Cow’s milk seems to be one of mankind’s greatest dietary mistakes. The more we discover what it does to our bodies the less we have to be grateful for. For decades, cow’s milk has been promoted as the “perfect food” for humans and especially for children. Does this make sense?
The milk of every species of mammal is unique and specifically tailored to the requirements of that animal. Cow’s milk is designed, by nature, to encourage the development of a rumen in the calf’s digestive system. The rumen is much like a fermenting vat with a large population of bacteria that is required to breakdown large quantities of fiber in the cow’s diet. Cow’s milk contains several factors designed to encourage bacterial growth in the gut.
Humans, on the other hand, have an almost sterile small intestine. Human milk, specifically designed for humans, contains substances that inhibit intestinal bacterial growth.
We are exposed to milk in infancy and the long-term damage from consuming cow’s milk starts then. Exposure to milk, in fancy, contributes to intolerances, hypersensitivities and interference with absorption. The human infant is not able to digest cow’s milk and this causes damage to the bowel mucosa. Infants that consume cow’s milk have small but significant bleeding from their digestive tracts. This bleeding contributes to iron deficiency and anemia. Health problems such as childhood diabetes, obesity, bowel disease, colic and ear infections are all linked to the consumption of milk in infancy.
One out of every five babies suffers from colic. Pediatricians learned long ago that the consumption of cow’s milk was often the problem. We now know that breastfeeding mothers can also have a colicky baby if the mother consumes cow’s milk.
Cow’s milk is not only harmful to infants but it is also harmful to adults. The proteins in the cow’s milk causes problems with digestion, intolerance, impaired absorption of other nutrients and autoimmune reactions. Many adults are lactose intolerant. This is because once we are weaned off breast milk our body stops producing lactase, the enzyme that enables us to digest lactose.
Dairy products contribute a lot of cholesterol and fat to your diet. A high cholesterol and high fat diet is associated with heart disease and other health problems. Ovarian cancer is also linked to milk consumption. The sugar in milk called lactose is broken down to another sugar called galactose. This sugar affects a woman’s ovaries and increases her risk of developing ovarian cancer.
Humans are the only animals that drink another animal’s milk and to make matters worse we drink it into adulthood. Female mammals produce milk to feed and nourish their offspring. Once the infant is able to move onto solid foods and it is weaned off the mother’s milk it no longer drinks milk.
Much healthier choices for human consumption are the liquids extracted from various plants and manufactured into milk. These may be from nuts, grains, seeds or fruits. Many of these milks have been around for thousands of years in different parts of the world. Best known are soy, rice, almond and coconut milk.
