Is Milk Fit for Human Consumption?
Humans have created several products from milk. Condensed milk, cream, butter, buttermilk, yogurt, curds, cheese, and whey are all created from milk. Are humans meant to consume these dairy products? Let's ask some questions.
Are you a baby?
If you answered yes, are you a baby cow?
If you answered yes, then yes, milk is for you.
If you answered no, are you a baby human?
If you answered yes, then yes, milk is for you. Human milk, that is. Human milk "contains a unique combination of ingredients, differing from the milks of other mammals in both the concentration and the nature of its many components" that is specifically formulated for human babies (1). Cow milk is uniquely formulated for calves, designed to turn the calf into a 1,500 pound adult cow. Likewise, goat milk for kids (the term for baby goats), dog milk for puppies, cat milk for kittens, and so on throughout the wide world of mammals.
If you answered no to the question asking if you are a baby human, then no, milk is not for you. Consuming milk after the first few years of life makes no biological sense and consuming milk of another species makes even less biological sense. In western cultures, women are shamed for breastfeeding a child over 2 years of age, yet ironically, the majority of people in western cultures consume a cow's breastmilk their entire lives. Harvard University created the Healthy Eating Plate, which excludes dairy, to counter the USDA's MyPlate because it "doesn't offer the most complete picture when it comes to basic nutrition advice. The Healthy Eating Plate is based exclusively on the best available science and was not subjected to political or commercial pressures from food industry lobbyists (3)." See the link below to view a picture and fuller explanation of Harvard's Healthy Eating Plate. The American Journal of Clinical nutrition states that "Osteoporotic bone fracture rates are highest in countries that consume the most dairy" and that "most studies of fracture risk provide little or no evidence that milk or other dairy products benefit bone (4)." They go on to say that "milk is not necessary for humans after weaning and the nutrients it contains are readily available" in plant foods.
Lactose intolerance is common across the world and I'd be willing to bet that even if you aren't lactose intolerant you would benefit from limiting or altogether avoiding dairy products. In my experience, I've had many people who often deal with allergies and sinus issues tell me that those issues largely vanished after giving up dairy. I am one of those people. I grew up drinking milk at almost every meal and eating lots of cheese. My sinuses were so clogged that I could not really breathe through my nose, suffered through many an ear infection, and often had allergy attacks where I would sneeze on and off for an entire day. It was miserable! I realized one day, a few months after quitting all dairy, that I was breathing through my nose. For the first time in my life, at the age of 28, I was fully breathing through my nose. I was no longer a mouth breather! I did some experiments by trying certain dairy products and I noticed eating them led to an excess of mucus. After a few of these experiments I decided to leave dairy behind and never looked back. To this day I do not regret my decision.
I NEVER shame anyone for their dietary choices but I do recommend experimenting with dairy. If you really want to see how it affects you you have to avoid it for a period of time and reintroduce it. A day or two isn't enough time. Nor is a week but it's better than nothing. Try going a week, or better yet a full month, without consuming ANY dairy product and then drink some milk or eat some cheese and note how you feel after.
I feel if you're going to fully give up one type of food it's better to give up dairy than meat.
1) http://archive.unu.edu/unupress/food/8F174e/8F174E04.htm
2) http://www.nutritionmd.org/nutrition_tips/nutrition_tips_infant_nutrition/breastfeeding_milks.html
3) http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate-vs-usda-myplate/
4) http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/89/5/1638S.full
Are you a baby?
If you answered yes, are you a baby cow?
If you answered yes, then yes, milk is for you.
If you answered no, are you a baby human?
If you answered yes, then yes, milk is for you. Human milk, that is. Human milk "contains a unique combination of ingredients, differing from the milks of other mammals in both the concentration and the nature of its many components" that is specifically formulated for human babies (1). Cow milk is uniquely formulated for calves, designed to turn the calf into a 1,500 pound adult cow. Likewise, goat milk for kids (the term for baby goats), dog milk for puppies, cat milk for kittens, and so on throughout the wide world of mammals.
If you answered no to the question asking if you are a baby human, then no, milk is not for you. Consuming milk after the first few years of life makes no biological sense and consuming milk of another species makes even less biological sense. In western cultures, women are shamed for breastfeeding a child over 2 years of age, yet ironically, the majority of people in western cultures consume a cow's breastmilk their entire lives. Harvard University created the Healthy Eating Plate, which excludes dairy, to counter the USDA's MyPlate because it "doesn't offer the most complete picture when it comes to basic nutrition advice. The Healthy Eating Plate is based exclusively on the best available science and was not subjected to political or commercial pressures from food industry lobbyists (3)." See the link below to view a picture and fuller explanation of Harvard's Healthy Eating Plate. The American Journal of Clinical nutrition states that "Osteoporotic bone fracture rates are highest in countries that consume the most dairy" and that "most studies of fracture risk provide little or no evidence that milk or other dairy products benefit bone (4)." They go on to say that "milk is not necessary for humans after weaning and the nutrients it contains are readily available" in plant foods.
Lactose intolerance is common across the world and I'd be willing to bet that even if you aren't lactose intolerant you would benefit from limiting or altogether avoiding dairy products. In my experience, I've had many people who often deal with allergies and sinus issues tell me that those issues largely vanished after giving up dairy. I am one of those people. I grew up drinking milk at almost every meal and eating lots of cheese. My sinuses were so clogged that I could not really breathe through my nose, suffered through many an ear infection, and often had allergy attacks where I would sneeze on and off for an entire day. It was miserable! I realized one day, a few months after quitting all dairy, that I was breathing through my nose. For the first time in my life, at the age of 28, I was fully breathing through my nose. I was no longer a mouth breather! I did some experiments by trying certain dairy products and I noticed eating them led to an excess of mucus. After a few of these experiments I decided to leave dairy behind and never looked back. To this day I do not regret my decision.
I NEVER shame anyone for their dietary choices but I do recommend experimenting with dairy. If you really want to see how it affects you you have to avoid it for a period of time and reintroduce it. A day or two isn't enough time. Nor is a week but it's better than nothing. Try going a week, or better yet a full month, without consuming ANY dairy product and then drink some milk or eat some cheese and note how you feel after.
I feel if you're going to fully give up one type of food it's better to give up dairy than meat.
1) http://archive.unu.edu/unupress/food/8F174e/8F174E04.htm
2) http://www.nutritionmd.org/nutrition_tips/nutrition_tips_infant_nutrition/breastfeeding_milks.html
3) http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate-vs-usda-myplate/
4) http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/89/5/1638S.full
