For years we have been told milk and dairy products are part of a healthy diet and supply us with the essential protein and calcium needed to grow a healthy body, especially strong bones. Let’s check the facts and start with cow’s milk being a great food to grow a baby cow (calf) into a healthy cow.
Calves stop having cow’s milk within 6-8 months and by that time, they weight up to 300kg. The milk of a cow is therefore specific to the requirements to their species = meaning the calf will grow and absorb the specific growth hormones in the cow’s milk which bulk it up so that it puts on up to 30kg per month in its first 8 months of life. After that, the calf does not consume milk anymore – similar to all other mammals in this world! Fully grown cows from the age of 2 years weigh between 500-1000kg. Just to state the obvious, humans are not cows and we are not designed to grow to that size overall or put on that much weight and not in that short time. I should also add cows have four stomachs while we just have one which again is another factor why we cannot easily digest the specific milk of another animal. Interestingly, the countries with the highest dairy consumption are also the countries with the highest osteoporosis rates, and countries with low or no dairy consumption have the lowest osteoporosis rates.
More things to consider:
- The human intestines can only digest less than 5% of the calcium in cow’s milk.
- More than 80% of humans have digestive systems that are incompatible with/intolerant to lactose in cow’s milk.
- Humans don’t have the enzymes to split and digest lactose (milk sugar) which can lead to many problems like allergies, skin conditions, diarrhoea and other digestive issues.
- Cow’s milk is a specific growing food for calves but by no means for humans.
- It doesn’t make sense that we are the only mammal drinking another mammal’s milk even after we are grown up.
- “Poor absorption of lactose may more than double the risk of ovarian cancer in Women” – American Journal of Epidemiology
- Cow’s milk contains a very powerful growth hormone, an insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and this hormone has been identified as a key factor in tumour and cancer growth.
- Our Lymphatic System is put under immense stress when consuming dairy.
- The darker the skin, hair and eye colour somebody has, the more problems their body has with dairy.
- The Asians, Africans, Turkish, Aborigines, Indians, Greeks, South Americans and Pacific Islanders people are therefore all possibly Lactose/Dairy Intolerant.
- Weirdly, if humans were meant to drink milk their whole life, women would produce breastmilk their entire lives as breastmilk is our species-specific milk, providing the essential nutrients for a baby’s growth. Breastfeeding in general is only practised for up to 2 years.
- Some European countries replaced school milk with school fruit as early as 2001.
Foods with calcium and other nutrients that support us with stronger bones are seeds like flaxseed and amaranth, beans and lentils, kale, broccoli, spinach, asian greens, mustard greens, rhubarb, edamame beans and tofu, unsweetened soy milk, unsweetened almond/rice/pea protein milk, sweet potatoes, okra, nuts and pumpkin.
Or in other words if you would like to look like this:
You need to eat this:
Milk, Cheese, Butter, Yoghurt, Ice cream, Whipped cream, Protein Powder, Formula, Chocolate, Health and Protein Bars
