solved a whole lot of allergy
and bowel related issues for me.

 

[Nuli]

What do you guys think about soy milk? It's said to have an impact on estrogen levels which could help hair? Gyno could also be effected too I guess. I would love to use an alternative milk source, as protein powder + water is sooo much worse tasting than with milk

 

[Cassin]

I use organic milk for protein shakes...they are treated humanely.

 

[billythekid]

indirectly due to this post, i'm switching to skim milk.

 

[ali777]

What do you guys think about soy milk? It's said to have an impact on estrogen levels which could help hair? Gyno could also be effected too I guess. I would love to use an alternative milk source, as protein powder + water is sooo much worse tasting than with milk

Add some flavour to it, eg fruit juice???

I was drinking some soya based protein last year, it was disgusting. The only way I could drink it was if I mixed it with blackcurrent juice.

Also, unless you are vegetarian or you don't eat well, it is very likely that your normal diet already contains more than enough protein.

 

[Nuli]

What do you guys think about soy milk? It's said to have an impact on estrogen levels which could help hair? Gyno could also be effected too I guess. I would love to use an alternative milk source, as protein powder + water is sooo much worse tasting than with milk

Add some flavour to it, eg fruit juice???

I was drinking some soya based protein last year, it was disgusting. The only way I could drink it was if I mixed it with blackcurrent juice.

Also, unless you are vegetarian or you don't eat well, it is very likely that your normal diet already contains more than enough protein.

Yah thats what im gonna start doing. I have chocolate flavored whey atm, so might not be the best mix. I'll pick up some fruity flavored powder once I run out of my current stash.

 

[Bryan]

It really hit me when I started to think about how we are the only mammal on planet earth that 1) Drinks milk from another species and 2) Drinks it threw out our entire life, after we are done developing. ... Drinking milk doesn't seem natural to me.

People keep making those same points, but they don't really make much sense. If you don't think other mammals drink milk from another species, try putting a saucer of cow's milk in front of a cat or dog, and see what happens! The only reason that other animals don't (usually) drink milk from another species is that they don't have it available to them.

But milk is a nutritious food: it has excellent quality protein, and some important vitamins and minerals. If you have no allergies or sensitivities to it, it's a good part of anyone's normal diet.

Another worrying hormone, as far as acne is concerned, is IGF-1. ... IGF-1 is present in cows' milk anyway...

Does oral IGF-1 even make it through the process of digestion? I doubt it.

 

[Bryan]

indirectly due to this post, i'm switching to skim milk.

I suggest that you NOT do that. Use whole milk products, or don't use milk at all. The butterfat in milk is probably important to our health and cardiovascular system.

 

[HughJass]

But milk is a nutritious food: it has excellent quality protein, and some important vitamins and minerals. If you have no allergies or sensitivities to it, it's a good part of anyone's normal diet.

The butterfat in milk is probably important to our health and cardiovascular system.

Where are you quoting those two things from Bryan? From the info I've gleaned comparing diets fairly high in dairy compared to those with little or none, the opposite seems to be true that dairy is a)healthy b)necessary

 

[HughJass]

What do you guys think about soy milk? It's said to have an impact on estrogen levels which could help hair? Gyno could also be effected too I guess. I would love to use an alternative milk source, as protein powder + water is sooo much worse tasting than with milk

Don't know if soy isoflavones would help with hair, even though they are reported to help with other things (heart disease, cancer etc)

Although I have read that soy is the most contaminated crop in the US...don't know if that's a disputed claim or solid fact though.

 

[billythekid]

The butterfat in milk is probably important to our health and cardiovascular system.

can this be true? i thought that it was detrimental to heart health, in that it may lead to increases in cholesterol.

i eat nuts and lean meat so i don't think the fat in milk can help me.

i thought that milk is only good for its calcium content.

unless someone can give me a reason not to switch to skim milk (other than poor taste), then i'm switching

 

[Old Baldy]

But milk is a nutritious food: it has excellent quality protein, and some important vitamins and minerals. If you have no allergies or sensitivities to it, it's a good part of anyone's normal diet.

