Why milk is bad for you

Wednesday, February 09, 2011 by: Cindy Jones-Shoeman
Tags: milk, health, health news

(NewsTarget) How many times growing up did kids hear things like, "Milk does a body good" or "Got milk?" How many times did mom tell her children, "Drink your milk so you have healthy teeth and bones"? Americans have heard growing up that they must consume milk or suffer dire consequences when, in fact, drinking milk is what's dangerous.

Milk isn't always bad. Mother's milk -- that is, human milk -- provides a growing infant with all the nutrition he needs for the first six months of his life. In fact, human breast milk is designed by nature to be the perfect food for human infants. Similarly, cow's milk is designed by nature to be the perfect food -- for calves, not for human beings.

According to Robert Cohen, Executive Director of the Dairy Education Board and NOTMILK.com, milk consumption is to blame for a variety of health woes, including the following:

• breast cancer


• diabetes (both diabetes mellitus and juvenile diabetes)


• kidney stones


• acne


• heart disease


• osteoporosis


• multiple sclerosis


• stroke


• rheumatoid arthritis

So why is milk so bad, and how does it cause all of these and other health problems? According to Vivian Goldschmidt, founder of Save Our Bones, there are a variety of myths surrounding milk consumption. One of the first myths, she says, is that drinking milk creates healthy bones because of the calcium found in the milk. However, the animal protein found in milk actually depletes the human body of calcium, exactly the opposite of what milk drinkers expect it to do.

In much the same way, she also dispels another milk myth, that drinking milk will help reduce bone fractures. She cites sources that show that higher milk consumption can actually be linked with an increase in bone fractures. Further, she also states that milk is a "processed food." Milk is pasteurized and homogenized, and the cows that produce the milk are given hormones and antibiotics (which, of course, wind up in the milk). Goldschmidt then links hormonal additives to cancer.

Ultimately, Cohen, Goldschmidt and hundreds of others want Americans (and, in fact, every human being on the planet) to get this message: Say 'No' to Milk!

Sources:
http://www.llli.org/FAQ/bflength.html
http://www.notmilk.com/
http://saveourbones.com/osteoporosis-milk-my...

About the author

Cindy Jones-Shoeman is the author of Last Sunset and a Feature Writer for Academic Writing at Suite101.
Some of Cindy's interests include environmental issues, vegetarian and sustainable lifestyles, music, and reading.