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BLOG: Milk is dangerous for your health
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Read more from Jeffrey Anshel, OD, FAAO.
Our current government guidelines recommend drinking three glasses of milk a day for every American older than 5. For kids younger than 5, Uncle Sam recommends chugging two glasses a day. But is milk a health food? Should we really be eating dairy? Is there any real science behind this, or is this just the result of the powerful National Dairy Council lobby?
Got proof?
A recent study showed a lack of evidence for the government’s recommendations (Ludwig et al.). Harvard scientists found no data to support the claim that the consumption of dairy leads to better bones, weight loss or improved health. They also found some serious risks tied to dairy consumption, including weight gain, increased cancer risk and increased fracture risk. It turns out milk does not build strong bones. They also found that dairy may cause other problems such as constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, bloating, gas, diarrhea, allergies, eczema and acne.
So, is milk nature’s perfect food? Yes … if you’re a calf.
Dairy should not be a dietary staple. While it is true that some people can tolerate dairy in small amounts — for example, descendants from Northern Europe and people who don’t have allergies, lactose intolerance or a leaky gut — it should not be a staple of our diet. We should not be putting it on or in everything.
Dairy contains some very allergenic proteins, such as casein, which can be problematic for many people. And to make matters worse, the casein that’s in our modern dairy — sourced from modern, hybridized cows — has been genetically altered, creating a much higher likelihood of inflammation, autoimmune disease and even type 1 diabetes. With this in mind, I strongly recommend that patients limit the amount of cow-sourced dairy they consume.
If they want to eat dairy, I suggest trying goat and sheep dairy, such as sheep cheese and yogurt or goat cheese and yogurt, both of which are widely available now. It is also important to choose organic when possible because pesticides and chemicals are concentrated in the fat found in nonorganic dairy.
This leads to another frequent question: “Is organic dairy OK?” Organic cows are often milked while pregnant, producing milk that’s full of hormones. In fact, the average glass of milk has 60 different hormones in it. These are anabolic hormones, which means they help you grow. But not all growth is good. You don’t want to grow cancer cells. You don’t want to grow big bellies. You don’t want to grow in ways that actually may be harmful.
What to do about dairy?
Take a dairy holiday for 2 to 4 weeks, and see how you feel. Does your postnasal drip go away and do your sinuses clear up? Does your acne go away? Do you stop having bloating, gas and diarrhea? Do you have more energy? Does your eczema clear up? Do your allergies get better? These are some very simple things you should notice when you eliminate dairy. Then try eating dairy again, and see how you feel. Do these symptoms return?
Stick with sheep or goat dairy if you do decide to eat dairy again, but try to avoid cow dairy.
The bottom line is: I don’t agree with the government’s recommendations regarding dairy consumption, and neither do some of the top scientists in the world. Dairy should not be a dietary staple, and you should certainly not have three glasses of milk every day. Don’t listen to Uncle Sam on this one – listen to your body and to the science. You’ll know what’s best.
Reference:
Ludwig et al. JAMA Pediatr. 2013;167(9):788-789. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.2408.