Truth or Dairy

Written by Heather

January 25th, 2010

Got milk? I’d pitch it, here’s why…

By Heather Morgan

I’ve avoided this topic for a while. In print at least. I talk about it passionately, but writing it down just seems like an invitation to the National Dairy Council (NDC) to have me locked up. If so, I’m putting it out there that Jodi and I have had several clandestine quiet-voiced conversations about dairy and what we don’t like about it. There, I said it. Now I have a cellmate. I call bottom bunk! Luckily, much more famous and easier-to-find folks have put their anti or notso-pro dairy opinions out there, so I think I’m probably okay. Too bad. Jodi and I could have used the break to do nothing but read, work out, make each other laugh, and then tell you about it. All the same, here are some thoughts to get you re-thinking the white stuff and whether or not it’s “nature’s perfect food”, as the dairy industry would have you believe.

24/24: A sketchy weight loss promo at best

Have any of you reading this actually met anyone who has had success with “milking their diet” (adding more dairy to their diets and losing weight)? “Sally Sue, I just have to tell you… I started banging down milk like there was no tomorrow and my belly pooch and thigh flubber just fell off in the middle of the street during my run! It was amazing.” If you’ve had this conversation with a Dairy Diva, then I can tell you this: she reduced her caloric intake while slugging down the cow’s milk. You see, that ad campaign was based largely (completely?) on a study by one scientist, Michael Zemel, PhD. He had high (RE: amount) dairy eaters and low dairy eaters in the study, and the results showed that the high dairy eaters lost an average of 5% more weight than the low dairy eaters over a period of time. What the geniuses behind the *“24/24” campaign fail to highlight—or even mention—is that all of the subjects who lost weight were on a reduced calorie diet. More studies by the same researcher followed showing similar results. Before you contemplate that, consider also that Zemel is funded by the dairy industry, and he holds the patent to this “method” of weight loss using dairy. A little bit of a financial gain to be made by demonstrating the wonders of milk for weight loss, n’est-ce pas?
I won’t list them here, but there is a whole body of scientific studies revealing that dairy intake has either no effect on body fat levels or weight or that it can actually cause weight gain. (see references) Any of us who’ve dated Ben and Jerry for any length of time can attest to that. Perhaps more relevant is that fact that NO ONE has been able to replicate Zemel’s results. Go look that up, I’ll wait. But we can logic that one out. Cow’s milk. From a cow. For a baby cow. A baby cow that will double its weight at four times the rate a baby human will. The take home message: Cow’s milk is designed for rapid growth. I don’t have one single female athlete acquaintance seeking rapid growth of any sort, particularly in fat mass. Just sayin’. Alright, so milk marketers are big jerks, yadda yadda, we could go on all day about that. Let’s not, let’s consider…

Commercial dairy: Would Louis Pasteur even drink it?

If the subtitle above means nothing to you, Louis Pasteur is the guy who developed pasteurization, a process that started being used with cow’s milk in the early 1900’s when diseases were spreading like wildfire through the milk supply. This method is still being used in commercially produced dairy today, allegedly to prevent disease. This seems a little nonsensical considering the fact that the bacteria naturally found in raw milk produce lactic acid which then protects it from wayward pathogens. This self-defense mechanism is destroyed completely by pasteurization. In fact, it’s the definition of it considering something is deemed “pasteurized” once all of these little defenders are DOA, along with enzymes (like the ones that help you digest milk… hello?!), and other beneficial components (vitamins, amino acids, so forth). This is why folks who are lactose intolerant or dairy sensitive can often well-tolerate raw milk and its products. Same deal with yogurt. While often touted for being chock full of friendly bacteria, even the stuff Jamie Lee Curtis is pimping for pooping is really too low in the good intestinal critters and too high in sugar. Your first clue that that product ain’t right is the fact that they name the “specially created” bacteria “bifidus regularis”. Come on! You are admitting to having to add something back in (because you killed it during processing) and call it something that refers to my morning constitutional? BWAHAHAHAHAHA…! (sorry, digressing…) The real point is that the Mother Nature-engineered bacteria in a food are uniquely qualified to increase the absorption and bioavailability of the nutrients in it. I say don’t fool with it. And certainly don’t add sugar or high fructose corn syrup to it (among other things). Whoo, that’s a whole other blogpost there. So staying on topic…

Want some rBGH with that shake?

