Got the facts on milk?
What is milk?
Milk is a maternal lactating secretion, a short term nutrient for new-borns. Nothing more, nothing less. Invariably, the mother of any mammal will provide her milk for a short period of time immediately after birth. When the time comes for 'weaning', the young offspring is introduced to the proper food for that species of mammal. A familiar example is that of a puppy. The mother nurses the pup for just a few weeks and then rejects the young animal and teaches it to eat solid food. Nursing is provided by nature only for the very youngest of mammals. Of course, it is not possible for animals living in a natural state to continue with the drinking of milk after weaning.
Is all milk the same?
Then there is the matter of where we get our milk. We have settled on the cow because of its docile nature, its size,
and its abundant milk supply. Somehow this choice seems 'normal' and blessed by nature, our culture, and our customs. But is it natural? Is it wise to drink the milk of another species of mammal?
Consider for a moment, if it was possible, to drink the milk of a mammal other than a cow, let's say a rat. Or perhaps the milk of a dog would be more to your liking. Possibly some horse milk or cat milk. Do you get the idea? Well, I'm not serious about this, except to suggest that human milk is for human infants, dogs' milk is for pups, cows' milk is for calves, cats' milk is for kittens, and so forth. Clearly, this is the way nature intends it. Just use your own good judgement on this one.
Milk is not just milk. The milk of every species of mammal is unique and specifically tailored to the requirements of that animal. For example, cows' milk is very much richer in protein than human milk. Three to four times as much. It has five to seven times the mineral content. However, it is markedly deficient in essential fatty acids when compared to human mothers' milk. Mothers' milk has six to ten times as much of the essential fatty acids, especially linoleic acid. (Incidentally, skimmed cow's milk has no linoleic acid). It simply is not designed for humans.
Food is not just food, and milk is not just milk. It is not only the proper amount of food but the proper qualitative composition that is critical for the very best in health and growth. Biochemists and physiologists -and rarely medical doctors - are gradually learning that foods contain the crucial elements that allow a particular species to develop its unique specializations.
Clearly, our specialization is for advanced neurological development and delicate neuromuscular control. We do not have much need of massive skeletal growth or huge muscle groups as does a calf. Think of the difference between the demands make on the human hand and the demands on a cow's hoof. Human new-borns specifically need critical material for their brains, spinal cord and nerves.
The above text is an excerpt from the MILK LETTER, by Dr Robert M. Kradjian, MD. To read the entire text, please click here!
Milk is a maternal lactating secretion, a short term nutrient for new-borns. Nothing more, nothing less. Invariably, the mother of any mammal will provide her milk for a short period of time immediately after birth. When the time comes for 'weaning', the young offspring is introduced to the proper food for that species of mammal. A familiar example is that of a puppy. The mother nurses the pup for just a few weeks and then rejects the young animal and teaches it to eat solid food. Nursing is provided by nature only for the very youngest of mammals. Of course, it is not possible for animals living in a natural state to continue with the drinking of milk after weaning.
Is all milk the same?
Then there is the matter of where we get our milk. We have settled on the cow because of its docile nature, its size,
and its abundant milk supply. Somehow this choice seems 'normal' and blessed by nature, our culture, and our customs. But is it natural? Is it wise to drink the milk of another species of mammal?
Consider for a moment, if it was possible, to drink the milk of a mammal other than a cow, let's say a rat. Or perhaps the milk of a dog would be more to your liking. Possibly some horse milk or cat milk. Do you get the idea? Well, I'm not serious about this, except to suggest that human milk is for human infants, dogs' milk is for pups, cows' milk is for calves, cats' milk is for kittens, and so forth. Clearly, this is the way nature intends it. Just use your own good judgement on this one.
Milk is not just milk. The milk of every species of mammal is unique and specifically tailored to the requirements of that animal. For example, cows' milk is very much richer in protein than human milk. Three to four times as much. It has five to seven times the mineral content. However, it is markedly deficient in essential fatty acids when compared to human mothers' milk. Mothers' milk has six to ten times as much of the essential fatty acids, especially linoleic acid. (Incidentally, skimmed cow's milk has no linoleic acid). It simply is not designed for humans.
