Did you know that in Medieval England parents would tie rabbits’ feet around their babies’ necks to ward off illness? Doctors would also spit on wounds because saliva was believed to have healing properties.
Indeed, history is replete with unfounded health beliefs, and to everyone’s detriment, the milk myth is among the most tenacious.
Milk is much more than just a drink; it’s a cultural phenomenon that can be traced back thousands of years. And still today, the milk myth resonates loud and clear: in 2001, the average American child consumed 104 quarts of cow’s milk.
Milk depletes the calcium from your bones
The milk myth has spread around the world based on the flawed belief that this protein and calcium-rich drink is essential to support good overall health and bone health in particular at any age. It is easy to understand that the confusion about milk’s imaginary benefits stems from the fact that it contains calcium – around 300 mg per cup.
But many scientific studies have shown an assortment of detrimental health effects directly linked to milk consumption. And the most surprising link is that not only do we barely absorb the calcium in cow’s milk (especially if pasteurized), but to make matters worse, it actually increases calcium loss from the bones. What an irony this is!
Here’s how it happens. Like all animal protein, milk acidifies the body pH which in turn triggers a biological correction. You see, calcium is an excellent acid neutralizer and the biggest storage of calcium in the body is – you guessed it… in the bones. So the very same calcium that our bones need to stay strong is utilized to neutralize the acidifying effect of milk. Once calcium is pulled out of the bones, it leaves the body via the urine, so that the surprising net result after this is an actual calcium deficit.
Knowing this, you’ll understand why statistics show that countries with the lowest consumption of dairy products also have the lowest fracture incidence in their population (there’s more on this later).
But the sad truth is that most mainstream health practitioners ignore these proven facts. I know it firsthand because when I was diagnosed with osteoporosis, my doctor recommended that I drink lots of milk in addition to taking Fosamax.
Fortunately, I did neither, because I knew that…
Cow’s milk is custom-designed for calves
Thanks to our creative ingenuity and perhaps related to our ancient survival needs, we adopted the dubious habit of drinking another species’ milk. Nobody can dispute that cow’s milk is an excellent food source for calves. Weighing around 100 pounds at birth, a calf typically gains approximately eight times its weight by the time it is weaned. But unlike humans, once calves are weaned, they never drink milk again. And the same applies to every mammalian species on this planet.
Also, each mammalian species has its own “designer” milk, and cow’s milk is no exception. For example, cow’s milk contains on average three times the amount of protein than human milk which creates metabolic disturbances in humans that have detrimental bone health consequences.
It’s important to bear in mind that mother’s milk is excellent nourishment for human babies, but its composition is very different from cow’s milk.
Scientific studies show that milk increases fracture risk
Many scientific studies contradict the conventional wisdom that milk and dairy consumption help reduce osteoporotic fractures. Surprisingly, studies demonstrating that milk and dairy products actually fail to protect bones from fractures outnumber studies that prove otherwise. Even drinking milk from a young age does not protect against future fracture risk but actually increases it. Shattering the “savings account” calcium theory, Cumming and Klineberg report their study findings as follows:
“Consumption of dairy products, particularly at age 20 years, was associated with an increased risk of hip fracture in old age. (“Case-Control Study of Risk Factors for Hip Fractures in the Elderly”. American Journal of Epidemiology. Vol. 139, No. 5, 1994).1
And the 12 year long Harvard Nurses’ Health Study found that those who consumed the most calcium from dairy foods broke more bones than those who rarely drank milk. This is a broad study based on 77,761 women aged 34 through 59 years of age.
In the authors’ own words:
“These data do not support the hypothesis that higher consumption of milk or other food sources of calcium by adult women protects against hip or forearm fractures.” (Source: Feskanich D, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA. Milk, dietary calcium, and bone fractures in women: a 12-year prospective study. American Journal of Public Health. 1997).2
Shocking statistics ignored by mainstream medicine
In the Osteoporosis Reversal Program one of the topics I discuss is the complete disregard of scientific evidence that discredits milk and dairy products as the best source of calcium.
One exception is Amy Lanou Ph.D., nutrition director for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington, D.C., who states that:
“The countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis are the ones where people drink the most milk and have the most calcium in their diets. The connection between calcium consumption and bone health is actually very weak, and the connection between dairy consumption and bone health is almost nonexistent.”
Surprised? You shouldn’t be, because as I mentioned earlier in this article…
Milk is an acidifying animal protein
Like any other animal derived protein-rich food, milk has a positive potential renal acid load (PRAL) which triggers a protective biological reaction to neutralize all the damaging acidic protein before it reaches the kidneys.
The body is designed for survival, so it sacrifices bone density to protect the kidneys and urinary tract because the latter are essential to survival. And the most readily available source of acid neutralizer is in the bones. So even though milk contains calcium, it ends up sapping your bones of that crucial mineral. But that’s not all because…
Today’s milk is a processed food
Until the end of the 19th century in Europe and the beginning of the 20th century in the US, milk was consumed unpasteurized or raw. Later on, homogenization became the industry’s standard. These processes further alter milk’s chemistry and actually increase its detrimental acidifying effects.
Raw milk advocates claim that if cow’s milk is left “as is” it is a healthy and wholesome drink. It is true that raw milk is less acidifying than processed milk and that pasteurization and homogenization may cause a long list of digestive and other health problems, but I still don’t recommend drinking any kind of cow’s milk.
Nowadays, milking cows are given antibiotics and most are also injected with a genetically engineered form of bovine growth hormone (rBGH). A man-made or synthetic hormone used to artificially increase milk production, rBGH also increases blood levels of the insulin-growth factor 1 (IGF-1) in those who drink it. And higher levels of IGF-1 are linked to several cancers.
This should not be ignored, especially in view of recent information by Samuel Epstein, MD, Professor of Environmental Medicine at the University of Illinois School of Public Health, and Chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition. In a press release titled “Monsanto’s Hormonal Milk Poses Serious Risks of Breast Cancer, Besides Other Cancers” (June 21, 1998) Dr. Epstein concludes that:
“Drinking rBGH milk would thus be expected to significantly increase IGF-1 blood levels and consequently to increase risks of developing breast cancer and promoting its invasiveness.”
Even though organic milk is from cows that are not given antibiotics or rBHG, if you truly care about your bone health and your overall health, you should…
Avoid drinking cow’s milk
As I explain in the Osteoporosis Reversal Program and contrary to mainstream recommendations, drinking milk and eating lots of dairy products are not the answer to reversing osteoporosis. And while in the Osteoporosis Reversal Program no food is completely off limits, I strongly recommend that you explore the different milk substitute options that I will list for you here.
