August 17th, 2011 
Dennis WHAT'S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT HIGH MILK PRICES – WE DON’T NEED MILK IN THE FIRST PLACE!
Once upon a time, there were farmers who milked cows by hand on the family farm. The milk was fresh and pure, full of living enzymes and nutrients. It was fattening but because it was fresh it was also life giving and nourishing.
In fact milk today is bad for us – so not only are the supermarkets and dairy producers creaming it they are making us sick and potentially killing us! Not to mention dairy cows drastically polluting the environment. (The average cow and production of milk needs about 1000 gallons of water per day per cow – draining your water reserves and tons of of fertilisers to produce good grass which filter into our waterways
Contaminants
Milk contains contaminants that range from pesticides to drugs. Milk naturally contains hormones and growth factors produced within a cow’s body. In addition, synthetic hormones such as recombinant bovine growth hormone are commonly used in dairy cows to increase the production of milk
Milk contains contaminants that range from pesticides to drugs. Milk naturally contains hormones and growth factors produced within a cow’s body. In addition, synthetic hormones such as recombinant bovine growth hormone are commonly used in dairy cows to increase the production of milk
Modern milk products come from factory farms with practices aimed at increasing profit. The bottom line is more important than public health. To optimize production, cows are given large amounts of antibiotics, steroids and growth hormones. The path that transforms healthy milk products into allergens and carcinogens begins with modern feeding methods that substitute high-protein, soy-based feeds for fresh green grass and breeding methods to produce cows with abnormally large pituitary glands so that they produce three times more milk than the old fashioned scrub cow. These cows need antibiotics to keep them well.
The toxins from these medications are transmitted to the milk in concentrated doses. The cows are milked throughout their pregnancies and pushed to their limit of milk production, stimulating the release of stress and sex hormones into the milk. The presence of these hormones has been linked to the early onset of puberty of young girls in industrialized countries as well as the development of hormone related cancers (breast, prostate and ovarian). .
Cows on factory farms are exposed to high levels of environmental toxins from their feed, water and surroundings. The cow’s body naturally protects itself by storing these toxins in its fatty tissues and milk. Consequently, high levels of concentrated dioxins, pesticides and other toxins wind up in the commercial milk supply. When tested, modern milk shows a 400% higher pesticide level than an equivalent sample of grains.
Fifty years ago the average cow produced 2,000 pounds of milk per year. Today the top producers give 50,000 pounds. How is this accomplished? Drugs, antibiotics, hormones (the most dangerous of these is bovine growth hormone BGH by Monsanto), forced feeding plans and specialized breeding.
Because treated cows are producing quantities of milk nature never intended, the end result can be mastitis, or inflammation of the mammary glands. Treatment of this condition requires the use of antibiotics, and antibiotic traces have occasionally been found in samples of milk and other dairy products. Pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and dioxins are other examples of contaminants found in milk. These toxins do not readily leave the body and can eventually build to harmful levels that may affect the immune and reproductive systems. The central nervous system can also be affected. Moreover, PCBs and dioxins have also been linked to cancer.
Cancer
The recent approval by the FDA of the use of BGH (Bovine Growth Hormone) by dairy farmers to increase their milk production only worsens the already sad picture.
The recent approval by the FDA of the use of BGH (Bovine Growth Hormone) by dairy farmers to increase their milk production only worsens the already sad picture.
BGH causes an increase in an insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) in the milk of treated cows. IGF-1 survives milk pasteurization and human intestinal digestion. It can be directly absorbed into the human bloodstream, particularly in infants. It is highly likely that IGF-1 promotes the transformation of human breast cells to cancerous forms. IGF-1 is also a growth factor for already cancerous breast and colon cancer cells, promoting their progression and invasiveness.
It is also possible for us to absorb the BGH directly from the milk. This will cause further IGF-1 production by our own cells. BGH will also decrease the body fat of cows. Unfortunately, the body fat of cows is already contaminated with a wide range of carcinogens, pesticides, dioxin, and antibiotic residues. When the cows have less body fat, these toxic substances are then transported into the cows' milk.