Food is not just food, and milk is not just milk. It is not only the proper amount of food but the proper qualitative composition that is critical for the very best in health and growth. Biochemists and physiologists -and rarely medical doctors - are gradually learning that foods contain the crucial elements that allow a particular species to develop its unique specializations.
Clearly, our specialization is for advanced neurological development and delicate neuromuscular control. We do not have much need of massive skeletal growth or huge muscle groups as does a calf. Think of the difference between the demands make on the human hand and the demands on a cow's hoof. Human new-borns specifically need critical material for their brains, spinal cord and nerves.
The above text is an excerpt from the MILK LETTER, by Dr Robert M. Kradjian, MD. To read the entire text, please click here!
Cows produce milk for the same reason that humans do: to nourish their young. In order to force the animals to continue giving milk, factory farm operators typically impregnate them using artificial insemination every year. Calves are generally taken from their mothers within a day of being born—males are destined for veal crates or barren lots where they will be fattened for beef, and females are sentenced to the same fate as their mothers.
After their calves are taken from them, mother cows are hooked up, several times a day, to milking machines. Using genetic manipulation, powerful hormones, and intensive milking, factory farmers force cows to produce about 10 times as much milk as they would naturally.
Animals are often dosed with bovine growth hormone (BGH), which contributes to a painful inflammation of the udder known as "mastitis." (BGH is used widely in the U.S. but has been banned in Europe and Canada because of concerns over human health and animal welfare.) According to the industry's own figures, between 30 and 50 percent of dairy cows suffer from mastitis, an extremely painful condition.
A cow's natural lifespan is about 25 years, but cows used by the dairy industry are killed after only four or five years. An industry study reports that by the time they are killed, nearly 40 percent of dairy cows are lame because of the intensive confinement, the filth, and the strain of being almost constantly pregnant and giving milk. Dairy cows' bodies are turned into soup, companion animal food, or low-grade hamburger meat because their bodies are too "spent" to be used for anything else.
After their calves are taken from them, mother cows are hooked up, several times a day, to milking machines. Using genetic manipulation, powerful hormones, and intensive milking, factory farmers force cows to produce about 10 times as much milk as they would naturally.
Animals are often dosed with bovine growth hormone (BGH), which contributes to a painful inflammation of the udder known as "mastitis." (BGH is used widely in the U.S. but has been banned in Europe and Canada because of concerns over human health and animal welfare.) According to the industry's own figures, between 30 and 50 percent of dairy cows suffer from mastitis, an extremely painful condition.
A cow's natural lifespan is about 25 years, but cows used by the dairy industry are killed after only four or five years. An industry study reports that by the time they are killed, nearly 40 percent of dairy cows are lame because of the intensive confinement, the filth, and the strain of being almost constantly pregnant and giving milk. Dairy cows' bodies are turned into soup, companion animal food, or low-grade hamburger meat because their bodies are too "spent" to be used for anything else.
The Veal Connection
If you drink milk, you're subsidizing the veal industry. While female calves are slaughtered or kept alive to produce milk, male calves are often taken away from their mothers when they are as young as 1 day old to be chained in tiny stalls for three to 18 weeks and raised for veal. Calves raised for veal are fed a milk substitute that is designed to make them gain at least 2 pounds per day, and their diet is purposely low in iron so that their flesh stays pale as a result of anemia. In addition to suffering from diarrhea, pneumonia, and lameness, calves raised for veal are terrified and desperate for their mothers.
Environmental Destruction
Large dairy farms have an enormously detrimental effect on the environment. In California, America's top milk-producing state, manure from dairy farms has poisoned hundreds of square miles of groundwater, rivers, and streams. Each of the more than 1 million cows on the state's dairy farms excretes 18 gallons of manure daily. Overall, factory-farmed animals, including those on dairy farms, produce 1.65 billion tons of manure each year, much of which ends up in waterways and drinking water. The Environmental Protection Agency reports that agricultural runoff is the primary cause of polluted lakes, streams, and rivers. The dairy industry is the primary source of smog-forming pollutants in California; a single cow emits more of these harmful gasses than a car does.