But first, I’d like to clarify that unsweetened fermented or cultured dairy products such as yogurt, kefir, and sour cream are acid neutral. Yogurt in particular is chock-full of beneficial qualities. As is the case with milk, organic yogurt does not have rBGH, but even several of the most well-known yogurt brands have stopped using the bovine growth hormone (rBGH). You should call your favorite yogurt company to confirm. One more clarification: when I say unsweetened I mean without sugar or any artificial sweetener. However, you can add honey or stevia, a zero calorie plant-derived sweetener that is delicious and alkalizing as well. I like to carry around stevia packets in my purse so that I’m always able to sweeten food or drinks when I’m on the go.
The best milk substitutes
My favorite milk substitute is unsweetened almond milk, not only because it is alkalizing (as almonds are), but also because it’s delicious and tastes very similar to milk. I even cook with it!
If almond milk is hard to get, you can also try rice or soy milk. I strongly suggest consuming only organic soy milk to insure it’s not made with genetically modified soy. There is also some controversy about unfermented soy products, so try to use it in moderation.
What Else Haven’t They Told You?
What else have you been told about bone health by your doctor or other “experts” that is flat out wrong? What other “facts” (like drinking milk does a body good) are keeping you from optimal health?
Myths like these are a big reason I created the Osteoporosis Reversal Program. To give you the straight scoop on how to deal with osteoporosis the natural way.
I can help you take control of your future.
Learn more about the Osteoporosis Reversal Program here →
And remember, if you ever hear someone ask “Got milk?” smile and think to yourself “No, because I know better!”
And as always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Share them with me and the rest of our community by leaving a comment below.
References
1 Cumming RG, Klineberg RJ. “Case-Control Study of Risk Factors for Hip Fractures in the Elderly”. American Journal of Epidemiology. Vol. 139, No. 5, 1994
2 Feskanich D, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA. Milk, dietary calcium, and bone fractures in women: a 12-year prospective study. American Journal of Public Health. 1997
I have read many scientific studies, and I believe the single most important element contributing to poor health is incomplete digestion. If the body is allowed to completely use up what it takes in, it may use its excess digestive capabilities for body clean-up, and poof, less things in the body to make you sick, you can almost eat what ever you want, if you eat much less of it, while at the same time making sure you get all the nutrients you need so that the metabolic systems have the appropriate levels of the raw ingredients without wasting.
I drink (limited quantitis) Goat’s Milk. Is this O.K.?
Drink as much milk as you want (cow’s, goat’s, whatever, it doesn’t matter). It’s perfectly fine.
The idea that a food makes the body “acidic” (or “alkaline,” for that matter) is laughable. Your body contains chemical buffers whose sole job is to counteract the acidity or alkalinity of anything you eat, bringing it in line with the pH of the body. Otherwise your body would cease functioning.
The above information comes from an actual university textbook (“What Is Life?” by Jay Phelan).
x, I would encourage you to read Robert Young’s book “The pH Miracle”. Limited quantities of goats milk are OK, but pasteurization and hormones fed cows are harmful to humans. I’m not so much an expert on what’s in goats milk though.
My body was over-acidified with early signs of kidney problems and when no doctor – who all spewed the same BS as you do – knew what to do, I saved my life by going on an alkaline diet; the benefits are so clear to me that I’m not going back, ever. Go on an alkaline diet for two weeks, and afterwards eat something very acidifying again. The next time you take a pee, you can actually feel the burn of the acid that you had never noticed before because your urinal tract hadn’t been accustomed to healthy, “soft” urine.
Well I am 74 years old. My wife is 71 years old. We have been drinking cows milk since about 3 years old. We drank raw milk until about age 22 when we gave up the cows. We both drink cows milk today, but unfortunately it is store milk (pasturized, etc. can’t get raw milk). My wife drinks less milk than I do these days. I typically drink about a quart a day, and in the hot summer days sometimes a gallon or more a day. I have never had a broken or fractured bone in my life, despite all the hard knocks I have had over the years. My wife had a bone density test a few years back, and they found her bones to be excellent. So, based on our experience, I say bunk to your studies. I would believe that with all the medical studies today, they are flawed. They fail to take into account other circumstances that may contribute to their results. Quite often, further studies determine just the opposite effect. Like I said. Modern studies fail to meed exacting standards when they are performed. It seems that the researches fail to remember their college lab tests required rigorous standards when they are performed. Or is this not a requirement today?
Hi, well I am almost 70 and I drink at least a pint of milk a day.When I can a quart. And I find the milk better than taking calcium. I swear by milk and I find the old fashioned milk unhomoginized with the cream on top. yummy. I love milk
that the research of the GM milk is as safe to drink as milk from orridany dairy cows, but more tasty and it will commercialize within 3 years. The GM milk can protect infants from bacterial infections during their first 6 months.Maybe it will be a good substitute for human milk. But breast-feeding is an important responsibility of a mother.If a woman wants to have her children, she will also like to breast-feed her children. Why do we need the GM milk?
Hi, well I am almost 70 and I drink at least a pint of milk a day.When I can a quart. And I find the milk better than taking calcium. I swear by milk and I find the old fashioned milk unhomoginized with the cream on top. yummy. I love milk
To clarify my previous post..I was referring to raw milk only,…
Foolish doctor..Read the latest study on raw milk in the Amish community, may of 2012….dr crewe, one of the “founders” of the Mayo clinic, has over 10,000 documented casses of people on raw milk “only” diets and how the vast majority were helped..the facts go on and on and are easily found throughout the Internet…the best raw milk is from jersey cows….
Just need to chime in here. Some flaws in a lot of the logic in the comments. What food was designed for humans to eat? Nope. It doesn’t work that way. We are animals. We evolved to eat what was in the environment we live in not the other way around. No one put stuff here intentionally for us. Sorry, not just my atheist point of view, scientific fact. Plants and animals adapt to their environment for their own survival, not the other way around.
And as humans, we have the advantage of being able to find ways to survive that other species do not. We are smart enough to know how to take milk from another animal to ensure our survival. Notice I said survival and did not say that milk was an optimal intended food. We can injest a lot of things but it doesn’t mean that we should.
Since we are designed to seek out energy to keep us alive, we eat what is available to us. Because there’s no such thing as a food desined for a human (aside from breast milk for babies, which comes from us) there is also no such thing as a food that is 100% optimal for human survival. Actually if there was, our bodies would never break down and we’d live forever. There are however foods that do less damage than others, and those are the ones we should stick to.
It seems the civilized world is stuck in this high protien brain-wash cycle. I hear a lot of people defending milk using the argument that they grew up on a farm and great Aunt Tilly lived to be 102…. Well great. Here’s one for you, I live on a farm and I’m going to point out the other detail that you’ve failed to include with your dairy declaration: People who live on farms eat more fresh produce than anyone else and get more exercise from their daily activitie. People who live in the country tend to have less access to BAD processed foods than urban people. And this is especially true in the age groups you are talking about. People in their 80’s, 90’s or people who lived to be 100 until passing recently. I guarantee you these people have had less exposure to processed foods than anyone growing up now. Your average person just does not eat the same way these people spent the majority of their lives eating. Compare the rates of obesiety of these generations when they were in their 30’s or 40’s to the rate of the same age group now. These people you are citing overall were people with healthier diets.
