Lets think about this. A human baby drinks breast-milk for the first (so many) months/years of their lives. Baby cows drink their mothers milk for the first period of their lives. Then baby cows ween off the cow milk, baby humans go from drinking their mom’s breast milk to a cows milk. I love my cheese as much as the next person- but when you step back and take a logical look at why there is milk, why we started drinking it, etc – you see there is no logical reason why we continue to drink the milk that was meant for baby animals. I’m not telling you to stop drinking it or stop eating dairy- I just want you to take a logical look at what you are really putting in your body.
- Cows, like humans, only produce milk after they give birth. It is full of nutrients… meant for baby cows. To produce the volumes of cow’s milk that we consume today, cows are impregnated over and over again- with the offspring taken away from the mother as soon as it’s born. This is the cow’s life until her milk supply eventually wanes- at which point she is slaughtered.
- No other species drinks another animals milk.
- No other species drinks milk as an adult
- In humans – then enzyme that digest the main sugar (lactose) found in milk stops being produced between the ages of 2 and 5
- In the world- we have seen micro-evolution in the form of lactose. There used to be a high majority of adults who were lactose intolerant. Now over 60% of the world population is lactose intolerant.
- It’s considered an abnormality for an adult to NOT be lactose intolerant, because there is no reason why our bodies should still be producing enzymes. It’s something that we have forced on ourselves.
- Many people do not realize they are lactose intolerant and continue eating/drinking dairy while taking tums/heartburn meds/gas meds/stool softeners/headache meds to combat what they believe to be symptoms caused by other things.
- Cramping, headaches, bloating, nausea, flatulence, constipation, and diarrhea are all symptoms of lactose intolerance
- The increase of lactose tolerance has increased with the growth of dairy farming, years ago, in Europe
According to the Federal Trade Commission and the USDA:
• There’s no evidence that dairy is good for your bones or prevents osteoporosis — in fact, the animal protein it contains may cause bone loss.
• Dairy may be linked to prostate cancer.
• Dairy is full of saturated fat and is linked to heart disease.
• Dairy causes digestive problems for the 75% of the world’s population (75% of the world’s population does not have the proper enzyme to digest milk.)
• Dairy aggravates irritable bowel syndrome.
- Milk doesn’t reduce fractures
- We do NOT need as much calcium as the RDA claims
- We can get our daily calcium from greens and beans (and it’s healthy!)
- Milk doesn’t reduce cavities
- Countries with lower rates of dairy and calcium consumption have the lowest rates of osteoporosis
- Get you calcium from veggies, beans, tahini, salmon, etc
- Almond Milk – lower calories, crisp tasting (their chocolate milk is delicious and low in calories, sugar, and fat!), low in protein, many heart-healthy fats, antioxidants
- Rice Milk- higher calories and sugar, BUT non-allergenic, low in fat
- Soy Milk- highest in protein, Vitamin D, Cholesterol-lowering benefits, High Calcium
- Hemp Milk- Omega-3 Fats, lower protein, Vitamin E, No Cholesterol
- Coconut Milk- Yum, Healthy fatty acids, bone health, B12, low sodium and cholesterol
- Oat Milk- Cholesterol free, high levels of Fiber, Vitamin E, Antioxidants, Folic Acid
And don’t worry about baking. There are substitutes for milk, butter, buttermilk, cheese, etc- and they all taste fantastic. Actually I have made ‘ricotta’ lasagna, ice ‘cream’, mac & ‘cheese’, stuffed shells, ALL kinds of baked goods, etc- and no one can tell the difference (unless I tell them:)).