Roots of Healthy Living

This particular blog has been a challenge for me to write. Why? Because talking about milk, cheese, ice cream, ...it's like I'm insulting a member of the family. It's probably only second to taking on chocolate! It is important information to share but at the same time can be difficult to hear. So I ask you for three things. First, hear me out. Keep your mind open to what you will read, and remember, that knowledge is power. Second, change is difficult. Even in my family we are not perfect at eliminating dairy. Start small and focus on things that you can eat that you love...not things you love that you are trying to avoid. Somehow the pull gets stronger whereever you choose to place your energy. Three, don't take my word for it. At the bottom of article, I will leave some recommended websites and books with more information. My challenge is to do your homework and find out if there is merit to what I'm sharing.

Now...on to the blog.

Why do we avoid dairy in my house?

Reason Number One: One of the greatest studies ever done on the link between diet and disease is called, "The China Study". Unlike America where we pretty much all eat the same, over in China two bordering towns will have a completely different diets. In tracking the relationship between cancer and diet, over and over the relationships were unmistakable. Cancer rates went up in proportion to the amount of animal products consummed in those particular villages. Where little to no animal products where consummed, cancer rates were almost non-existant.

Reason Number Two: Milk is nature's hormone delivery system. Think about it. Babies need hormones to grow and hormones are meant to be delivered through milk. We are choosing to drink hormones meant to help a baby calf grow. No wonder obesity is on the rise. Now, think about all the growth hormones added to milk these days and how many of those hormones are being delivered to us and our children. Back in the mid 1840's the average age a girl started her period was 17. Now it is 12. Hormone related cancers have skyrocketed in the last 50 years, including breast cancer and testicular cancers. A dairy cow used to produce a quart of milk a day. Now, it produces several times that amount.

Reason Number Three: The calcium myth is just a myth. It was the Dairy Farmers back in the 50's that got together and created the Four Food Groups so we would buy more milk. It was profit driven, pure and simple.

Fact: American women drink 30 times as much cow's milk as do the women of New Guinea yet we suffer forty-seven times more broken hips. Why? It's something called a Negative Calcium Balance.

Dr. Joel Fuhrman in his book Eat to Live said, "Animal protein ingestion results in a heavy acid load in the blood. This sets off a series of reactions whereby calcium is released from the bones to help neutralize the acid. The sulfur based amino acids in animal products contribute significantly to urinary acid production and the resulting calcium loss."

In other words, we can actually lose more calcium that we get from eating dairy products. There are several other diet factors that also cause this calcium loss that compound the problem. These can include salt, caffeine, refined sugar, alcohol, nicotine, antibiotics, steroids, and thyroid hormones. (I will do separate article on good places to get calcium so watch for it.) If our diet contained a great source of fresh fruits and vegetables, high in calcium, we might be able to slow down the calcium bone loss while still eating small amounts of meat and dairy, but unfortunately are entire diet stems around not only those animal products, but refined foods, drugs and stimulants.

Reason Number Four: It takes many quarts of milk to make one pound of cheese. Now, multiply everything we've learned about milk. Cheese contains more saturated fat and many more of the hormone-containing and hormone-producing substances than anything else you could eat. Cheese is one of the worst foods you could eat.

Reason Number Five: Our primary exposure to Dioxin, a highly toxic chemical, is from dairy fat. Even the Environmental Protection Agency admits is is a "prominent cause of many types of cancer" for those who consume a lot of butter and cheese.

Reason Number Six: We have found allergies clear up, ear infections and sinus infections disappear, breathing is easier, and I've even learned that it is rare if not impossible to get strep throat if you don't drink milk. Who knew?

Reason Number Seven: Many people find that they are lactose intolerant. The casein found in milk sugar is actually used as glue. Over time this glue can accumulate in your colon and prevent you from assimilating all the nutrients from your food.

Ok...take a deep breath. Where this only begins to discuss this topic it is enough to start thinking out of the box. Remember that changes happen slowly. If this is something you want to start eliminating from your life I have good news. There are SO MANY options out there to ease off the dairy addiction. You can find all kinds of cheese, milk, icecream, etc. that tastes great and is made from rice, soy, almonds, etc.

I have found, personally, that turning to water, fresh juices, and herbal teas have made me feel better, lighter and healthier...and I don't miss the dairy like I thought I would.

Books:
Don't Drink Your Milk by Frank A. Oski
Milk A-Z by Robert Cohen
Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman
The China Study

Websites:
notmilk.com