BGH also causes the cows to have an increase in breast infections for which they must receive additional antibiotics. Prior to BGH, 38%of milk sampled nationally was already contaminated by illegal residues of antibiotics and animal drugs. This will only increase with the use of BGH. One can only wonder what the long term complications will be for drinking milk that has a 50% chance it is contaminated with antibiotics.
Prostate and breast cancers have been linked to consumption of dairy products, presumably related to increases in a compound called insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I). IGF-I is found in cow’s milk and has been shown to occur in increased levels in the blood of individuals consuming dairy products on a regular basis.16 Other nutrients that increase IGF-I are also found in cow’s milk.
Case-control studies in diverse populations have shown a strong and consistent association between serum IGF-I concentrations and prostate cancer risk.17 One study showed that men who had the highest levels of IGF-I had more than four times the risk of prostate cancer compared with those who had the lowest levels.18 Other findings show that prostate cancer risk was elevated with increased consumption of low-fat milk, suggesting that too much dairy calcium could be a potential threat to prostate health.19,20
Ovarian cancer may also be related to the consumption of dairy products. The milk sugar lactose is broken down in the body into another sugar, galactose. Research suggests that the dairy sugar galactose might be toxic to ovarian cells.21 In a study conducted in Sweden, consumption of lactose and dairy products was positively linked to ovarian cancer.22 A similar study, the Iowa Women’s Health Study, found that women who consumed more than one glass of milk per day had a 73 percent greater chance of ovarian cancer than women who drank less than one glass per day.23
Pasteurization and Homogenisation
In addition to this contamination, all commercial milk is pasteurized and homogenized. Pasteurization is designed to kill harmful bacteria. It also destroys nutrients and the vital enzymes needed to digest the milk.
Pasteurization kills all the valuable enzymes (lactase for the assimilation of lactose; galactase for the assimilation of galactose; phosphatase for the assimilation of calcium). Literally dozens of other precious enzymes are destroyed in the pasteurization process. Without them, milk is very difficult to digest. The human pancreas is not always able to produce these enzymes; over-stress of the pancreas can lead to diabetes and other diseases.
Homogenization breaks apart the fat molecules so the cream and milk no longer separate. This practice has serious health repercussions. Homogenization allows the enzyme Xanthine Oxidase (XO) to enter the bloodstream instead of being excreted as it normally would. This XO enzyme passes easily through the intestinal lining. There it acts as little knives inside your veins and arteries, cutting away at the artery walls. Your body makes cholesterol to repair these wounds. This process leads to atherosclerosis, high cholesterol and heart disease. These diseases are now being discovered even in the bodies of very young children and homogenized milk is suspected as the cause
Homogenization offered two big advantages to the dairy industry: (1) the abolition of the "creamline," as it's called, made it possible to package milk in more convenient cardboard packaging instead of traditional glass bottles and (2) homogenizing made it possible for a commercial dairy to "calculate the amount of fat in incoming milk, completely remove it, and homogenize it back into milk in any desired proportion…"
The dairy-processing industry decided that whole milk should be milk with 3.25% fat (raw milk straight from the cow averages between 4 – 5.5% fat). That way, no matter what cow produced the milk, after homogenization all the milk would taste the same.
When you buy homogenized milk, you're buying a whole food that isn't whole — it's had its fat removed, evened out, and injected back into it in an amount less than what appears in nature.
Synthetic vitamin D, known to be toxic to the liver, is added to replace the natural vitamin D complex in butterfat. Butterfat also contains re-arranged acids which have strong anti-carcinogenic properties.
Non-fat dried milk is added to 1% and 2% milk. Unlike the cholesterol in fresh milk, which plays a variety of health promoting roles, the cholesterol in non-fat dried milk is oxidized and it is this rancid cholesterol that promotes heart disease.
Like all spray dried products, non-fat dried milk has high nitrite content. Non-fat dried milk and sweetened condensed milk are the principle dairy products in third world countries; use of ultra high temperature pasteurized milk is widespread in Europe.
We are the only creatures on the planet that continues to drink milk after the normal weaning period.
Thisis interesting because nature really made milk to be a short-term nutrient for mammalian offspring to be given up a short time after birth called weaning. The weaning period, defined as the period during which breast milk is being replaced by other foods, usually begins when the infant is 4-6 months old. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies be breast-fed for at least 12 months and thereafter for as long as mutually desired. .
