Milk Myth

The evidence against milk. See Not Milk and Milk Sucks.

• Calcium. Milk is the worst-choice source of calcium. The body withdraws calcium from the bones to neutralize the proteins and lactic acids in milk. See Milk: Is it Really Our Best Source for Calcium?. A recent report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that calcium absorbability was actually higher for kale than for milk. The calcium in cow's milk is basically useless because it has insufficient magnesium content which is needed for the absorption of calcium. Milk has only enough magnesium to absorb around 11% (33mg per cup) of calcium.

  Other aspects of diet are equally significant: 10 grams of SALT per day will SUBTRACT about 70 mg per day from retained calcium by increasing calcium losses in urine whereas 4000 mg of extra POTASSIUM from a diet rich in vegetables, fruits and other unrefined plant foods will ADD 60 mg per day to retained calcium by reducing calcium losses.

• Osteoporosis. Milk consumption does not protect women from osteoporosis; in fact, it may cause it. See Does Milk Really Do The Body Good?. A high calcium intake will not prevent or cure osteoporosis. Studies have found that a high intake in adulthood has little or no correlation with bone density. Listen to Roger French - Osteoporosis and the 'Milk Myth' (audio in RealMedia format).
• Fat content. Most dairy products contain high levels of fat as a percentage of the calories they yield. For instance, whole milk is 49 per cent calories from fat. The nutritional content of milk (high in fat and cholesterol and protein) are so similar to meat that some have called it "liquid meat". The cholesterol content of three glasses of milk is equal to what one would get from 53 slices of bacon.
• Iron-deficiency. Milk is very low in iron. To get the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance of 15 mg of iron, an infant would have to drink more than 31 quarts of milk per day. Milk can also cause blood loss from the intestinal tract, which, over time, reduces the body's iron stores. Researchers speculate that the blood loss may be a reaction to proteins present in milk. See Milk: No Longer Recommended or Required.
• Diabetes. A number of studies have linked cow's milk consumption to the development of insulin-dependent diabetes in children. It is believed a protein in the milk, called beta casein, is recognised by the body as foreign and attacked by the immune system. But because of this protein's resemblance to insulin-producing cells of the pancreas, these are also attacked - in error - in what is known as an auto-immune response.
• Lacking essential fatty acids. Cow's milk lacks essential fatty acids human infants need for neurological development.
• Lactose intolerance. Many people of Asian and African heritage are unable to digest the milk sugar, lactose. It can cause them eczema, excess mucus, muscle cramps and heart problems. See Dealing with Dairy Intolerance.
• Allergies. Babies drinking whole milk in their first two years develop allergies, colic, diabetes; milk causes internal bleeding in children, which contributes to anemia.
• Cancer. Studies have found significant positive correlations between milk intake and lung and ovarian cancers, leukemia, and Crohn's disease. And, possibly, lung and prostrate cancers. It is believed that it's the animal fat in milk which triggers the growth of cancer cells.

According to Hoards Dairyman (Volume 147, number 4), 89% of America's dairy herds have the leukemia virus. (Drinking virus-infected bovine body fluids)

• Hormones. All cow's milk (regular and organic) has 59 active hormones and scores of allergens.
• Contaminants. Milk contains frequent contaminants, from pesticides to drugs. About one-third of milk products have been shown to be contaminated with antibiotic traces. Cow's milk contains antibiotics (up to 84 different at last count), pesticides, chemicals, hormones (rBGH), blood, white cells (pus) (1/30 of every ounce), and bacteria from mastitis (udder infection).
• Bacteria. At room temperature the number of bacteria in milk double about every 20 minutes.

The evidence against cheese.

Each bite of hard cheese has TEN TIMES whatever was in that sip of milk, because it takes ten pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese. Each bite of ice cream has 12 times and every swipe of butter 21 times whatever is contained in the fat molecules in a sip of milk.