The Dairy Disaster: Milk Does Not Do Your Body Good

Monday, February 08, 2010 by: Allison Biggar
Tags: milk, dairy, health news

(NewsTarget) From celebrities sporting milk mustaches to former horror queens touting the benefits of yogurt, the dairy industry spends billions of dollars on advertising in attempt to brainwash the public into believing that "milk does a body good." The truth is that too much dairy can cause obesity, cancer, heart disease, allergies, diabetes, and even osteoporosis.

Calcium is essential to good health and can be found in a plethora of plant sources such as broccoli, cabbage and spinach. The dairy industry has led us to believe that we can only get the calcium we need from their dairy products. "There`s no best source of calcium," says Robert Heaney, Professor of Medicine at the Osteoporosis Research Center at Creighton University School of Medicine. "The sheer quantity of calcium in dairy products certainly makes them attractive sources, but they have no monopoly on calcium. There`s no reason in the world why you couldn`t get an adequate intake from a vegetable source."

Casein, a protein present in milk, causes minor to severe allergies in many people resulting in hives, stomach pains, bronchitis, bloating, and even asthma. In actress Alicia Silverstone`s recent book The Kind Diet, Silverstone recalls growing up with bronchitis three or four times a year; she was on regular allergy medication and relied on an inhaler for her asthma. It wasn't until she gave up dairy that her allergies went away. "Very soon after becoming vegan, I stopped experiencing allergies or any asthma-type symptoms," says Silverstone. "They just disappeared."

No other species drinks the milk of another species. Drinking the milk of another mammal may even cause osteoporosis- the very disease it is touted to prevent. "When we have babies, we breastfeed them, and then at a certain point, we stop," explain Skinny Bitch authors Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. "It is exactly the same for cows and every other mammal on the planet. They produce milk when they give birth, they feed their young, and then they stop. We are the only species on the planet that drinks the milk of another species. We are the only species on the planet that drinks milk as adults. Why? Because the multi-million dollar dairy industry has convinced us that we need milk for healthy bones. However, Yale researchers found that countries with the highest dairy and meat intakes also suffer the highest osteoporosis rates."

Milk is pasteurized in order to remove unhealthy bacteria, but this process also removes the nutritional value of the milk. Milk pasteurization destroys digestive enzymes and even doubles the amount of harmful bacteria. During pasteurization, enzymes like lactase, galactase, and phosphatase are destroyed. Without these enzymes, milk is especially difficult to process in our bodies, especially since the human pancreas cannot always create these enzymes on its own. When the pancreas is overtaxed diabetes and other diseases may occur.

Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone is a genetically engineered hormone that is given to cows in order to increase their milk production, thus increasing the profits of the dairy industry. Bovine growth hormone (rBGH) accelerates the development of IGF-1, a hormone that is not eliminated in pasteurization or digestion. IGF-1 and rBGH increase cell division which can lead to breast, prostate, or colon cancer. When we drink milk we are increasing our risk of cancer. Think of it this way, if a cow`s life is shortened by 20 years when injected with BGH, what could that do to your life?

Freedman, Rory & Barnouin, Kim. Skinny Bitch. Old Saybrook: Tantor Media, 2007

Silverstone, Alicia. The Kind Diet. Philadelphia: Rodale Press, 2010.

www.all-creatures.org, "How Milk and Dairy Products Will Destroy Your Health and Cause Cancer, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, Allergies, Osteoporosis, and Infection`" http://www.all-creatures.org/health/howmilka...

About the author

Allison Biggar is a writer and filmmaker who believes in using the media to empower people to make a difference.
Allison is directing a documentary on people who have cured themselves of disease naturally without drugs, surgery, chemotherapy or radiation.
You can visit her Natural Health web site at www.holisticvoice.org.
Allison also recently released "The Vitality Diet"-
This informative, reader-friendly diet book to changing your diet is jam-packed with knowledge, secrets, stories and answers that will motivate you like no other diet book has. Author Allison Biggar offers a heartrending first-hand account of a personal transformation that will make you think differently about your health and your relationship to food. Whether you are seeking to recover holistically from a serious disease, or just looking to shed a few pounds, The Vitality Diet is an invaluable blueprint for constructing a brand new lifestyle based on eating right and becoming whole again.
To buy "The Vitality Diet," book please visit www.thenaturalchick.com
To donate to Holistic Voice and help fund a documentary on healing naturally from disease please visit www.holisticvoice.org