DO WE NEED MILK?

Cow’s milk is one of the most consumed beverages throughout the world. Its association with the promotion of good health such as preventing osteoporosis makes it a favourable beverage for many people. Cow’s milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of cows to feed their offspring until they are ready for solid food.
Milk is rich in animal protein (casein), saturated fat, cholesterol, calcium, sodium and potassium and others. Milk is mainly eaten because of its calcium content which is believed to prevent osteoporosis (porous bone).

However recent research shows that dairy products have little or no benefit for bone health. Most studies fail to show any link between milk intake and broken bones, or fracture according to Harvard Public Health Professor Walter Willet.

Interestingly, ecological studies have also shown that bone fracture and osteoporosis is common among countries with higher milk consumption. Wait a minute, didn’t they teach us in primary school that milk makes our bones strong? Well this is an indication of how influential the food industries can be.

Harvard Professor Walter C. Willet and his team found that increased consumption of milk is associated with increased risk of osteoporosis in men but found no association in women. This findings has nullified believes that milk consumption makes our bones strong, which in reality, it makes our bones weak and more susceptible to bone fractures.

Milk is also one of the top source of saturated fat in our diet. Milk contains cholesterol. Diets high in saturated fat and cholesterol have been shown to increase risks of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and Alzhemer’s disease.

Regular consumption of milk has also been linked to prostate cancer. T. Colin Campbell, PhD and his research team established in China that the main protein in milk, casein promote the development of certain cancers such as prostate, breast and liver cancer.

A new study funded by the national Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health and World Cancer Research Fund found that higher intake of cow’s milk is associated with increased risk of breast cancer. Professor Walter C. Willet and his team found in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, men who drank two or more glasses of milk a day were almost twice as likely to develop advanced or metastatic (spreading) prostate cancer as those who didn’t drink milk at all.

In conclusion, milk is not necessary in the diet and can even be harmful to health. Human beings are the only mammals who drinks another mammal’s milk, we are the only mammals to continue to drink milk after we are weaned from our mother’s milk.

The dairy industry has done an excellent job of marketing the notion that everyone needs to drink milk to keep bones healthy and strong. In fact, there are many nondairy sources of calcium, including fortified soy, rice, oat, almond. Green leafy vegetables, beans, nuts and seed are also good sources of calcium. Yes, we need calcium but we don’t need milk. Walter Willet of Harvard says “it seems quite clear that dairy is not essential.”

The art of healing comes from nature, not from the physician. Therefore, the physician must start from nature with open mind – Paracelsus