The butterfat in milk is probably important to our health and cardiovascular system.

Where are you quoting those two things from Bryan? From the info I've gleaned comparing diets fairly high in dairy compared to those with little or none, the opposite seems to be true that dairy is a)healthy b)necessary

http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/butter.html

Without question IMHO, butterfat in moderation is good for you. Don't buy into all that hype that it is unhealthy.

All of you should consume some butterfat everyday IMHO. Just don't overdo it.

 

[Bryan]

The butterfat in milk is probably important to our health and cardiovascular system.

can this be true? i thought that it was detrimental to heart health, in that it may lead to increases in cholesterol.

I think it's high time that people (especially the American public) stop being fed this pablum that any given food is good or bad for the heart only to the extent that it lowers or raises cholesterol. Read the following passage about milk from Dr. Roger Wiliams, the biochemist who discovered pantothenic acid, gave folic acid its name, and conducted tons of original research in his long career (the italics are in the original material):

Milkfat and processed milk

That cardiovascular lesions are not induced by the fat of whole milk, but may be caused by the lack of accompanying nutrients in processed milk products gains support from a number of controlled rat experiments. S. Dreizen and his coworkers (J. Nutr., 74:75, 1961) have shown that rats restricted to a diet of nonfat dry cow's milk induced atherosclerosis of the aorta and its major branches, together with a syndrome of accompanying afflictions in 50 percent of the animals.

Other investigators have demonstrated that rats reared on an exclusive whole milk diet supplemented with iron, iodine, manganese, and copper do not develop cardiovascular lesions (Kemmerer, A. R. et al. Am. J. Physiol., 102:319, 1932; McCay, C. M., et al. J. Gerontol., 7:61, 1952). This, incidentally, would be in agreement with those epidemiological studies of the African herdsmen tribes -- the Masai, Somalis, and Samburus -- who live almost exclusively on a milk-meat diet.

In one other experiment, Dreizen and his colleagues conducted a series of studies with ten groups of rats on different kinds of milk diets (J. Atheroscler. Res., 6:537, 1966). The results of these tests disclosed that rats reared on a diet of dry whole cow's milk (without supplements) developed overt atherosclerosis in 30 percent of the animals, while 40 percent succumbed to vascular lesions on a diet of nonfat dry milk. However, the investigators found that complete protection was afforded virtually all the animals against cardiovascular complications on diets of (1) reliquified whole milk; (2) dry whole milk supplemented with iron, copper, manganese, and iodine; (3) reliquified whole milk plus the trace elements; and (4) reliquified nonfat dry milk plus 3.6 percent sweet cream and the trace elements. These investigators assert that "a diet of nonfat dry milk, 3.5 percent butter, and the trace minerals gave almost complete protection, slight arteriosclerotic damage being found on histologic examination in only one of the thirty animals." They noted that neither the inception or prevention of atherosclerosis was related to cholesterol levels, nor, for that matter, to calcium or phosphorous levels.

These data suggest that adequate whole milk, including the butterfat, and essential trace minerals actually protect against cardiovascular damage. This, we have noted, concurs with other findings (Lowenstein, 1964; Mann, 1964; Shaper, Am. Heart J., 63:437, 1962) of the African tribes who live on a diet of raw whole cow's and goat's milk, a 60 to 65 percent butterfat diet, yet are virtually free of coronary heart disease. According to Dreizen and his colleagues, not only was the saturated butterfat of whole milk not to blame, but its inclusion in the diet was vital to the health of the cardiovascular system. It was the lack of adequate nutrients in a diet totally free of fat that caused medical atherosclerosis and renal damage. Butterfat, itself, appears to protect against atherosclerosis! More material on this subject will be presented later.

 

[Nuli]

Bryan, I thought about that also, Yes, I've seen the baby tigers being nursed by the female dog on Youtube. I've never seen an adult/fully developed animal take milk from another.