Potential health issues associated with milk and dairy products

    Dairy products have been overly consumed for many years. Consuming dairy products, specially non - organic products, for a long period of time has been proven to cause health problems.

When we look at the populations that have had a big increase in milk consumption in the last couple of decades like United States, Canada, France and England we find that illnesses like asthma, cancer, heart diseases and osteoporosis have increased tremendously. United States number one killer is heart diseases and the second, osteoporosis. Number one in breast cancer is Denmark followed by Norway then Holland. Number one in heart diseases is again Denmark, Norway, Holland and Sweden; all countries with the highest milk and dairy consumption. In the other hand, countries from eastern cultures which consume much less milk have shocking less cases of degenerative diseases.

   Dairy intolerances and allergies are very common among many populations. Intolerances happen when the body (just after babyhood) stops producing the enzyme lactase which is used to break down the milk sugar called lactose. Not having enough lactose makes it more difficult for the body to digest milk. Some of the symptoms of milk intolerance are: irritable bowel syndrome, nausea, bloating, stomach cramps, migraines and others. Dairy allergies happen when the body have instant reactions to casein, whey or other allergens found in cow's milk. Dairy allergies can be very dangerous. Children are the most affected and the symptoms can be diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach cramps, skin rashes, difficulty in breathing and others.

   Poor absorption of nutrients is associated with dairy products. Casein, a hard protein found in milk is very difficult to digest. The body tries to digest this protein but it can not digest it completely. Through the process of digesting it, mucous is produced. Over a long period of time consuming milk and having to deal with this protein, a lot of mucous is accumulated in the intestinal walls attracting food residues to the walls. The intestinal walls become covered, blocking the absorption of nutrients.

 
Diabetes have also been linked with the protein found in milk. Many studies in various countries show a relation between dairy products and Insulin-Dependent diabetes. Researchers found that the protein in cow's milk provoke an auto-immune reaction in the body, which is believed to be what destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas.

Osteoporosis is a major disease related to dairy products. The government persists saying that the calcium found in cow's milk and derivatives is crucial for having healthy bones, consequently, preventing osteoporosis in older age. There are no proofs that this saying is true. Drinking milk does not prevent bone loss. Countries like Japan and China, where people consume less milk and protein have low osteoporosis rates. Western countries with the highest rate of osteoporosis like United States and Scandinavian countries consume a lot more milk and animal protein. Studies also show that higher intakes of protein and use of cigarettes, salt and caffeine provokes calcium losses. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2001), found that "women who ate most of their protein from animal sources had three times the rate of bone loss and 3.7 times the rate of hip fractures as women who ate most of their protein from vegetable sources."

The calcium found in cow's milk is useless for humans. Cow's milk has much more calcium than magnesium. We need a balanced calcium and magnesium intake otherwise we will face mineral problems. Green leafy vegetables, tofu, seeds and nuts which also contain other essential nutrients for our health, have a far better calcium and magnesium balanced ratio.

   Prostate, breast and ovarian cancer are diseases also related with consumption of dairy products. A study done by Daniel Cramer and his colleges at Harvard back in 1989 already showed the relation between galactose, a sugar found in cow's milk and ovarian cancer. Daniel suggests that if galactose is not broken down correctly by enzymes, it will build up in the blood and may affect woman's ovaries. Many women have low levels of these enzymes and if they consume dairy products daily, their risk of ovarian cancer triple then of other women. Galactose is also linked with infertility. Researchers found that individuals with high levels of calcium intake have three to four times their risk of prostate cancer. This happens because too much calcium interrupts the vitamin D to act as the body's natural anti-cancer mechanism.

   IGF-I (insulin-like growth-factor I) is a very powerful growth hormone found in cow's milk. This hormone has been identified as a key factor with tumour growth.

"IGF-I can stimulate normally slow-growing cancers (like breast, ovarian, and prostate to grow very quickly, causing them to appear in a decade or two or even less." Delicious 12/95

A study showed that men which had the highest levels of IGF-I hormone had more then four times the risk of prostate cancer then men with lower levels of IGF-I.

   There is also a problem with a protein enzyme called xanthine oxidase (XO) which is in cow's milk. XO helps the digestive system breaking down milk proteins. In whole fat milk, XO will be present but in semi-skimmed and skimmed milk the fat is removed consequently XO, making it much harder for the body to digest the protein. However, when milk is homogenized small fat globules surround the xanthine oxidase and it is absorbed intact, without being break down, into our blood stream. This causes problems in the artery walls and blood vessels. Cholesterol gets accumulated and vessels become blocked causing cardiovascular system problems like arteriosclerosis, atherosclerosis and high blood pressure.

Get going with your nut and seed milk! You will love it! If ever having milk and dairy products, purchase them from local farms or where you know you can trust the quality of the milk, at least.

In health,
Carolyne x