We are omnivoires by design, yes, for survival, not for pleasure. A frightning majority of people now eat like it’s a hobby. If our ancestors could live well off the vegetation around them, likely they would have no desire to undertake the difficult task of trying to hunt down or milk another animal. Dairy as a food group exists only because of our mastery of technology as do a lot of other things that are totally crap for you to consume. Technology has made our food more plentiful but in most cases, not of better quality.
Again, we are animals. Our mastery of technology has allowed us to produce enough food to feed a population we otherwise could not feed, but it has done so at the cost of food quality. We do a lot of things that prohibit the process of natural selection. We pump medicines into people with genetic flaws, they pass those genes on to their children and we become a population overrun with diseases that nature would have eliminated long ago. Now I’m not saying those people should just give up and die, what I’m saying is technology has taken us so far away from nature that it’s really no surprise we can no longer figure out what we’re supposed to eat. If you think your health conditions are not related to what you put into your body, you could not be more wrong. You literally are made of what you eat. So when you try to debunk a study that suggests that populations who consume the highest amounts of dairy have the most disease of any populations by claiming their are other factors to consider, you can’t just throw away that one huge unifying factor. These people are putting large amounts of dairy into their bodies. Its the most direct exposure you can get. It’s not a myth.
And yeah, doctors can be wrong too. They don’t all spend their time super focused on nutrition studies. A lot of them benefit greatly from prescribing as many drugs as they can. Heck, my dad, who lives on a farm and has his whole life and eats large amounts of high fat cream just enjoyed a quintuple bypass 2 years ago. Yep. Quintuple. Didn’t even know they did that many but that’s what the doctor said. When we asked what kind of diet my dad should follow he told him to eat whatever he wanted and then prescribed cholesterol pills and high blood pressure pills, a steroid inhaler to go along with the epilepsy medication he was already on. I mean, are you kidding me? You just rerouted 90% clogged arteries and you gave this man carte blanche to go back to the whipping cream and butter factory? I was pretty sure we put that saturated fat is bad argument to bed a long time ago.
But before I get too off topic with that… Remember about 100 years ago when doctors said smoking was good for you? Yeah, they figured that one out eventually too.
And it’s really not a conspiracy theory. If you just follow the dairy council dollars, it becomes very clear there’s an agenda to PUSH dairy products. Just like there’s an agenda to PUSH high fructose corn syrup. They’re things we really don’t need but there’s a profit to be made so…..
Oh yeah. I’m also a vegan. I tried it after being very critical of that lifestyle I decided if I was going to criticize it, I’d better make sure I understood it. So I challenged myself to try it for a month. I’ve never looked back. I’ve also never felt so good in my life. If you want to criticize a Vegan, I challenge you to try it for a month. Really try it. The right way. Fruit, veg, legumes and grains. It won’t hurt you. You might learn something. And if you don’t like it, you’ve lost nothing and gained an actual justified opinion. Just sayin. If you haven’t tried it, shut yer yap.
And read the China Study. It’s full of this stuff called common sense and scientific research. It also acknowledges all this “statistics can be twisted to support anything” garbage you all keep spouting. Of course, if you’d actually read the book you might know that.
Hmmm, you said you are an atheist yet you also said, “Since we are designed to seek out energy to keep us alive, we eat what is available to us.” Who is the “designer” you speak about? If something is designed then there has to be a designer!
Hmmm, maybe mother nature, our parents, cells and genes take that credit… Just sayin’.
Evolution. You know, the most well-documented scientific theory in all of history.
Nice one!
Finally someone with a f-in well funded and serious opinion. This comment section was becoming dreadfully dull untill you came along and saved the day. It’s funny that people read your post and the thing that sticks in their head is “i’m an atheist”. Anyways I’m glad that you could bring a fresh opinion to this article. I’m sorry if my english is not the best because it isn’t my native language. Oh, and kudos to you sir!
Exactly. Thank you.
I am a vegetarian, not a vegan. I think most of you are crazy, but you make a lot of sense and I think your comments are right on. Cows milk is made for, uh, baby cows.
Please note that I am not trying to naysay the research.
I am a fan of all milks, chiefly cow’s milk, I’m 24, medium-framed (6’1″, 200 lbs) and have not suffered a broken bone, a decrease in bone density or problems digesting milk or milk-derived whey proteins. I’m an avid weightlifter, so I tend to consume a lot of both. In addition, my parents are consumers in their 50’s and haven’t suffered a fracture of any nature.
I am interested by the research, but I do not believe enough people have done thorough investigation to change my eating habits. If other doctors replicate the studies and produce the same findings, I will then be more attentive. A good read, however.
I would appreciate if you would do all of your homework before you make these false allegations. The fact is that most cows are not treated with rBGH because most milk companies will not process that milk. Please do your research before you downtrod a very major industry in the american economy.
I actually gained back some bone mass by eliminating milk from my diet. I am thin, white, menopausal, and sedentary, but my bones are at 95% density, up from 85% more than 15 years ago. What’s the difference? No milk – that’s the only difference.
I’d like to mention the Masai Tribe of Kenya/Tanzania – they raise cattle and drink the milk (though not 3 glasses a day). Since black people are supposed to be lactose-intolerant, how can they do this? The milk is completely unprocessed, that’s how. It’s real food. I applaud your efforts to educate people, and I hope you’ll debunk the lactose-intolerance myth while you’re at it.
Louis Pasteur saved a lot of lives in his day, but he was essentially spraying germicide in a filthy cesspool, so he couldn’t lose. We don’t have to do that in the 21st century. We have a lot of better choices.
Thank You I enjoy reading your information because i’m a true beliver in not drinking milk or any of their products, well a few, but yougurt or sour cheese, Thank You, I will take your words to explain some of my English friends and share your address so much more people know about your page…
🙂
Vivian: Could you please comment on how a titanium rod or plate in someone’s body over a long period of time would affect the body? I was wondering if this would be like milk in such it would be acidic and the body would compensate accordingly to bring the body to the correct ph borrowing calcium from the bones. My brother, always very active outdoors and a gym rat for 30 years, has always taken lots of supplements has been diagnosed w/severe athritis in the hip and MRI shows a significant loss of cartilidge around the ball/socket area of the hip. Orthopedic doc says he thinks its genetic, but no one in our family or extended family had anything like this. I’m searching for answers for him, please comment if possible.
Thank you!
Thanks for the scientific reasons for not consuming animal milk that is reserved (or should be) for their offspring only!
Another reason (the paramount one in my opinion) is the ethical reason. Animals are our brethren; not products. Love and care for them. In addition to the ones you mention – soy, rice, almond milk, I also love coconut milk and its products like coffee creamer, ice cream, yogurt etc.
I just purchased hazelnut milk also. There are multiple ‘cheese’ products out there too – all the ones I have tried are DELISH.
