Milk, Does It Do A Body Good? Part 4: The Final Word*
*By “The Final Word,” I mean it’s the last thing I’m going to say about this…today.
First, we discussed the farce that we could call The Calcium Dogma perpetuated by the Dairy Industry. We then broke down milk and looked at the individual components that can cause allergies and other deleterious effects. Finally, last Friday, we took a look at the vast differences between real milk and the stuff sold in the store in those plastic jugs. Today, I’m going to conclude by sharing my viewpoint.
My Take On The Whole Ordeal
One of the major problems with sorting through all of the opposing viewpoints is the lack of solid data using real milk rather than the pasteurized, overly processed milk that is commonplace in the markets. It’s impossible to draw any kind of conclusion about raw milk solely from studies using pasteurized milk as they are vastly different products. So given that, here is my take on the issue based on the previous discussions. The order in which I would place dairy consumption is:
- No Dairy
- Raw, Fermented Dairy (Kefir and Yogurt)
- Raw, Fatty Dairy (Butter and Cream)
- Raw Milk and Cheese
- Organic, hormone- and antibiotic-free Dairy
And now for the reasoning. I still advise avoiding dairy on a daily basis, though for an occasional food, I don’t think it’s as bad as foods like wheat and sugar. Milk contains powerful hormones intended solely for building the body weight and immune system of the offspring of the species from which it comes. It can be argued that the hormones are not all that different amongst mammalian species, just different quantities and that is likely true.
However, the argument that humans have been consuming dairy for 10,000 years, so it must be alright doesn’t entirely hold water. It is a concentrated source of calories and nutrition, but that doesn’t make it an optimal source. Any food that ensured survival to reproductive age was of benefit to our ancestors. Basically all a food had to do was not kill a person and even pasteurized milk fills the bill there. While some of us have adapted to at least tolerate the lactose in milk, others have not.
Next up, I’d place fermented products created from raw dairy. These include kefir and yogurt. Fermented dairy products are good sources of probiotics and most of the lactose in them has been consumed by the bacteria doing the fermentation. By fermenting the milk, lactose intolerant folks can easily consume it, though it seems they have less trouble with raw milk as well.
I place fatty dairy third, foods such as butter and cream that are mostly fat, because you greatly reduce the whey and casein factions when you remove most of the protein. As we saw a couple weeks ago, whey carries with it betacellulin and casein has plenty of allergenic properties.
Next is raw milk and cheese (and any other dairy foods), which of course should come from properly-raised pastured cows. By choosing raw products, you ensure that the milk is still the food it was when it emerged from the animal, not a “milk-like drinkable substance” (to paraphrase Michael Pollan). Understand that items 2-4, the raw milk-derived foods are all very close in my book and could easily be 2a, 2b, and 2c, rather than 2, 3, and 4.
Finally, if you can’t source raw dairy and are determined to drink milk, at least get organic stuff from cows raised without the rBGH and antibiotics. You can be more positive that the source of your milk was raised in a more healthful way than the typical confinement feedlot, though let’s not be utopian; “organic” cows are still unlikely to be raised on pasture and live the happy life of a cow.
I can’t think of a reason for including pasteurized, homogenized dairy products in a whole foods diet. “Cooked and crushed” milk is most certainly not an unprocessed product, yet that’s what so many nutritionists advocate when describing the proper diet. Humorously, it’s nearly always “low-fat dairy,” which is by definition a processed product because dairy isn’t low-fat in its natural state. Calves don’t fare well on a diet of pasteurized milk, so why should we expect humans to do so?
So there it is…my take on dairy for what it’s worth. I don’t think dairy a few times a week is going to be harmful so long as your body can handle it. I don’t think pasteurized/homogenized milk is good to include on a regular basis, however. If you can get raw milk and handle it with no digestive or mucous issues, then you’re probably okay. The question still lingering is how does the betacellulin attached to the whey component affect the body in raw milk? Is the effect of stimulating the EGF receptors the same as in pasteurized milk?
Obviously, rational minds such as ours are free to differ. Feel free to debate in the comments.
Finally, to wrap it all up, here’s a funny video from one of Lewis Black’s stand-up shows. For those that don’t know Lewis Black’s comedy, this isn’t work-safe or child-safe due to some of the language.
About Scott
Scott Kustes loves to cook and loves to eat. He started Real Food University to help you get maximum enjoyment out of the meals that you eat. To find out more about how he has rebelled against the fast food culture and counting calories or carbs, join the Real Food Revolution.
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Thanks, Scott…enjoyed the series. I guess I’ll stay content that I’ve changed from a salad-bowl size milk and cereal eater to someone who enjoys a little full-fat Greek yogurt. Looking forward to getting home (and from behind the work firewall) to watch the video–Lewis Black usually leaves me in stitches!!
