Should you DRINK YOUR MILK????
Drink your milk! How many times have mothers told children this? Millions? Billions? Milk is ingrained into our brains as the healthiest food on the planet. Indian's worship cows. Cow's milk is considered nectar. Maneka Gandhi, at one time India's minister for the environment said that "Milk is like cow's blood". What an uproar it raised! You can talk against meat, against processed food, against GM food, everybody will listen. But just try saying one word against milk and you will raise the hackles of the world. But what is the truth?
Milk Sugar is indigestible
The enzyme required to digest milk sugar, lactose, is called lactase. It disappears from the human intestine at the age of three!. After this, milk is virtually indigestible. No wonder kids don't like it! Their taste buds rebel because it is indigestible. But what do we do? We ignore the warning signs. Disguise the taste of milk with sugar, Horlicks, Bournvita, chocolate - to fool the body.
So people drink it. Then what happens? When the milk comes into contact with the acidic gastric juice after it is swallowed, it immediately forms thick, hard to digest curds that coat the stomach and intestines and hampers digestion. Estimates say that 50-50% of the world's adult population is lactose intolerant.
Milk protein is indigestible
The enzyme required to digest milk protein, casein, is called rennin. It too disappears from the human intestine at the age of three. Casein is used to make some of the strongest wood-working glues. Think about what it can do to your insides.
Milk is species-specific
Cow's milk is meant for calves. Goat's milk for goats. Human milk for babies. The various antibodies in the milk protect the young ones from diseases specific to the species.
Cow's milk is meant to turn a small calf into a huge cow in a short span of a couple of years. A human baby does not put on so much weight in two years. But it will if fed with cow's milk!
No animal drinks milk after it is weaned
Except for Man!
Milk is no longer recommended for infants below the age of one even by the American Association of Pediatricians!
The Physician's Committee for Responsible medicine denounces the use of milk. They say (backed up by evidence) that it is the cause of many diseases
What about the cruelty to cows? They are made forcibly pregnant every year to make them produce milk. They are kept awake and milked at night so you can get your milk in the morning. They are fed banned drugs (oxytocin) to increase milk production. They are usually kept cramped up in unhygienic conditions, so they fall ill and get infected. To prevent this, they are fed huge amounts of anti-biotics - which find their way into the milk.
And spare a thought for the poor calves, who are deprived of their mother's milk so you can have it?
But what about calcium?
A gastric medium is required to digest the cow's milk since it is high in protein. So the body secretes extra gastric juice, leading to an acidic environment. The body then WITHDRAWS calcium from the bones to neutralise the acid. Excessive milk consumption can then actually cause calcium deficiency and osteoporosis!
Where does one get the calcium from, then? Nuts, seeds, green leafy vegetables have an abundance of calcium. And sesame seeds (til seeds) are the richest source of calcium in the planet. And anyway, when you stop eating animal products, the body no longer needs to withdraw calcium from the bones to neutralise the acidic environment created by meat-eating. Therefore your calcium needs fall and even a lower amount you eat is adequate.
One caution – smoking, alcohol and a high protein diet are calcium thieves. They deplete the body’s calcium. If you give up these things, you need a lot less calcium. Also, sunlight is required by the body to create Vitamin D, that is required for calcium absorption. So get enough sunlight or take a supplement!
Still not convinced? There's lots more information.
The information available in these sites could fill a book. I do not want to duplicate information, so just go there if you like!
Milk substitutes
Almond milk and coconut milk are excellent substitutes for cow's milk - and healthy too. How do you make it? Take half a cup of almonds and blanch them in boiling water for 30 seconds to be able to pop the skins off. Now take the almonds and grind them to a powder in a blender. Add one cup of chilled water and blend until it gets a smooth milky consistency. Strain and bottle. Keeps in the refrigerator for up to a week. And it can be used in any way that milk can. Use grated coconut for similar results.
What about yoghurt/cheese/buttermilk
These items are milk partially digested by bacteria, so it is not as harmful as milk. However, it is still not good for you. Occasionally, you can add 2-3 spoonfuls to your salad, since it is a natural source of Vitamin B12
Butter/Ghee
Is milk fat. So is not as bad as milk itself. Very small quantities can be used occasionally
And what about the ancients? They drank milk by the bucketful if legends are to be believed. Perhaps they did, but it was fresh, raw, unboiled, unpasteurised milk, from their cow which was well-treated like a member of the family, not drugged with antibiotics, allowed to graze on the fields and not cooped up. The milk available after the calf had its fill was used. Under those circumstances, milk would probably be a better choice than it is today.
Q. If I don't drink milk, where am I going to get my calcium from?
A. Contrary to popular advertising beliefs, milk and dairy is not the best way to get calcium. Although milk is rich in calcium, it's also high in animal protein and prevents your body from actually absorbing the calcium. Roughly 25% of the calcium in milk and dairy is absorbed by the human body, vs 50% from vegetables. Here are some examples of superior calcium sources compared to milk:
100 g of any of these foods contain calcium
Milk: 119mg
Almonds 233mg.
Black beans 135mg
Quinoa 141mg.
THE MILK FROM THE COW IS NOT FOOD FOR THE HUMAN BEING. It is food for baby cows. Only human breast milk is good for infants.
Ever wonder where the cow gets its calcium from? How about a horse? I want you to visualize in your mind a beautiful horse, with its massive body of muscles and strong bones and let's not forget about its great teeth. The horse does not run over to the barn in the middle of the night, wrestle the cow to the ground, flip it over and drink the cow's milk. So where does the horse get its calcium? The horse eats grasses, grains and vegetables - that's it. If they can manage, so can you!