Thanks for reading and allowing me to be a small voice for the voiceless. <3
Interesting!! I have bee a part of that Harvard Nurses Health Study since it’s inception. I am now 82 years old and find your advice interesting since I do not have the greatest Bone Density score.
I noticed that you did not mention raw milk—-I live in California and it is available legally. We drink raw milk and I feel it has upped my bone density from negative to positive. I also soak all my nuts, seeds, and non
gluten grains for better digestion of the nutrients. I am making my own yogurt and Kombucha. I am very appreciative of all this terrific info!
Thanks—-Jean
She did very briefly mention raw milk.
I think everyone should check out the comment from “common snob” from March 14, some great reflections there and here are some of mine:
“Acidifying animal proteins” are not very unique for milk, but includes all sources of animal protein. Since calcium is one mean to help maintain the pH balance, I believe that milk would actually be one of the most suitable sources of animal protein from this perspective.
Also, arguing that cow’s milk is custom-designed for calves and therefore we should not drink it, is like arguing that almonds are custom-designed to sprout into new almonds trees and hence, humans should not pick and processed them into a milk substitute. In further accordance with this logic bears should not eat the honey from bees, since it is custom-made for bees and not bears as someone else pointed out in the comments already.
And sure, we’re the only species that continues to drink milk in adult age. However, we’re also the only species that doesn’t consume all of our food raw and we’re the only species that introduces foreign substances into our bodies in order to cure diseases. Being the most highly evolved species means that we’ve figured out a whole bunch of things that are beneficial for our survival and drinking milk might just be one of them.
I would also like to comment on this passage:
“For example, cow’s milk contains on average three times the amount of protein than human milk which creates metabolic disturbances in humans that have detrimental bone health consequences.”
To me, the only point that this argument makes is that cow’s milk isn’t a suitable replacement for human milk given to nursing babies, which probably is very true. However, trying to derive “detrimental bone health consequences” from the fact that the protein ratio is not the same as in human milk, is the same as excluding every other beverage and food out there that does not have the same macronutrient composition as human milk since they will “create metabolic disturbances in humans”.
I don’t think that the statistics the author is presenting are lying, for example there does not seem to be a correlation between drinking milk and having a reduced number of hip or forearm fractures for women in the age of 34-59. But that’s also all those statistics tell you and I there are many more studies to be conducted and mechanisms to be elucidated before any causative relationship can be claimed to exist.
As she said, and I quote, “Today’s milk is a processed food”. So comparing raw milk freshly out of a grass-fed cow is NOT the same as the processed stuff we buy on the grocery store shelf, even the organic kind. Would you say that Cheetos are the same thing as eating cheese? Or potato chips are vegetables? Give me a break.
What is protein? It’s not one thing – there are many, many different kinds, some digestible to humans, others not. Human milk protein is vastly different from cow’s milk protein. I don’t agree with anything you’ve said.
A more accurate comparison would have been eating real cheese compared to American, Velveeta, etc, considering Cheetos aren’t a cheese food, they merely contain processed cheese powder. Do not mislead your viewership.
Milk, particularly cow’s milk, is one product which has a lot of ‘cultural’ baggage, especially for us Indians. It is a preffered choice, and many consumers go to great lengths to ensure that they consume cow’s milk as opposed to buffalo milk, which is the staple of packaged milk in india.We also accept tradional/experiential knowledge and practices as a guide in our day to day lives and being a largely vegetarian population, milk and milk products are a part of our daily consumption, irrespective of gender or age, or even economic status. It has been so for millenia and till processing procedures overtook our consumption, especially in urban areas, cows were a prt of every household. Buffalo milk is considered ‘heavy’ or diffuclt to digest, as compared to cow milk, and is the first preference for weaning / weaned babies.
It is difficult to accept new, scientific inputs as substitutes for routine, simple, accepted and functional choices in our lives, especially when science based knowledge tends to change its stand , not infrequently.
Sorry but I do not buy this. My Mama lived to be over 101 yrs old. Drank lots of whole milk all her life. Loved it. Had good bones too. Her sister didn’t drink milk, lived to be 94 but had 2 hip replacements. The last time she fell she never got out of bed again. My Mama took care of herself until she was well over 90 years old. Went into a nursing home near the end of her life. They let her fall out of bed, and another time let her fall out of the shower chair but she never had a broken bone. Had all her teeth when she died, too. I never drank milk and I fell, broke my arm and that turned in to a 3 momth painful ordeal. So I believe what I know and have seen with my own eyes through my living my life.
completely uneducated comment based on 1 observation…
Side note, (unrelated) there really are no such things as “vegetables” scientifically speeking of course.
Hi Vivian,
Thank you for the update on milk, which thanks to you, I have been aware of for some time and rarely drink cow’s milk.
I wondered if organic goat’s milk is any different. I confess, given a demanding job, that I drink coffee in the morning with goat’s milk. I drink reverse osmosis water first, but I find I really need that zap to get going in the morning, as due to caregiving/job etc. am frequently sleep deprived and coffee is my rescue remedy. Although I use almond milk with cereal, it just doesn’t taste right in coffee. Also is goat cheese also bad or does that fit under fermented submstances?
For the rest of the day, I do go out of my way to eat, primarily, alkalizing foods- lots of vegetables/fruits and few grains (e.g. Ezekial bread).
Thanks for all your good information.
Catherine
Please tell me how consuming goat’s milk is any different from consuming cow’s milk? According to this article’s logic, neither are meant for consumption by humans and thus are detrimental to health. Hypocrite much?
Catherine is not advocating drinking goats’ milk while avoiding cows’ milk; she is asking whether it is any better than cows’ milk.
Read carefully before making snide comments.
I’d like to see more studies on the affects of pasteurized vs. raw milk(organic).
Vivian, avoiding MILK is easier than avoiding DAIRY PRODUCTS altogether. Is there such a thing as PARTIAL avoidance? That is, can dairy products (milk, cream, butter, cheese, yoghurt …) be classified as “more” or “less” harmful, assuming these come from organic sources?
Cow’s milk is the focus in this debate. What about the milk of other animals, such as GOATS, often enjoyed in the form of “goat’s milk cheese”?
You seem to favor ALMOND milk to RICE milk. If so, why?
Thank you for your continued service to your audience and to me — a Save Our Bones promoter, and personal friend of the late Dr. Robert Salter, the world-famous orthaepedic surgeon who endorsed your book.
To understand the import of Dr. Salter’s endorsement, and to read a summary of his medical innovations, go to
https://www.sickkids.ca/AboutSickKids/Newsroom/Past-News/2010/dr-robert-salter.html
To those of you that love milk, how about drinking raw milk and doing away with the processed so called milk !
Dear Vivian
Since December 2009 I live with an “arteriitis temporalis” and Cortison (now only 2,5 mg p.diem).
