MILK IS
HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH
MILK CAUSES DISEASE
As far back as 1931, diseases from cattle, transmitted to men through milk, were receiving a prominent position in medical literature. Such diseases include cancer, skin lesions, musculoskeletal abnormalities, pulmonary obstruction, immunological disorders and liver function abnormalities(1).
Government regulation states that milk, after pasteurization, should contain no more than 20,000 bacteria per milliliter of milk, and no more than ten organisms of the coliform species in each milliliter. For those who are unfamiliar with the milliliter as a measurement, there are 5 milliliters in a teaspoon. However, most milk samples tested today have an average bacterial count in excess of 130,000 per milliliter instead of 20,000.
A highly respected British medical journal The Lancet , published an editorial review entitled "Beware of the Cow". The editorial went on to describe the report of an experiment in which unpasteurized cow's milk from cows infected with bovine C-type virus (believed to cause a form of leukemia in cattle), was fed to baby chimpanzees. 33% of the infant chimpanzees developed leukemia and died. Leukemia had never before been observed in chimpanzees, and most infections that can be transmitted to chimpanzees can also be transmitted to humans. Dr. Henry Lemon, of the University of Nebraska Cancer Research Institute, also sees a link between human leukemia and cattle leukemia.
Multiple sclerosis is another disease that two scientists, Drs. Bernard Agranoff and David Goldberg from the University of Michigan, believes is linked to milk drinking. Their study involved 26,000 persons with multiple sclerosis in the United States, and also involved a study of twenty-one other nations (2).
For a number of decades, heart and artery disease, caused by an increase of cholesterol and other blood fats, have been recognized as being associated with milk. Did you know that 50% of the calories in a glass of whole milk comes from the fat? The "3.5 percent" is figured on the basis of weight, not calories.
Since milk is largely water, the fat to water ratio is quite low, but the fat to calories ratio is high. Pure vegetarians have significantly lower serum cholesterol levels than either lacto-vegetarians or non-vegetarians (3).
The drinking of large quantities of cow's milk has long been recognized to produce iron-deficiency anemia in infants. Cow's milk contains less than one milligram of iron per quart, so it produces very little dietary iron, and at the same time produces iron loss by inducing gastrointestinal bleeding.
Milk allergies are not confined to childhood or infancy, but are frequently seen in adults. The commonest type of food allergy in the United States today is milk allergy. In adults we see nasal congestion, hay fever, asthma, middle ear afflictions, headaches, dizziness, seizures, fatigue, tension, constipation, diarrhea, gas, vomiting blood, loss of appetite, colitis, swelling, skin allergies, etc.. Milk allergies do not always appear immediately after drinking milk or eating food containing dairy products. This particular characteristic of milk allergy protects it from being suspected (4).
In a study by Alvarez and Hinshaw (Mayo Clinic), of foods that gave distress to 500 patients, milk ranked second on the list. In 500 other patients who had severe reactions to foods such as vomiting, diarrhea, or severe pain where the cause was not obvious, cow's milk was discovered to be the chief offender. With those who have ulcerative colitis, milk is number one on the list of foods which may cause this disease (5).
MILK CAUSES MUCUS
Dairy products cause the formation of mucus in the system. The mucous membranes become coated and forces everything to transpire in a very sluggish fashion causing many problems, such as weight gain, and symptoms of running nose, sore throat, sinus problems, coughing up large amounts of phlegm, etc.
The enzymes necessary to break down and digest milk are rennin and lactose. They are all but gone by the age of three in most humans. There is an element in all milk known as casein. Cow's milk contains 300 times more casein than human milk. The large amounts of casein is necessary for the development of the cow's huge bones. Casein coagulates in the stomach and forms large, tough, dense, difficult-to-digest curds that are adapted to the four-stomach digestive apparatus of a cow. This is far different from the human digestive system. Once inside the human body, this thick mass of casein puts a big burden on the body's alimentary system. Casein is the base of one of the strongest glues used in wood-working.
VITAMIN D AND MILK
Adding Vitamin D to milk is not wise. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than 400 units of Vitamin D from all sources be consumed daily. Milk and many of our processed foods have been fortified with Vitamin D causing the average American to get 2500 units of Vitamin D daily. VITAMIN D ADDED TO COMMERCIAL MILK IN TOO GREAT A QUANTITY CAUSES LOSS OF MAGNESIUM FROM THE HEART MUSCLE, WHICH IN TURN, CAUSES THE HEART TO FLUTTER. Hardening of bones, renal calcification, and severe mental retardation in offspring have all been reported from a high Vitamin D intake(6). Research has proven that when we take the recommended daily allowance (400 units) of Vitamin D, we start getting hardening of the arteries, abnormal deposits in our tissues and joints, causing arthritis. Vitamin D is a powerful hormone that God did not intend for us to get in large amounts. By drinking a pint of unenriched milk and eating 3 tablespoons of butter and an egg, one would receive only 65 of the 400 units of Vitamin D that is recommended daily. BECAUSE OF THE SCARCITY OF VITAMIN D IN FOOD, IT APPEARS THAT NATURE INTENDED THAT MEN SHOULD GENERATE MOST OF HIS VITAMIN D FROM EXPOSURE TO SUNLIGHT AND NOT FROM FOODS FORTIFIED WITH VITAMIN D.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO MY TEETH AND BONES IF I STOP DRINKING
MILK?