"There are 4,000 species of mammals, and they all make different milk. Human milk is made for human infants, and it meets all their specific nutrient needs," says Ruth Lawrence, M.D., professor of pediatrics and obstetrics at the University Of Rochester School Of Medicine in Rochester, N.Y., and spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
We've known for years that the death rates in Third World countries are lower among breast-fed babies," says Lawrence. "Breast-fed babies are healthier and have fewer infections than formula-fed babies."
Cow’s milk is made by the cow for her calf; she puts blood products, RNA, and DNA into the milk to produce another cow not a human being. If the calf continues to drink its mother’s milk after it has matured it will kill it.
Bone strength?
We hear the misleading message over and over again touted by the dairy companies that milk is good for building strong bones in children and preventing osteoporosis in older persons. However, clinical research shows that dairy products have little or no benefit for bones
The ratio of calcium to magnesium in milk is 8 parts calcium to 1 part magnesium; at that ratio the calcium cannot be absorbed and becomes toxic. In order for the calcium to be absorbed the ratio must be 2 parts calcium to 1 part magnesium.
A 2005 review published in Pediatrics showed that milk consumption does not improve bone integrity in children. Similarly, the Harvard Nurses’ Health Study,2 which followed more than 72,000 women for 18 years, showed no protective effect of increased milk consumption on fracture risk. While calcium is important for bone health, studies show that increasing consumption beyond approximately 600 mg per day—amounts that are easily achieved without dairy products or calcium supplements—does not improve bone integrity.2
In studies of children and adults, exercise has been found to have a major effect on bone density.
You can decrease your risk of osteoporosis by reducing sodium and animal protein intake in the diet, increasing intake of fruits and vegetables, exercising, and ensuring adequate calcium intake from plant foods such as kale, broccoli, and other leafy green vegetables and beans. You can also use calcium-fortified products such as breakfast cereals and juices, although these products provide more concentrated calcium than is necessary.
High in Saturated Fats and cholesterol
Dairy products—including cheese, ice cream, milk, butter, and yogurt (yogurt is a dairy product that is fit for human consumption in moderation. Yogurt has been transformed by another creature into a product that can be easily digested and does not cause the above problems); contribute significant amounts of cholesterol and saturated fat to the diet. Diets high in fat and saturated fat can increase the risk of heart disease, among other serious health problems. A low-fat vegetarian diet that eliminates dairy products, in combination with exercise, smoking cessation, and stress management, can not only prevent heart disease, but may also reverse it.
Lactose Intolerance
Lactose intolerance is common among many populations, affecting approximately 95 percent of Asian Americans, 74 percent of Native Americans, 70 percent of African Americans, 53 percent of Mexican Americans, and 15 percent of Caucasians. Symptoms, which include gastrointestinal distress, diarrhea, and flatulence, occur because these individuals do not have the enzyme lactase that digests the milk sugar lactose. For those who can digest lactose, its breakdown products are two simple sugars: glucose and galactose. Nursing children have active enzymes that break down galactose. As we age, many of us lose much of this capacity. Additionally, along with unwanted symptoms, milk-drinkers also put themselves at risk for development of other chronic diseases and ailments.
Lactose intolerance is common among many populations, affecting approximately 95 percent of Asian Americans, 74 percent of Native Americans, 70 percent of African Americans, 53 percent of Mexican Americans, and 15 percent of Caucasians. Symptoms, which include gastrointestinal distress, diarrhea, and flatulence, occur because these individuals do not have the enzyme lactase that digests the milk sugar lactose. For those who can digest lactose, its breakdown products are two simple sugars: glucose and galactose. Nursing children have active enzymes that break down galactose. As we age, many of us lose much of this capacity. Additionally, along with unwanted symptoms, milk-drinkers also put themselves at risk for development of other chronic diseases and ailments.