I started only in 2008 taking Bisphosphonate BONVIVA per i.V. against osteoporosis (diagnosed for the first time in 1999 or 2000). I take VIT D3 too / 10 drops per diem.
My endocrinologist insists on “bonviva” (every three months I get it in the veins) and says that I need absolutely BOTH: BONVIA & CORTISON/Prednison.
Next May, the 10th, they’ll measure the bones density again.
My professor dr. med. endocrinologist is “the Pope of our bones” in this Land …
Please give me your opinion, dear Vivian. Many thanks,
Ivana
Ivana, you might want to switch “religion”, because your “Pope” is not veering you in the right direction. I invite you to use the Search box at the top right of this webpage. Do a search for Boniva, and you’ll understand what I mean… 🙂
Thank you so much! I am 64 and have felt an ache in my right knee. I walk everyday on hills. I have pain in my right knee. Any suggestions? Should I take osteobiflex? I started to drink almond milk today.
You might have arthritis. Go to your doctor to have an Xray done.
Hi, I am allergic to dairy products except yoghurt so I drink Oat Milk..is that OK? I have tried Rice, Soy and Almond milks but prefer Oat Milk, which contains filtered water, organic whole oats, organic sunflower oil and sea salt.
Sorry kids, but this is bad science.
I do agree that milk isn’t necessary to keep your bones healthy. If that were true, all the lactose intolerant people in Asia (which is most of them, if I’m not mistaken) would be snapping femurs like twigs. And I agree with the scientific evidence that establishes no link between calcium/dairy consumption and bone health. Walter Willett said so, therefore I believe it :).
Anyway, I am NOT on board with the “milk is bad for you” part of this. I mean, it’s not great for you, but it’s not going to CAUSE you to lose calcium from bone. Leave that to poor Vitamin D status, poor kidney function, and a lack of weight bearing on your bones, usually associated with old age.
This article claims that the protein in the milk acidifies the pH, therefore causing a release of calcium, counteracting the effect of the calcium in the milk. Theoretically true, but by that logic, we should never eat any protein at all… which is simply absurd.
The most disturbing thing here is how this gigantic article COMPLETELY fails to mention the body’s PRIMARY compensation mechanisms for regulating blood pH, bicarbonate, phosphate, the lungs and kidneys… Those are the first lines of defense, not calcium…
I reiterate… bad science.
Oh, I also noticed… the author of this unadulterated garbage is an MA, a master of arts, NOT an MS, a master of science…
I think that tells us all we need to know here…
Exposed…
YOU ARE STUPID!!!
Calling him stupid without explaining why you think that, makes you look “STUPID”.
I refer the honourable gentleman to the reply I gave Jason above…
is very sad when people despise knowledge they eventually will be destroy, and when they get sick they blame others but they must blame themselves for they are close minded and they dont want to change
I agree Mary. It doesn’t hurt to try. If you enjoy the change then stick with it, but if you don’t like it then it’s not for you. Many people are quick to judge. Vivian is just helping to show another point of view.
I believe, Jason, that is what is known in legal circles as an ‘Ad Hominem/Feminam’ ie an attack on the person rather than the argument at hand.
Another cracking Latin phrase is “quot homines tot sententiae”. Basically this means “Opinions are like arseholes…everybody’s got one”. I would extend this to say that you’ll find plenty of both on the internet.
The only advice I would give people is try to be remembered for being one of the valued opinions and not one of the arseholes.
Debate the argument, people. Personal attacks are merely examples of an exhausted intellect.
Agreed
i think what you should be focusing on here are the facts and you agree that there is no direct link between dairy and bone health and avoiding all protein.
if there is no positive link then why not drink something else anyway? dairy is not an essential part of our diet. and as for avoiding all protein well thats just silly isn’t it protein plays an important part in building our bodies.
Jason,
You are actually correct, and I’ll tell you why. When you write this:
“Theoretically true, but by that logic, we should never eat any protein at all…”
You should not say eat no protein at all. Instead, “eat the correct amount of protein, balanced to the alkalizing foods – i.e. and 80/20 balance.”
It’s “bad science” if you interpret it wrongly… As Nobel Price winning biochemist Albert Szent-Gyorgyi has said:
“Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought”
With all the respect and with my little english I will tell you that you have not study deeply about topics of eating or drinking animals products, the article from Vivian is a wake up call to these societies which consume dairy and animal products like craisy, indeed animal foods and dairy products is not designing for human consumption, this is why the age spang of humanity have declined throught centuries, especially in the beginning of the 20 centuries when meat and dairy products were more affordable by the poor or commun class in usa and many first world countries so the diseases of lifestyle started to increase like a wide fire,Iwork in health and I see many dying with cancer and other diseases that can be preventable if people will change their diet, many studies done by dr Mcdougal,dr Elseltin and Cambel collin the writer of The China study prove that is true what your are advocaitng and I call it wisdom and good science, doctors today are not train on nutrition only to prescribe drugs and they spend millions of dollars in research to cure disease but they dont get it, the main point is that animals never were design for human consumption, in the book of Genesis the creator of mankind left very clearly the diet for humans but after sin man apetite was perverted and God left man to eat the desire of their heart and that brought disease and the age of man reduced, finally we were created vegetarians even our teeth were design to eat only fruits, grains, nuts as our creator design this beautiful body and the diet to keep it in good shape, cancer and other diseases of lifestyle is relate with meat, egg, fish and dairy consumption, from a book God’s healing way written by seven day adventist medical doctor she wrote, quoting an statement by one of the pioneer of the seven day adventist christian inspire writer Ellen G. White in the 1800 hundreds wrote “Contaminated meat,eggs,fish and dairy products are the cause of disease, Disease is contracted by the use of meat.Also a vegan diet has a great benefit and help us to become more benevolent and to develop compassion for those creatures, Save your bones and the health of your love ones Thank you doctor Vivian for your commmitment to help as many as want to get help, many of my friends are becoming vegetarian through the ministry as a health reform missionary from the seven day adventist movement church we teach as many that want to change their lifestyle and wonderful results are seem God bless you we must work together to relieve the suffering of humanity and this work is pleasing to our heavenly father for is the will of God that we prosper and be of good health, Iam 51 and I feel better than when I was in my twenties, Jesus loves you so do I Dora
It does cause you to lose calcium from your bones. I’m living proof. Read my post.
Not all protein is bad for you – but the proteins in cow’s milk aren’t good for humans in general.
It’s not as bad for you as cigarettes or alcohol, but it does cause long-term health problems. Be open-minded. This is actually good science, a rare thing to find these days.
You are right… but up to a certain point. Yes, there are compensatory mechanisms in the body to maintain the desirable pH. But, when those are depleted, thanks to the state of chronic acidosis “modern” diets cause, other compensatory mechanisms kick in. The most efficient one being taking alkalizing calcium from the bones!
while you all argue about milk, probably the healthiest beverage out there (in moderation), i’ll go drink diet coke, kool aid, and smoke ciggarets. Get your mind on the right things.