A lot (not all, but a LARGE portion) of commercially produced milk comes from industrialized farms where the cows are injected with rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone), a genetically modified growth hormone that keeps them producing milk well beyond that timeframe which is natural for them after giving birth to their offspring. Not only is this cruel because it is very physiologically stressful to the animal, but it makes them more susceptible to infection such as mastitis (aka. inflamed udders). Again, not only very unkind to the udder-owner, but that can mean some pus in your milk. Delish. The FDA has approved the use of rBGH in the US because short-term research on rats indicated that there was no difference between milk from rBGH treated cows and non-treated cows. It should interest you to know that this research was done by the company who created rGBH (heck, I’ll name names: Monsanto, the lovely folks that brought us aspartame and genetically modified crops). What’s shocking is the larger number of studies showing that rGBH animal research subjects develop cancer across the board. Likewise, rBGH is known to increase insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1). This can make existing cancers grow and spread. What’s a nourishment-seeking athlete to do…

Panic, puke, or progress?

Personally I say do the latter. Do the best with the knowledge you have, the ability to access your own logic and intuition, and the budget with which you are operating. And for goodness sakes, don’t take my word for it! Be your own investigator. In fact, most of the information that I had banging around in my noggin, or that I referenced, is decidedly one-sided. These folks don’t like dairy and they want the world to know why. Or, they like it okay, but with conditions. Many of the references are by people who in-fight as well—some think soy is an acceptable alternative to dairy, while others think such advice is straight out of h-e-double-hockey-sticks, for example. The one thing I can say is that I don’t think any of them have anything to gain by you questioning your use and source of milk and milk products. No matter what, my intention is not to scare the ying-yang out of you, but, rather, to get you thinking and researching what you nourish yourself with, dairy or otherwise. In the meantime, to properly fuel your endeavors—athletic or otherwise—here are some tips:

Good luck and great health!

*If you were away from all forms of media in the mid-2000’s, this was the ad campaign where it was recommended that you drink 24 ounces of milk (3 x 8oz. servings/day) to lose weight. Remember the glass that got skinny in the middle like an hourglass? And women drinking a glass while shunning some decadent treat? Ironic, considering the whole “got milk” campaign hinged on making sure you had some milk handy in case a plate of cookies came a-knockin’.

References:
http://www.pcrm.org/news/Virginia%20complaint%20Law%20FINAL.pdf (this is actually a somewhat odd complaint filed against the dairy marketers of Virginia, but it has a lot of great study references in it if that’s your thing)

http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougall/030400pudairyproductsfalsepromises.htm (false promises about dairy consumption, John A. McDougall, MD)

http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougall/030500pudairyanddisease.htm (more from John A. McDougall, purely for those who want to have their hair stand on end with regard to marketing tactics, especially those aimed at children, or, rather, the parents who feed them)

“How to Eat, Move, and Be Healthy” by Paul Chek (book)

Resources:
“Milk the Deadly Poison” by Robert Cohen (book)
“Nourishing Traditions” by Sally Fallon (book)
www.price-pottenger.org

Where you can find raw dairy:
www.realmilk.com
www.localharvest.org (resource for local organic food)
http://www.organicvalley.coop/products/cheese/cheddar/raw-mild-8-oz/ (most of this company’s products are pasteurized, they are at least organic, this is the link to their raw mild cheddar, they have sharp too, can be found in some regular chain groceries)

Tags: dairy, food intolerances, Health, milk, weight loss