Vitamin D
Individuals often drink milk in order to obtain vitamin D in their diet, unaware that they can receive vitamin D through other sources. The natural source of vitamin D is sunlight. Five to fifteen minutes of sun exposure to the arms and legs or the hands, face, and arms can be enough to meet the body’s requirements for vitamin D, depending on the individual’s skin tone. Darker skin requires longer exposure to the sun in order to obtain adequate levels of vitamin D. In colder climates during the winter months the sun may not be able to provide adequate vitamin D. During this time the diet must be able to provide vitamin D. Fortified cereals, grains; bread, orange juice, and soy- or rice milk are healthful foods that provide vitamin D. All common multiple vitamins also provide vitamin D.
Individuals often drink milk in order to obtain vitamin D in their diet, unaware that they can receive vitamin D through other sources. The natural source of vitamin D is sunlight. Five to fifteen minutes of sun exposure to the arms and legs or the hands, face, and arms can be enough to meet the body’s requirements for vitamin D, depending on the individual’s skin tone. Darker skin requires longer exposure to the sun in order to obtain adequate levels of vitamin D. In colder climates during the winter months the sun may not be able to provide adequate vitamin D. During this time the diet must be able to provide vitamin D. Fortified cereals, grains; bread, orange juice, and soy- or rice milk are healthful foods that provide vitamin D. All common multiple vitamins also provide vitamin D.
Milk Proteins and Diabetes
Insulin-dependent (type 1 or childhood-onset) diabetes is linked to consumption of dairy products. A 2001 Finnish study of 3,000 infants with genetically increased risk for developing diabetes showed that early introduction of cow’s milk increased susceptibility to type 1 diabetes.
Insulin-dependent (type 1 or childhood-onset) diabetes is linked to consumption of dairy products. A 2001 Finnish study of 3,000 infants with genetically increased risk for developing diabetes showed that early introduction of cow’s milk increased susceptibility to type 1 diabetes.
Health Concerns of Infants and Children
There is also a problem with a protein enzyme called xanthine oxidase which is in cow's milk. Normally, proteins are broken down once you digest them. Milk proteins, milk sugar, fat, and saturated fat in dairy products pose health risks for children and encourage the development of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
There is also a problem with a protein enzyme called xanthine oxidase which is in cow's milk. Normally, proteins are broken down once you digest them. Milk proteins, milk sugar, fat, and saturated fat in dairy products pose health risks for children and encourage the development of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
Ear specialists frequently insert tubes into the ear drums of infants to treat recurrent ear infections. This surgery has replaced the previously popular tonsillectomy to become the number one surgery in the country. Unfortunately, most of these specialists don't realize that over 50% of these children will improve and have no further ear infections if they just stop drinking their milk.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants below one year of age not be given whole cow’s milk, as iron deficiency is more likely on a dairy-rich diet. Cow’s milk products are very low in iron. If dairy products become a major part of one’s diet, iron deficiency is more likely. Colic is an additional concern with milk consumption. Up to 28 percent of infants suffer from colic during the first month of life. Pediatricians learned long ago that cow’s milk was often the reason. We now know that breastfeeding mothers can have colicky babies if the mothers consume cow’s milk. The cow’s antibodies can pass through the mother’s bloodstream, into her breast milk, and to the baby. Additionally, food allergies appear to be common results of cow’s milk consumption, particularly in children. Cow’s milk consumption has also been linked to chronic constipation in children. Researchers suggested that milk consumption resulted in perennial sores and severe pain on defecation, leading to constipation.
In addition to weakening your bones, dairy can cause digestive disorders and allergies. Most adults are unable to properly digest milk sugar (lactose). The enzymes needed to digest lactose typically phase out of the human body around age seven, when they would no longer be needed in nature. Your body responds to undigested lactose with mucous and inflammation.
Excess mucous in your system will clog up your digestive and respiratory tracts. The common results are frequent colds, asthma, allergies, sinus problems, tumors, cysts, constipation, colon trouble, Candidiasis, and excess weight. People suffering from these conditions often experience “miraculous” recovery when they eliminate dairy from their diet or find a healthy milk substitute.
Commercial milk causes problems with our immune system, allergies, ear and tonsillar infections, bedwetting, asthma, intestinal bleeding, colic and insulin dependent childhood diabetes. Side effects for adults using dairy products heart disease, arthritis, allergies, sinusitis, leukemia, lymphoma and cancer.