If you’re stupid about diet, you increase health risks. duh.
I’m totally against consuming cow’s milk. I would like to point out though, all the comments above, look like they are written by the same person, it’s stange they all speak either and intelligent or ignorant langaugage and they can all spell. That’s is unbelievable.
I was interested to read your comments on cows milk, but what about pasture-fed raw cows milk that has not been pastuerized? Many people find that all allergies to milk disappear after drinking non-pastuerized organic milk. I am aware of course that most people do not have access to raw milk.
Jean
There are risks with raw milk, too. There is the risk of e. coli, listeria, and salmonella, to name a few. In sparkly clean dairies, these bacteria are rare, but if they get into the milk, it can cause life-threatening illness. Why not just avoid milk altogether?
So many people have bad reactions to drinking cow’s milk that in 1974 the Federal Trade Commission felt compelled to take legal action against advertising claims made by the California Milk Producers.
The ads claimed “Everybody Needs Milk.” The FTC prosecuted the milk producers for “false, misleading and deceptive” advertising. The FTC complaint cited the high incidence of lactose intolerance, allergies caused by cow’s milk and the increased risk of heart disease. The FTC won and the milk producers had to come up with a new slogan for their ads: “Milk Has Something for Everybody.”
One medical researcher, Dr. Kevin McGrady, commented, “Milk has something for everybody all right — higher blood cholesterol, and increased risk of heart disease and stroke.”
Three reasons cited by medical researchers that dairy products contribute to heart disease are their high content of cholesterol and fat, along with an enzyme in cow’s milk called xanthine oxidase (XO). This enzyme, which creates problems only when milk is homogenized, causes heart disease by damaging arteries. Explaining the significance of XO, Dr. Ellis cites research by Dr. Kurt Oster, Chief of Cardiology at Park City Hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut:
From 1971 to 1974, we studied 75 patients with angina pectoris (chest pain due to heart disease) and arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). All the patients were taken off milk and given folic acid (a B-vitamin) and ascorbic acid (vitamin C), both of which combat the action of XO. The results were dramatic. Chest pains decreased, symptoms lessened, and each of those patients is doing great today.”
Dr. Oster’s article states that Dr. Kurt Esselbacher, Chairman of the Department of the Harvard Medical School, was in full agreement. Dr. Esselbacher writes: “Homogenized milk, because of its XO content, is one of the major causes of heart disease in the U.S.”
Wow, 75 patients. I’m sure the research is reliable(I’m being sarcastic). The study is dated. Why don’t you find one from this century.
Can’t you just buy non-homogenized milk?
Kate,
Have you tried to buy, or find “Raw Organic Milk”??
Very had to find, unless you have a cow, which is very unlikely..
I buy raw milk from a farm.They sell sheep,goat,and cows milk raw. The sheep milk is great,easily absorbed by the body and very healthy..
http://www.millersorganicfarm.com
They ship 1 day via FedEx
Very Interesting. I am 52, just getting over a very bad sinus infection which I hardly ever get. Started antibiotic one week ago today, it didn’t work, went to Z-pack and I will live. So, I looked up drinking milk in regards to sinus infection. All is true. Milk companies want us to believe we need it daily even past nursing. Lactose Intolorent? Our bodies, while still babies, have a natural enzyme called,”Lactace” thus the word “Lactose.”It is required to digest sugar in the milk of our Mothers milk. At around 1 to 4 years of age we lose that lactace enzyme, which is no longer needed in the small intestine which is a natural process which accompanies maturation. Meaning. We don’t need milk! Sure it’s refreshing and good, but not needed to sustain health. My point being, I haven’t had a glass of milk until week prior to my sinus infection for years. I don’t crave it. But I bought a vitamin mixture that goes with milk, and wham! See the connection? Losts of illnesses would be illiminated with illiminating milk from ones diet. My friend for one, drinks nearly a half gallon to a gallon in a few days. I have had to take him to the ER more than once for unidentified lower intestinal problems. He’s 47, had a colonoscopy a few years ago to hopefully find a reason. Dr. said he had a perfectly good colon. No “Lactace Enzyme” to digest that milk.
Interesting indeed, when we really look back at history and medical problems of our day and age. It doesn’t take a genious to figure out even calves, puppies, all critters who drink milk before teeth don’t ever drink it again!
I’m 62 years old, and have never had an illness related to drinking milk. My family and I have been drinking milk for ages and are perfectly fine.
congratulations. maybe you’re an exception to the rule. statistics don’t lie.
What rule?
HA! nice
not everyone is caught in the net, so dont be so quick to jump the gun maybe you and your family are fine but what about your neighbours?
My mother drank milk daily & lived up to 80 years. No bone or calcium set backs at all
suresh bijjahalli, & brad,
More Women then men get Osteoporosis, cause there bones are smaller,and they do not lift the weight that men do,..
Maybe your family’s are large boned, ate more green veggies, had more sun, or are heavier! Which can be good thing for your bones…
To say My family did not get osteo and they drank allot of milk, is just plan ignorant!!..
Most people that are fat put more strain on there bones, which is good for osteo..That said, if your obese it can be hard on your bones, and crack them..
Brad, I’m asumming your a man, and do not have Osteoporosis. If so why are you on this site bad mouthing it?
You need to do more research in to why store bought milk or dairy is not healthy for you and your bones.
Good for you disease doesnt come in one or 2 years but is year after year of destroying the endophilian cell the botton line is plant foods open your arteries animal foods close them,
got milk?
There is nothing that prove milk is good or bad for you. There are studies prove milk is bad for you and then there are other studies that prove milk is good for you. Just believe in what ever you want.
Look behind the studies, there is where you will find the path to the truth. There are many fraudulant studies put forth to deceive the consumer; studies supported by, thus, in favor of those who pay for the end results…
Watch forks over knives silly a#* milk is no bueno. Just saying…just saying
The American Cancer Society gives much information on all of the things that cause cancer. I don’t see milk as it alone being one of them. See link https://www.cancer.org/Cancer/CancerCauses/DietandPhysicalActivity/diet-and-physical-activity
JS, they also don´t tell you about many natural remedies to cure cancer that are and always been there..because cancer industry is one of the largest if not the largest industry in the world the same as oil industry is, although there are alternatives to that also. So, it might take them some time to get to milk.
I know two different people that have been diagnosed with cancer, and the doctors have put them on a strictly vegetables and meat diet, no dairy. They have had improvements, im not trying to say that they will magically get better because no dairy, what im saying is that doctors obviously know it will make them worse if they continue to drink cancer…make your own conclusions but to me its obvious
Natural remedies to cure cancer? LOL.
Most of the poster kids (or adults) for these “remedies” have actually died a slow and painful death. Do a little Google search and you’ll see.
Thanks Vivian for the information given by you inregard to Milk. I am sure I will convey this information to others too.
