In my opinion, as the is the opinion of many others in the holistic nutrition field, is that milk and dairy products aren’t naturally bad for you. However, through some questionable practices by modern industrialized agriculture we have managed to make it very bad for us.

There are actually many studies that show the consumption of dairy products can lead to a lower body weight and body fat percentage. Dairy is also a great source of calcium and protein. There can also be lots of beneficial bacteria in milk that keeps your stomach and digestive systems functioning properly.

Unfortunately through the homogenization and pasteurization process all of the healthy nutritional aspects of milk are virtually killed, taking a healthy food to a potentially harmful food.

If you are able to find a source of raw milk from a local producer you would actually benefit from drinking milk. By getting raw milk you are avoiding the homogenization and pasteurization process. Some may be concerned about the potential health affects of drinking raw milk, but through research you should find that there are few actual incidences of illness caused by raw milk. The health scare around raw milk is just another ploy by big business to get us to consume their products.

How is it that every mammal on the face of the earth consumes milk at birth? My opinion is that mother nature wouldn’t have us consume something that was bad for us. I believe that milk can be extremely good for us. The people who claim to be lactose intolerant may be surprised to potentially find that they aren’t necessarily lactose intolerant, but intolerant to processed milk, which elimates all of the good bacteria that allows for proper digestion.

As with everything I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss or accept beliefs and ideas. Do a little research to try to find the whole story. Just a little advice.

Hi jason,

From a biological point of view, I agree that mammals are made to consume milk at infancy. However, no full-grown mammal suckles. It is an unnatural thing. Also, no mammal suckles from the mother of a different species. It doesn’t make it unhealthy, just unnatural. given how imperfect science is, even in this modern age, I am willing to go out on a limb that something this un-natural is worthy of skepticism.

Also, my sister is a naturopath (www.drpadma.com) and has talked to me about the whole raw milk thing. She even got me to buy unpasteurized milk in the glass jars from a local farm :) . I agree that consuming this type of unprocessed dairy is MUCH BETTER for you.

However, I don’t know anyone who draws the hard line that “I will eat dairy…but only unpasteurized, un homogenized dairy that was milked from the cow less than 24 hours ago.” Modern society makes following this strict rule virtually impossible. Even if it was a healthy thing to consume, it is impractical.

However, I still am not convinced that the health benefits outweight the cons. Even raw dairy still has lactose, and 7/10 American are lactose intolerant to some degree. There is also the calorie arguement, hormonal impact, etc.

I’ve read research going both directions on this whole topic. What makes an anti-diary stance hard for me is the fact that dairy is such an important part of my culture. From religious rights, to cooking….in Indian culture, the cow is sacred, as is milk. It is considered an blessing/offerring to consume it. It was this fact that made me stop being Vegan 2 years ago and start consuming dairy again (I was Vegan for a couple years). I’ve slowly cut dairy out of my diet again. We’ll see how it goes this time around.

However, the overwhleming research on deterimental effects of dairy, and my own moral grounds prove to me, without a doubt, that dairy is determental to well-being. By well-being (for me) I also include the moral/ethical implications of drinking milk. For me, this is paramount to any health benefits. I am willing to forgo the benefit if I can live a healthy life AND not hurt the animals.

I urge my friends to educate themselves and make an informed decision. As you said, there is a lot of information and research out there…..we owe it to ourselved to get the whole story! This includes the harmful effects, which are poorly understood by the general public.

Thanks for your comment!

I’ll go dairy free for 30 days…. as soon as I finish my peppermint mocha ;)

For what it’s worth..I know of examples of mammals suckling from a different species of mammal. There was an example at a zoo where a mother tiger lost her cubs and fell into deep depression. Their solution ended up being bringing in 6 little piglets dressed in tiger striped cloth. Needless to say…momma (Tiger) and babies (Piggies) are living in harmony.

I don’t quite get what the problem is with it being “un-natural”?
Humans are the only animal that wears cloths, does that mean we should all run around nude because cloths are “un-natural”?
No other species uses technology to the degree we do, should we abandon all technology because its “un-natural”?

Think about it, what exactly is “un-natural “, the fact most humans do drink milk from cows, means it is “natural” for us, as is wearing cloths and using technology.
So because its “un-natural” for a cow to use the internet, it doesn’t mean its not normal for a human to partake in that behaviour.
Just my thoughts on this part of the debate.

Hi Bag, by un-natural I am referring to biological terms. Biological evolution occurs at a slow rate. We, as a species, have domesticated animals starting from 10-15,000 years ago. On an evolutionary scale, I don’t see how our biology could have adapted to favor such radical change.

Similarly, I think technology is creating it’s own challenges in terms of Humans ability to cope with information. I wrote another post about “The Dangers of Multi-Tasking” that touches on this point. I am not saying technology is bad, just that we all need to cognizant of how its abuse could impact our lives, and more specifically, our mental and emotional well-being.

Thanks for your comment.

Here’s link. This story is a little more objective than what I read on a different site….but hey…its got pictures!

http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/tigerpig.asp

I quit dairy long ago and am very happy without it. What I like the most about going vegan is the lack of bad feeling. Can’t quantify it or put it in a study really; I just feel better than I ever did. The lightness of thought, clarity of conscience, feels really good. Thanks.

With regard to Bag’s latest comment evolution does have a huge impact on the way our bodies are able to process food. There are many food allergies, or auto immune responses to certain kinds of foods. Celiac disease and people who are lactose intolerant just to name two. Evolution is the only process by which our bodies learn to adapt to our environments.

Wy do you think that there has been an increase in heart disease, cancer, diabetes, among all of the other lifestyle diseases. If you do a little research you would be surprised to find that the majority of these diseases are caused by poor and inadequate nutrition, mainly processed foods.

Our bodies are not capable of processing the majority of the crap we stuff in our faces, which is reflected in the poor health of the world’s population. As more and more people adopt the traditional Western diet more diseases will continue to arise. I suggest looking into the book “The Metabolic Typing Diet” by William Wolcott which examines some of these evolutionary ideas.

Hey Alisa, congrats on getting your book out!

I will definitely be checking it out.

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