Spirit Science 33_4 ~ Milk and Health

Milk and dairy products have been shown in a very good light throughout the history of our society, but what is the connection between milk and health? How many times have you seen those “Got milk?” ads, with different celebrities endorsing milk?

The dairy industry has done a great job of presenting milk in a good light, pushing that it’s necessary for our calcium levels to build strong bones. This is especially pushed in schools for growing children.

Milk is produced when female cows have a baby, and lactate, producing the milk for her calf. The dairy industry impregnates female cows to force them to lactate constantly, taking their milk that’s supposed to be for her baby.

We first started harvesting milk about 7500 years ago in different parts of Europe. Many theorists guess that this may have been due to a lack of vitamin D in an area of the world with long periods without sunlight. Since then, the industry grew to include all forms of dairy products from animals and has become a staple in our modern diets.

Despite this, we are the only species that drink milk after we are babies, and from another animal no less. All other animals drink their own mother’s milk until they are grown up enough. The milk we drink isn’t straight from the cow either. It almost always has gone through a pasteurization process and has other additives including the very hormones that the cows were pumped with to keep them from being sick, which initially is a reaction from poor living conditions.

Milk and dairy have been purposefully advertised as a sort of superfood, that has many different positive benefits like building strong bones and teeth, clearing the skin, helping us grow and overall giving us vitality. And yet, new studies show that milk does exactly the opposite, actually making bones more brittle and treating acne in many people.

Once again, it’s crucial that you do your own research and listens to your body. For the details of these studies and how exactly it affects us, watch the full video above!

Sources:
Nutrition MD
http://www.nutritionmd.org/nutrition_tips/nutrition_tips_understand_foods/dairy.html

Pcrm.org
http://www.pcrm.org/health/cancer-resources/ask/ask-the-expert-dairy-products
http://www.pcrm.org/health/health-topics/milk-consumption-and-prostate-cancer
http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/vegdiets/health-concerns-about-dairy-products

breastcancer.org, 2013
http://www.breastcancer.org/research-news/20130327

McClees, Heather
onegreenplanet, 2015
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/natural-health/the-dairy-and-acne-connection/

Hyman, Mark, MD
huffingtonpost.com, 2010
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/dairy-free-dairy-6-reason_b_558876.html
6 reasons to avoid dairy at all costs

Nutrition MD,
http://www.nutritionmd.org/health_care_providers/hematology/ironanemia_nutrition.html

Mcdougall, John, MD
http://freefromharm.org/health-nutrition/dairy-consumption-and-type-1-diabetes-in-children-the-research-explained/

Sullivan, PB
Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1029246/

What’s in Milk?
Whitelies.org
https://www.whitelies.org.uk/health-nutrition/whats-milk

Walia, Arjun
Collective Evolution, 2013
http://www.collective-evolution.com/2013/04/03/over-75-of-earths-population-is-lactose-intolerant-for-a-reason-dairy-is-harmful/

Dr. Mercola, 2009
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/18/the-milk-myth-what-your-body-really-needs.aspx

University College London, 2009
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0908/09082801

Weil, Andrew, MD
drweil.com, 2007
https://www.drweil.com/health-wellness/body-mind-spirit/cancer/does-milk-cause-cancer/

Bollinger, Ty
Thetruthaboutcancer.com
https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/does-milk-lead-to-prostate-cancer/

Hicks, Cherrill
National Post, 2014

Yang, Sarah
Berkeley News, 2015
http://news.berkeley.edu/2015/09/15/bovine-leukemia-virus-breast-cancer/

Greger, Michael, MD
NutritionFacts.org, 2008
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/plant-vs-cow-calcium-2/

Studies:
Rosenblatt, Navarro
Dairy, Calcium, and Prostate Cancer Risk

PubMed.gov
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25527754

LQ, Qin
Milk Consumption is a risk factor for Prostate Cancer
PubMed.gov, 2004
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15203374

KL, Tucker
Prospective studies of Dairy product and calcium intakes and prostate cancer risk
Pubmed.gov, 2006
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16333032