What about for pregnant women? I enjoy your blog.
Hi Scott,
Nice series. I agree that dairy probably isn’t 100% optimal for humans, but I think there are some pretty big caveats to that statement. One thing that’s critical is that milk is a good source of fat-soluble vitamins, especially vitamin A. If you’re being a good hunter-gatherer and eating your liver, then you’re OK, but most people don’t so the vitamin A in dairy is important. There’s also that mysterious “Price factor” that Weston Price was convinced is an important nutrient in grass-fed dairy. Who knows what he was seeing, but given his track record, I’m inclined to believe him. Price was convinced that it’s essential to have a rich source of fat-soluble vitamins in the diet, and milk fat was one of the ways people got it.
I think the proof that dairy can be a big part of a healthy diet is in the healthy cultures that consume it: Weston Price identified Swiss villagers in the Alps and the Maasai as two of these groups. When you have empirical data like that, it’s hard to take seriously the threat of things like betacellulin.
Oh one more thing, those cultures all fermented their milk and/or separated the fat. Maybe fermentation breaks down some of the hormone-like substances.
I cut dairy out of my five year old son’s diet, and his teeth began to decay rapidly. What source of tooth-building minerals is there besides milk?
Dave, I think you’re alright with a bit of real yogurt.
Liz, not sure if the advice is different for pregnant women or not. As far as I’d suspect, pregnant women don’t have wholly different nutritional needs, just a higher bar due to “eating for two”. Then again, I’ve never been pregnant (though if I could pull that off, I’d be rich!), nor have I ever really researched it. Thoughts?
Stephan, good call. That’s pretty much what I tried to portray. It’s not an optimal source of nutrition, but in its raw form, it’s also not going to kill you and is pretty good stuff. Lots of vitamins and a concentrated source of protein and fat. I’m still not sure what to make of the betacellulin, but you may be right about fermentation. It’s probably also not a huge issue if milk isn’t your staple food.
Jenjen, have you read the first piece about calcium and magnesium? What does he eat?
Cheers
Scott
Jenjen – what kind of dairy did you cut? Raw milk or the usual processed stuff from the grocery store?
This is pure speculation – but perhaps if you cut raw milk from his diet, it’s possible some of those raw milk helpful bacteria were outcompeting the tooth decay bacteria.
Also (and this is not speculative) magnesium is extremely important for bone health.
Jenjen,
It’s not about the minerals, it’s about the vitamins! Fat-soluble vitamins like D and A alter mineral metabolism, so it affects the minerals indirectly. They are critical for dental health. You can eat all the minerals you want and it won’t do you any good unless you have those fat-soluble vitamins to use them properly. Grass-fed dairy is a good source of A and a source of D. If you don’t want to eat dairy, you can replace it with calf’s liver (A), and plenty of sunshine (D) or vitamin D3 supplements.
If you want to understand why removing milk caused your son’s tooth decay, read “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration”. It explains your situation perfectly. Sorry I’m sounding like a broken record here.
Hi Scott,
An important note on your #5 recommendation: be sure the organic milk you find is not ULTRA-pasteurized! Ultra-pasteurized basically means it is even more of a “dead” product than regular pasteurized. Want proof? Look at the use-by date: usually a couple MONTHS away. It doesn’t even need refrigeration, it is only in that section of the store because shoppers would be disgusted at the thought of buying milk off the shelf.
We drink raw milk daily as a source of real, alive, raw food in our diet and all do very well on it. We live in Michigan and get it through a cow-share program. For my day care kids (and for us when we run out of our raw milk each week) I found some local, grass-fed, pasteurized but not homegenized milk. (“Moo-ville Creamline”)
One more thing, like you mentioned, Scott, we should drink WHOLE milk only – the way it comes naturally…unless you’re skimming some cream off to make butter, that is.
Kelly
No animal drinks milk beyond weaning age. Milk is full of hormones that promote cell proliferation. Countless people have recovered from countless health problems by removing dairy alone (we’ve all heard the stories). Milk is for growing calves, not fully-grown adults. PUbmed articles will show you that drinking milk DOES increase human levels of IGF-1, we absorb it and our levels shoot up. Of course it has good things in it, it’s for new-borns and new-borns need all that stuff, but humans just haven’t evolved to get those nutrients from milk past weaning age. We haven’t evolved to take those amounts of hormones as adults. That’s the critical factor. If you want your fat-solubles, eat fatty meat and fish, like your ancestors. And remember more is not better, it’s not how much it’s what we can absorb.
Brilliant article all round. Really enjoyed reading that.
JJ: Not to mention the milk we’re feeding our newborns probably doesn’t come from a cow
Fantastic series, Scott! I stumbled over it and read the entire thing instead of proofing my workshop assignment.
Now, I was wondering if you could write a 5-part series to justify my insatiable love for cheese
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