Its nice to have someone put into words how I feel about drinking milk, its unnatural plain and simple!
You should be careful about recommending Stevia though. It has some NASTY side effects in some people. myself included. I had one sachet and was completely incapacitated!
Han, try pure Stevia in liquid form and you only need to use few drops since stevia is about 40 times sweeter than sugar. Hope it helps.
You are just advertising your book. To advertise it, you use this MYTH to catch the eyes of the readers.
There are worse foods than milk. You can not fool wise men.
Kaye, you are so wrong and closed minded. I have studied nutrition for about 40 years and maybe if you bothered to check few things yourself instead of ungrounded criticizing you would also find a few helpful things.
Vivian knows what she is talking about and believe me, she is trying to help people that don´t know and is making it afordable. Not all good things are free..
Your point is, milk acidifies the body which then causes calcium depletion. That’s non sense because even fruits causes acidity and even your almond milk does acidify the body. Not all the time alkalinity is good, the body maintains balance called homeostasis. You can not blame merely your acidty on milk because there are more worse food than milk like junkfoods and canned goods. Why not write something worth reading. Your article is misleading. THAT’s ALL BASED ON MYTH. PURELY MYTH
Thank you, finally someone who makes some sense.
The body can only function at a particular pH. Anything above or below that and you die. Guess what, people, the body controls the pH by itself, no matter how acidic or alkaline the stuff you eat/drink is!!!
The lack of scientifically-sound thinking I see on here is simply depressing.
Seems like you just want to advertise your almond milk and your book..
Please don’t fool people! Show more proofs.
Kaye, pleeeeeze..do you figure that Vivian has almond milk production going?
I personally used soy milk, than I swiched to rice milk and finally ended up with almond milk which I found the best…and believe me that nobody pays me for advertizing nor do I own any shares in that industry.It is just the knowlidge and experience..maybe you should try it and see for yourself instead of just empty talking and accusing..
Kate ,
It looks like you do not do any research into milk, and probably not Soy either!! Your just believing what is being advertised on TV..Which is all about money..
I do not alway’s agree with some of what Vivian has to say, but I do have osteo, and I have done ALLOT of reading and research about what is bad for my bones, and Dairy is a BIG NO, NO..
(I do not buy her books)
Do you think its healthy for cows to eat Monsanto GMO Corn, get all the hormons shots in there bodies, and live in cramped indoor barns?
Cows should be outside eating Grass, that is not sprayed with posions. Any products that come from cows, such as even butter, is crapy for us..We should be eating , “Raw Organic butter, which has K2 MK-4 in it,which takes the calcium to our bones and not our arteries, plus regular butter & milk are making mush in our arteries with Cholestrol…
Do you honestly believe Vivian owns Almond groves, and Almond milk companies?
Get a grip!!
I bet you do not believe in buying any organic veggies, and think red meat is healthy for our bones etc.!!
Big mistake..
What I find funny is that you call milk a myth when if was a fact that milk helps you and studies proved it. I didn’t read the whole article mainly because the beginning just made me laugh and say “What idiot made up these results” but anyway I’m pretty sure milk helps you or else we wouldn’t have been drinking it for hundreds of years.
Raw milk is for sure healthy, but not the pasteurized and homogenized milk, witch I personally describe as colored white water.. Please do a quick research on raw organic milk benefits!
stay fit ;)!
Roby, raw milk might be beter than pasteurized as far as quality goes but it is still milk, it turns acidic in your body which is worse for your body than for instance lemons which turn alkaline in your body which is better for your body.
Excuse some of my grammar as english is my fourth language and doubles still give me problems. But I am also a chemist so I understand acidity and alkalinity and how it works in the body.
It’s common sense people — we are not MEANT to drink cow’s milk, of COURSE it’s going to have bad effects on the body! No one needs any more proof or reasoning than that.
Ryan,we do a lot of things for hundreds of years..like the wars and abuse of this planet..does it mean that we are smart and know it all..have nothing new to learn and discover?
What you are saying about milk is completely right, it is not natural and did you know it also causes many cancers, ie breast cancer, prostate cancer. If you know of anyone with these cancers then i suggest you get the book Professor Jane Plant, your life is in your hands. This lady cured herself of breast cancer from cutting out dairy products, she was told she only had 3 months to live and she still lives to this day and has helped mnay other people out. People need to be open minded and realise that what we are not being tod the truth about a lot of things, and the more we ignore the more people will die…just think about it…how many people do you know or have heard have breast cancer/ other cancers…we need to do something soon otherwise it will wipe out the whole nation…we basically are killing ourself because we ignore and maybe don’t know the truth. I no longer consume dairy and i no longer suffer from ibs, spots, being bloated…dairy is worse than we think and causes many problems because the truth is it is for calves only and is just not natural for humans…Please please take note or we will kill off our own race.
Birth control pills, smoking, hard alcohol, diet cokes, diet pills, and electromagnetic radiation causes cancer. Oh, and too many hot dogs. Regular milk helps the body be strong and will help fight against cancer.
Wrong.
Milk keeps most people healthily which can help fight cancer. Cancer attacks unhealthy people. Such people who don’t have enough nutrition from things like milk that provides vitamin D, protein, calcium and important fats. Fresh unpasteurized cows milk would probably keep you alive for a very long time, while water only a couple of weeks if that.
Well, if you do many other things right, drinking milk won´t kill you..but fighting cancer..I very much doubt it!!
So true. How many mammals, horses, cows, cats, dogs and baby other milk drinking infant critters drink it ever again after wiening?
Wolves eat it all and, so do many other carnivores. I don’t think they are going to pick and choose what part to eat or what not to eat of what they just killed. And yes, some the animals have milk in them.
We humans are so obsessed with what that is good for your health and what that isn’t. Compared to many countries in Africa we live like 2 times their life time. People around the world is just getting a longer lifetime. Humans are meant to die. If you want to live a long life keep of the roads, matter of fact travel to a forest without any humans nearby and start hunting animals, and drink water from the river. Like this you will follow almost all the essential health tips.
Everyone just SHUT THE HELL UP and do whatever workds for YOU.
Obviously milk works for some people and it doesnt for others, this is true of a lot of things.
True, depending on your belief it might even help.
Dear Mrs. Goldschmidt,
I disagree with your statements, my grandparents lived on a farm, drunk milk and ate self made cheese on a daily basis, and they had never, whatsoever any signs of osteoporosis.
Further on YOU claim almond milk does not contribute to osteoporosis? Did you forget perhaps about the fact that almonds are VERY high in “phytic acid”! Phytic acid is a substance that heavily reduces absorption of minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, and magnesium, but I’m sure you already knew it.
So my conclusion is that almond and cow’s milk are like a two bladed sword. I’d like to hear your opinion on that particular topic.
I look forward to your reply.
All the best.
Soak your almonds for 7-12 hours or overnight. It will leech out the acid and enzyme inhibitors. A lot of living foods contain such compounds. It’s only a problem if one does not prep the food correctly.
