Today’s Milk
Modern feeding methods substitute high-protein, soy-based feeds for fresh green grass and breeding methods to produce cows with abnormally large pituitary glands so that they produce three times more milk than the old fashioned scrub cow.
These cows need antibiotics to keep them well. The pasteurization destroys many valuable enzymes in the milk that are needed to aid digestion. The human pancreas is not always able to produce these enzymes which will over-stress of the pancreas can lead to diabetes and other diseases.
Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone
Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) is a genetically engineered, potent variant of the natural growth hormone produced by cows. Injection of this hormone forces cows to increase their milk production by about 10%. rBGH makes cows sick. Monsanto has been forced to admit to about 20 toxic effects, including mastitis, on its POSILAC label. rBGH milk is contaminated by abnormally high pus levels, due to the mastitis commonly induced by rBGH, and antibiotics used to treat the mastitis. rBGH milk is chemically and nutritionally different than natural milk.
rBGH milk is contaminated with rBGH, traces of which are absorbed through the gut.
rBGH milk is supercharged with high levels of a natural growth factor (IGF-1), which is readily absorbed through the gut. Excess levels of IGF-1 have been incriminated as a cause of breast, colon, and prostate cancers. IGF-1 blocks natural defense mechanisms against early submicroscopic cancers.
Some researchers and “experts” suggest that IGF-1 from outside sources cannot be absorbed because the digestive enzymes destroy it while it’s in the GI tract. In 1999, the ADA published research demonstrating that people who consumed 3 servings of milk daily had a 10% higher serum IGF-1 level and almost a 10% lower level IGF Binding Protein 4 (IGBP-4) than those drinking less than 1-1/2 servings.
Constipation
A double-blind trial found that chronic constipation among infants and problems associated with it were triggered by intolerance to cows’ milk in two-thirds of the infants studied. Symptoms disappeared in most infants when cows’ milk was removed from their diet. New England Journal of Medicine 1998;339: pp,1100-4
Dairy Induces Immunization to Insulin
Cow’s milk feeding is an environmental trigger of immunity to insulin in infancy that may explain the epidemiological link between the risk of type 1 diabetes and early exposure to cow’s milk formulas. Diabetes, Vol 48, Issue 7 1389-1394.
High intakes of milk, but not meat, increase serum insulin and insulin resistance in 8-year-old boys.
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2005 Mar;59(3):393-8
The possible role of hormones in milk from cows in the development of breast, ovarian and corpus uteri cancers.
The continued increase in incidence of some hormone-related cancers worldwide is of great concern. Although estrogen-like substances in the environment were blamed for this increase, the possible role of estrogens from food has not been widely discussed. Cows’ milk contains a considerable quantity of estrogens. When we name cows’ milk as one of the important routes of human exposure to estrogens, the general response of Western people is that «man has been drinking cows’ milk for around 2000 years without apparent harm.» However, the milk that we are now consuming is quite different from that consumed 100 years ago. Modern dairy cows are usually pregnant and continue to lactate during the latter half of pregnancy, when the concentration of estrogens in blood, and hence in milk, increases. The correlation of incidence and mortality rates with environmental variables in worldwide countries provides useful clues to the etiology of cancer. Among dietary risk factors, we are most concerned with milk and dairy products, because the milk we drink today is produced from pregnant cows, in which estrogen and progesterone levels are markedly elevated. Medical Hypotheses. 2005;65(6):1028-37. Epub 2005 Aug 24
Testicular Germ Cell Cancer
Results of a November 2006 case control study suggest that milk fat and/or galactose (a milk sugar) may explain the association between milk and dairy product consumption and seminomatous testicular cancer. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention Vol. 15, 2189-2195, November 2006
Dairy: Colon Cancer Risk Triples
High childhood total dairy intake was associated with a near-tripling in the odds of colorectal cancer in adulthood. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 86, No. 6, 1722-1729, December 2007
Ovarian Cancer
Women who consume dairy products on a regular basis, have triple the risk of ovarian cancer than other women. The Lancet 1989; 2
In an evaluation of 80,326 women; women who consumed 1+ servings of dairy per day had a 44% greater risk for all types of invasive ovarian cancer compared with those who ate the lowest amount (3 or fewer servings monthly). American Journal of Epidemiology, 1999;150
Lymphoma
In Norway, 1422 individuals were followed for 11 ½ years. Those drinking 2 or more glasses of milk per day had 3.5 times the incidence of cancer of the lymphatic organs. British Med. Journal 61:456-9, March 1990.
Prostate Cancer
«At least 16 research studies now link milk consumption to prostate cancer, and milk fat is also linked to heart disease,» – Neal D. Barnard, M.D. High consumption of dairy products was associated with a 50% increased risk of prostate cancer. Cancer Causes Control 1998 Dec;9(6):559-66
Dairy Increases Risk of Squamous Cell Carcinoma in those with History of Skin Cancer
International Journal of Cancer. 2006 Oct 15;119(8):1953-60
Dairy product consumption was positively associated with risk of Parkinson’s disease
American Journal of Epidemiology 2007 165(9):998-1006
We believe this is pretty convincing evidence that one should seriously consider eliminating dairy from their diet. Of course, you’re probably wondering, “What about my calcium?”. Don’t worry! We’ll answer that question next month.
