Did you ever stop to consider why, in a heavy milk consuming western society, why osteoporosis is so incredibly common?
I think the milk myth and the lies we have been sold and told are appalling.
What's in a glass of cow's milk? You may be expecting to hear something to the tune of calcium, vitamins A and D, protein, and some other nutrients that we think are beneficial to the body. Well, a glass of milk also contains acidic animal protein that leeches calcium from the bones, pus cells, bovine growth hormone, faeces, antibiotics, and a whole lot of unnecessary fat, cholesterol and calories — all of which create a terrible imbalance in the body.
We are the only species of mammal that drink milk after infancy, and definitely the only species that drinks another species' milk. Cow's milk is not designed for human consumption, it is to convert 50kg newly born calves to 500kgs by the time they are weaned. Why is it that humans feel the need to continue drinking milk after they are weaned from breast milk?
Milk has been consumed for thousands of years but through hunger and starvation but how did it become promoted for daily consumption? We can trace big dairy’s roots back to World War I, when the US government created a huge demand for powdered and canned milk to send overseas to soldiers. By the time the war inevitably ended, many farmers had abandoned other crop production and invested everything they had into the dairy industry and now they had a huge surplus. Even after pushing it on schools, the military, and other countries (as “aid”), most of the nation’s unwanted milk sat rotting in massive underground storage facilities.
The problem was so big that the U.S. government started buying up America’s unwanted cow’s milk and and this kept the dairy farmers producing it at the same rate as the USDA kept buying it and stockpiling it.
The USDA, the same agency in charge of Americas nutritional guidelines, is also in charge of a multibillion-dollar advertising campaign designed to push cow’s milk, cheese stuffed pizzas, ice cream and other dairy products onto the public.
It became an ingredient in so many things, even some types of potato chips and tomato sauce, contain milk. Because the same legislation that’s responsible for the promotion of dairy “products” is also in charge of creating shady new ways to get the public to consume them. They also formed partnerships with corporations like McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Domino’s to create dairy-heavy menu items.
And still the advertising goes on. In 2015 the UK dairy industry spent 137.1 million pounds on advertising dairy products and the USA spent 7.43 BILLION dollars in 2019. Much of advertising is focused at children and young teens to convert them into dairy consumers for life.
But why is it so bad? Human milk is very different in composition from cow's milk or goat's milk or any other
Cow’s milk contains on average about three times the amount of protein than human milk does, which creates metabolic disturbances in humans that have detrimental bone health consequences. How is this possible when a glass of milk is touted to have 300 mg of calcium? That's supposed to be beneficial for our bones and growth, right? Shockingly, the answer is a resounding no. Over time, a flawed belief that humans are required to consume three glasses of milk daily to sustain bone health and strength created the milk myth. And now, the supposed "truths" about milk we were all taught to believe are being debunked by studies published in reputable scientific journals.
Milk has become a cultural phenomenon and advertising sensationalize it. Many recent scientific studies are now showing a variety of detrimental effects that are directly linked to milk consumption. Undoubtedly, the biggest irony is that milk is thought to increase calcium loss from our bones resulting in osteoporosis. How? When humans consume any type of animal-derived, protein-rich foods, including milk, the pH in our bodies become acidified, and this sets off a biological reaction. Calcium actually neutralizes acid in our body, and most of the calcium is stored in our bones. When acidified animal protein is ingested, the calcium from our bones is drawn out to neutralize the effects of the toxic animal protein. After the calcium does its job cleaning up the mess, it is then excreted through the kidneys via urine, thus leading to a calcium deficit.
Pasteurization and homogenization of milk denatures the proteins which can make it harder for people's bodies to digest. In addition, the pasteurization process destroys a majority of enzymes and vitamins and minerals. These crucial enzymes aid in the digestion process. About 75% of the world's population is actually lactose intolerant. Though that is an astounding percentage, it only further proves the point that humans are not intended to consume cow's milk.
Cows are given antibiotics and injected with rBGH, a genetically engineered Bovine Growth Hormone, which is a synthetic hormone that was created to artificially increase milk production. A frightening side effect of rBGH is an increase in IGF-1 (insulin growth factor), which has been linked to many cancers. Cows are routinely given steroids and other hormones to plump them up. These potent synthetic hormones disturb the delicate human hormonal balance, leading to a lot of medical problems. Toxic pesticides from food that cows ingest also make their way into the milk, which humans unknowingly consume.
Milk and dairy products are pro-inflammatory and mucus producing. Milk increases the risks of respiratory conditions and allergies. It has been linked to the development of arthritis due to joints becoming inflamed. Remember, our bodies are not designed to naturally tolerate animal derived protein and seeing it as foreign invaders jolts the immune system to overreact in order to protect.
Studies show a diet with too much dairy and cheese is connected to elevated estrogen levels. Last year the founder of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine called for warning levels on dairy and cheese to explain the increased risk level of breast cancer and other hormonally driven cancers like uterine and prostate cancer. Though organic milk may be free of antibiotics and rBGH, all the other negative attributes of milk are still present.
In order to produce commercial quantities of milk, dairy cows are forced to endure a constant cycle of pregnancy and birth throughout their short life. Calves are usually removed from their mothers within 24 hours of birth, after suckling their mother’s colostrum. Separation of mother and infant causes acute anxiety and suffering for both animals. Mother cows have been known to break out of fields and walk for miles to be reunited with calves taken to auction.
The calves’ fate is one of the industry’s dirty secrets. Each year, over half a million unwanted calves are born in the UK. Many females replace their worn-out mothers in the dairy herd. But the males are often regarded as waste by-products. Some are reared on veal farms for a few months before being slaughtered; others are killed within a week or two for baby food, or for cheese and pie ingredients. Some are simply shot in the head shortly after birth. Every year in the UK tens of thousands of calves are slaughtered so that farmers can sell their mothers’ milk.
In nature, a cow will feed her calf for approximately six to eight months at a maximum rate of about eight to ten litres per day, which the calf suckles on four to six occasions. The mother produces less than 1,000 litres throughout the duration of her lactation, storing approximately two litres in her udders at any one time.
In modern dairy farming, however, cows can be expected to produce between 6,000 and 12,000 litres during their ten-month lactation. This means they may be carrying as much as 20 litres each at any one time putting their cows’ bodies under enormous strain.
Dairy cows are prone to infection of the udder caused by bacteria and other environmental pathogens entering via the teat canal. This acutely painful condition is known as mastitis and can often cause pus to seep into milk. There are around 50 cases of mastitis for every 100 cows during a year and current regulations allow milk to contain hundreds of millions of pus cells per litre before being considered unfit to drink.
The typical dairy cow lives an average of five years, with the first two years focused on providing a strong foundation for the healthy development of the cow. From age two, the mature cow will become a productive member of the milking herd.
Doctors and health professionals are putting pressure on the UK government to ban free dairy milk in schools and replace it with plant-based milk.
For your health it would be very wise to consider unsweetened milk substitutes such as almond, soy, rice, coconut and hemp milks. If using soy milk, make sure it is non-GMO. Also avoid artificially sweetened milk substitutes.