Thank you for your advice, I’m now into the soaking process of grains and nuts :).
Stay fit ;)!
David,thank you for your suggestion on soaking almond to leech out the acid.. it is much appreciated.
Roby, as to your statement above..not everyone who drinks milk has to get osteoporosis, just as not every smoker gets lung cancer..but it doesn´t mean that it is good for your health. Obviously there are some other factors to consider.
Dude your family is overweight guaranteed. That’s unhealthy, sittin around eating cheese and ice cream sounds like they are always sluggish, moping around the house just bound for a heart attack. Almond milk rules. I hate cows and Rupert Murdoch. Watch more documentaries on Netflix and be an activist. Ps. 911 was set up by the bush administration. Watch loose change!!!! Life is too short to be lied to. Science is everything- mahalo
A lot of Scientific studies are worthless. Just because more women who drank milk reguraly broke their bones, doesn’t mean its associated with drinking milk.
I pretty sure those studies didn’t have cameras on the woman 24/7. They don’t know what those women did daily. Some of the ones that broke more bones could have had stiff joints for being inactive. Some of the women who broke less bones, could have stretch so they have more bone flexibilty. And the studies said that the women who broke less bones rarely drunk milk. So actually they still did drink milk. My point is that there is a lot of factors that aren’t consider in those studies and they shouldn’t be consider as facts.
sounds like an arrogant american to me
Wow, do you even know what arrogant means. you only believe in the study because it proves your point. And you disbelieve any studies that says milk is good for you because is disproves you point. You don’t research how the studies where actually done. You just listen to what the scientist tell you and only agree with it,if it proves you point. Most research studies are worthless and the one stated in this article is too.
*it disproves
I totally agree. They cannot go on lifestyles alone.
To your point, you’ve managed to convey your own arrogance while concealing your nationality. Well done.
This is a sarcastic American if it helps you.
Your grammar is a reflection of your intelligence.
Typical when someone cannot argue a point they turn to insulting grammar
Agreed, pointing out someone’s mistakes is not a way to prove your own point. I’m sure you never make spelling errors or gammar mistakes but please make a point than a insult.
Very true indeed.
That is wrong of you to say, just because YOU may have good grammer doesn’t mean you know everything… maybe you should get off you high horse and have an open mind!!
note that bones aren’t supposed to be flexible.
jazzy,
You got that Wrong.
Bones are meant to be flexable, and that is a FACT..
You need to read what is going on with your bones, before you make such a dumb statement
If osteoporosis isn’t the problem, what is it?
In a word: inflexibility. Flexible bones bend; stiff bones break. This holds true even if the flexible bone is thin, even if the stiff bone is thick. Think of a piece of dead pine wood. Though it may be thick, it is brittle and breaks easily. Think of a green pine twig, even a small one is nearly impossible to break. Flexible bones, whether thick or thin, bend rather than break.
Cola also depletes the body of calcium, one could very easily argue those countries where high amounts of cola were consumed also had high levels of osteoporosis/bone loss. These are the very same countries where there are higher levels of pasteurized milk, not raw milk consumed. There are a great deal of very healthy nutrients in raw milk, none of which are being represented in this very one sided article. This is not an evidence-based study, rather an opinion piece very harmful to the general public. Though it throws in a study to make it look credible, it doesn’t show the flaws of that study or who was included excluded as any good study should. This article and associated case study methodologies need a swift debunking!
You don’t need a scientific study to know that humans weren’t meant to drink cow’s milk, or any milk at all past infantry. How unnatural is it to go up to a cow, squeeze her tits and then drink the milk that comes out of her? We just weren’t mean to do it! Cow’s milk is for CALVES, not HUMANS.
“Humans are the only ones that drink cow’s milk”
Human are the only ones that drink almond milk too, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t drink it.
I’m not saying whether or not cows milk is bad, I’m just tried of hearing that argument.
Your not suppose to drink cow’s milk, but you can eat the cow. Doesn’t make sense to me.
eating the cow would be consuming animal protein, so no, if your’e looking to avoid whats in this article don’t eat the cow.
This article made me want milk.
HEY I HEARD FRUIT IS BAD FOR YOU TOO
An article on cow history shows that they have been domestic for more than 8 thousands years in China, Mongolia, Korea, Pakistan, Egypt and other countries proving that people ate the meat, blood and drank the MILK. That doesn’t include what was eaten before it became domestic as I would suppose they were hunted for the same food product. The injecting of hormones in the animal or how the milk was process may take away some of the good. However, I would think the good outweigh the bad. I don’t see any reason not to drink milk since man has been drinking it for thousands of years.
GRAINS are depleting calcium from your body – not milk – do some homework, saveourbones – phytic acid, antinutrients, WGA (in wheat) is destroying the guts of humans as well as sucking the minerals out (phytic acid chemically bonds to many minerals carrying them out of the digestive tract) of the human body over time (and preventing absorption of minerals while eating them). probably the most unhealthy breakfast on the planet is cereal grains/granola with milk – but NOT because of the milk – BECAUSE OF THE GRAINS!
please explain in your theory why the Masai people in Africa grow to impressive height, have almost no cardiovascular disease and have unusally strong bones, teeth and great health on a regular diet of raw milk?
additionally, soy milk is virtually a poison to humans (same reasons as above) with the additional benefits of estrogen mimics that will get your daughters into menses while they are still under 10. Almond milk is even more concentrated source of antinutrients than grains as nuts also have phytic acid and almond “milk” is more almonds that you would eat in 10 sittings!
That’s good ravi. Then you can marry them off early, ain’t it ??
You make an excellent point. Since raw milk is hard to find in “developed” countries, this article is aimed at processed milk, which isn’t the same product at all. A lot of people agree with you about grains. In an ideal world, we would all be eating meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables, and drinking water, and that’s it.
A new documentary called Forks over Knives gives the background history of two prominent medical doctors and their life long clinical study of meat and dairy products on the body. I encourage everyone to watch it and draw their own conclusions. I personally thought their studies and results were astonishing!
Folks, it may be even good to drink blood than milk which is supposed to be for the calves.
The production of ‘natural’ almonds occurs using fungicides, pesticides, and other bad chemicals. So one should only use organic almond milk, as one would organic soy milk.
I read that Soy in every way it’s used, as milk or toffu or even natural or even is they are organic. All soy products are bad specially because it’s enzymes block the performance of the Thyroid gland because of this facts,It is a No for people with irregularities of this gland. I for one used to consume Soy Milk genetic constantly. My intake of Synthroid (artificial Thyroid hormone)was being increased more and more, my scalp used itched until I couldn’t bare it any more! just as my skin and also got dryer and dryer. When I read this facts I stop immediately. My symptoms stop just as soon.
Now my skin and scalp don’t itch as much, I take less Synthroid and I feel that my skin is not so dried anymore.