Eating dairy products also contributes to an acidic condition in your body. An acidic body is the perfect environment for a wide variety of diseases. Regular dairy consumption has been linked to each of the following diseases:
- Acne
- Anemia
- Arthritis
- ADD
- Atherosclerosis
- Fibromyalgia
- Headaches
- Osteoporosis
- Low Immunity
- Allergies
- Ear infections
- Colic
- Obesity
- Heart Disease
- Diabetes
- Crohn’s disease
- Breast, prostate and ovarian cancers
- Sinus infections
The Low Fat Milk Alternative?
Here's why low fat is not good for you:
1. Our bodies cannot digest the protein or absorb the calcium from milk without the fat.
2. Vitamins A and D are also fat-soluble. So you can't absorb them from milk when all the fat has been skimmed off. (This makes fortified skim milk the biggest sham of all — you can pump fat-free milk full of a year's supply of vitamins A and D, but the body can't access them).
3. Milk fat contains glycosphingolipids, types of fats linked to immune system health and cell metabolism.
4. Contrary to popular belief, low-fat and fat-free diets do not help prevent heart disease and science has now revealed that the link between saturated fat (long villainized as a cause of heart disease) and heart disease is tenuous at best.
5. In fact, studies now show that eating saturated fat raises good cholesterol — the kind of cholesterol you want and need in your body.
6. The world's healthiest foods are whole foods — foods that have not been processed. Why? The nutrients in whole foods have a natural synergy with one another — that is, they work best in and are most beneficial to the body when they are taken together (not when they are isolated in, say, beta-carotene supplements of Vitamin C capsules). So when you pull some or all of the fat out of milk, you throw its nutritional profile out of whack. Basically, you discard all of the health benefits when you discard the fat.
7. And last but definitely not least: healthy dietary fat will NOT make you fat. We've been taught for years that dietary fat is the root of all evil. But we need healthy fat in our diet for proper body composition and long-term weight maintenance. The key factor here is knowing the difference between good fats and bad fats (for more on good and bad fats and the role healthy fat plays in weight maintenance
In Conclusion
It’s common knowledge in the medical research field that commercial dairy products are linked to many of the serious diseases of our modern society. It is also well known among researchers, holistic nutritionists, and traditional healers that with a healthy milk substitute there are much safer and healthier ways to get adequate calcium and build healthy bones. The dairy industry is well aware of these facts. It’s time for you to be aware as well. This is only a small sampling of the research and evidence that warns against the dangers of modern milk.
Dairy Companies around the world have done a very effective job of marketing this product. Most people believe they need to consume large, daily quantities of milk to achieve good health. NOTHING could be further from the truth. Public health officials and the National Dairy Council have worked together in this country to make it very difficult to obtain wholesome, fresh, raw dairy products. Nevertheless, they can be found with a little effort. In some states, you can buy raw milk directly from farmers.
Whole, pasteurized, non-homogenized milk from cows raised on organic feed is now available in many gourmet shops and health food stores. It can be cultured to restore enzyme content, at least partially. Cultured buttermilk is often more easily digested than regular milk; it is an excellent product to use in baking. Many shops now carry whole cream that is merely pasteurized (not ultra pasteurized like most commercial cream); diluted with water, it is delicious on cereal and a good substitute for those allergic to milk.
Rice milk and Almond milk is also a good alternative. Soy milk is not – is mostly processed and devoid of essential nutrients.
Milk and dairy products are not necessary in the diet and can, in fact, be harmful to health. It is best to consume a healthful diet of grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and fortified foods including cereals and juices. These nutrient-dense foods can help you meet your calcium, potassium, riboflavin, and vitamin D requirements with ease—and without health risks – or the rising costs!
Sincerely,
Dennis Croll
Vital Living
Happy July! For those in the Northern Hemisphere it’s a time to really start having fun with your workouts. The weather is great and the sun is out. You can also take advantage of all the wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables in the market. But, maybe you are also going on vacations and feel like you don’t have the time to work out or can’t figure out how to work out in a strange place. Don’t let frequent travels for work or pleasure get you out of your workout routine. Studies have shown that even if you exercise a little your jet lag and fatigue from traveling goes down. 