Most Americans know that milk is rich in calcium, and that you need lots of calcium to have strong bones and teeth. They know these facts because the dairy industry has told them so. But what about the calcium that my body needs? Isn't milk high in calcium? We're led to believe that milk is a major source of dietary calcium, and that if we don't drink milk we will have problems with our teeth and bones. The fact is that calcium in cow's milk is much coarser than in human milk, and is tied up with the casein. This prevents the calcium from being absorbed (7). A group from the World Health Organization has concluded that there is no convincing evidence that calcium intakes of less than 300 milligrams a day are harmful to one's health(8). The average American gets 807 milligrams of calcium a day from drinking milk; the average Spaniard gets 308 milligrams daily; the Brazilian gets 250 milligrams; the Taiwanese gets 13 milligrams. These non-American people are neither toothless nor lying around immobilized because of repeated bone fractures. Their low consumption of milk has created no apparent calcium deficiency.
DRUGS IN MILK
A few years ago Food and Drug Administration officials said they were alarmed when they found residues of sulfamethazine, a cancer causing animal drug, in milk. A March, 1988 PDA survey of milk purchased in groceries in ten cities found that 73% of the samples contained residues of sulfamethazine. Sulfamethazine is a widely used sulfa-drug that farmers can get over the counter in feed stores. Although it is approved for swine, beef cattle, chickens, sheep, and turkeys, the drug cannot be legally given to dairy cows that are being milked. However, since its sale is not closely policed, farmers or anyone else can buy it and use it however they please. Giving the drug to a single cow results in contamination of the pooled milk of 70,000 cows says the PDA.
Female sex hormones and other hormone substances are often administered to cattle. In cows, the volume of milk produced is increased by 30% (with a corresponding increase in milk solids) by giving thyroxin or thyroglobulin. Also each year, in this country, antibiotics worth mil ions of dollars are added to animal feeds to increase milk yield. These antibiotics and hormones used in the feed turn up in both the meat and the milk from these animals, and causes many health problems for those who consume the meat and milk products.
COW'S MILK VERSUS MOTHERS MILK
In virtually every mammal that has been studied to date, the exclusive milk drinking is practiced until the animal has approximately tripled its birth weight. This may be as long as three years for an elephant, or as short as three weeks for a guinea pig. If humans were to follow this rule of nature, exclusive breast feeding would have to continue until about one year of age.
If cow's milk (which God intended for baby cows) is eliminated from the diet, what are the alternatives? For the newborn infant, there are two obvious alternatives - the right and left breasts of the healthy mother. Breast milk, and most particularly, colostrum, the milk secreted by the human breast during the first days after the birth of an infant, is rich in substances that confer immunity on the baby. Breast milk is also rich in antibodies. But what about the mother who cannot breast feed her infant? What about the older child or adult? What are they to drink if they don't drink cow's milk? Two good milk substitutes are almond milk and soy milk with no preservatives, sugars, or synthetic vitamins or minerals, etc. added. See accompanying chart for milk comparisons.
MILK COMPARISON CHART
To make one cup of almond milk, blend 1/8 cup almonds that have been soaked over night with distilled water, and add a pinch of salt, 1/8 tsp. vanilla, and honey (optional) to taste.
The Federal Trade Commission in April, 1974, issued a "proposed complaint" against the California Milk Producers Advisory Board and their advertising agency. In this complaint they cited the slogan "Everybody Needs Milk" as representing false, misleading, and deceptive advertising. The FTC judged that enthusiastic testimonials by celebrities conveyed an inaccurate picture of the value of milk as a food. Quickly the dairymen changed their approach and came up with a new slogan: "Milk Has Something For Everybody". This is certainly technically correct. The question you must ask yourself before you drink that next glass of milk, however, is: "Do I really want that something"?
(1) "Some Diseases of Cattle Transmitted to Man Through Milk," Jouirnal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 7B:500-505, 1931.
(2) Oski, Frank M>D>: Don't Drink Your Milk, Mollica Press, LTD, Syracuse, pg. 73-75, 1983.
(3) "Spontaneously Occurring Angiotoxic Derivatives of Chloresterol", American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 32:40-47, 1979.
(4) "Cow's Milk Allergy:A Critical Review", Journal of Family Practice, 9(2) 223-232, 1979.
(5) "Treating the Patient Who Has Chronic Ulcerative Colitis", Modern Medicine 44(3) 66-71, Feb. 1, 1975.
(6) Krause, Marie: Food, Nutrition, and Diet Therapy, Philadelphia, W>B> Saunders, 1972, pg. 127.
(7) Herbert M. SDhelton, Ph.D: The Hygienic Care of Children, Bridgeport, Connecticut, Natural Hygienic Press, 1970.
(8) Oski, Frank M>D., Don't Drink Your Milk, Mollica Press, Syracuse, Pg. 61, 1983.