Two-thirds of all agricultural land in the U.S. is used to raise animals for food or to grow grain to feed them. Each cow raised by the dairy industry consumes as much as 40 gallons of water per day.
Milk, the deadly poison
Robert Cohen performed research in the 1970's on the hormonal effects on the brain and behavior. Twenty-five years later, this father of three became concerned about the most controversial drug approval in FDA history, the genetically engineered hormone that is now in our milk supply. Along the way, Cohen discovered that milk is implicated in causing breast cancer, osteoporosis, heart disease, and chronic childhood illnesses. Cohen's skills as a researcher, and his passion for the safety of his family, led to his single-minded pursuit to expose the truth about milk.
Based on his exhaustive and comprehensive research over the past six years, Cohen predicted the Mad Cow Disease outbreak. His dogged determination has set the American dairy industry on its ear.
To insure that all citizens of the world learn the truth, Cohen founded and is executive director of America's Dairy Education Board, a group of nationally prominent doctors dedicated to dispelling the myth that milk is nature's perfect food.
This is a 1998 Hard Copy Special on MILK. What the government doesn't want you to know about milk. Don't drink milk, we know it contains fat and cholesterol but did you know it contains the protein CASEIN (which is basically a glue which leads to a lot of mucous build up and other health problems like asthma and congestion), milk also contains powerful growth hormones, viruses, a host of deadly chemical and biological bacterial agents, bovine proteins that cause allergies, insecticides, antibiotics, all this can trigger the growth of cancer and contributes to today's problem of obese children (ever notice why young girls breasts develop faster?).
Cow's milk is the number one allergic food in this country. It has been well documented as a cause in diarrhea, cramps, bloating, gas, gastrointestinal bleeding, iron-deficiency anemia, skin rashes, atherosclerosis, and acne. It is the primary cause of recurrent ear infections in children.
It has also been linked to insulin dependent diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, infertility, and leukemia. Milk and refined sugar make two of the largest contributions to food induced ill health in our country.
To learn more about milk, please go to www.notmilk.com and read Robert Cohen's book which is available online at Amazon.com
Human Bodies Fight Cow's Milk
Besides humans (and companion animals who are fed by humans), no species drinks milk beyond infancy or drinks the milk of another species. Cow's milk is suited to the nutritional needs of calves, who have four stomachs and gain hundreds of pounds in a matter of months, sometimes weighing more than 1,000 pounds before they are 2 years old.
Cow's milk is the number one cause of food allergies among infants and children, according to the American Gastroenterological Association. Most people begin to produce less lactase, the enzyme that helps with the digestion of milk, when they are as young as 2 years old. This reduction can lead to lactose intolerance. Millions of Americans are lactose intolerant, and an estimated 90 percent of Asian-Americans and 75 percent of Native- and African-Americans suffer from the condition, which can cause bloating, gas, cramps, vomiting, headaches, rashes, and asthma. A U.K. study showed that people who suffered from irregular heartbeats, asthma, headaches, fatigue, and digestive problems "showed marked and often complete improvements in their health after cutting milk from their diets."
Calcium and Protein Myths
Although American women consume tremendous amounts of calcium, their rates of osteoporosis are among the highest in the world. Conversely, Chinese people consume half as much calcium (most of it from plant sources) and have a very low incidence of the bone disease. Medical studies indicate that rather than preventing the disease, milk may actually increase women's risk of getting osteoporosis. A Harvard Nurses' Study of more than 77,000 women ages 34 to 59 found that those who consumed two or more glasses of milk per day had higher risks of broken hips and arms than those who drank one glass or less per day. T. Colin Campbell, professor of nutritional biochemistry at Cornell University, said, "The association between the intake of animal protein and fracture rates appears to be as strong as that between cigarette smoking and lung cancer."
Humans can get all the protein that they need from nuts, seeds, yeast, grains, beans, and other legumes. It's very difficult not to get enough calories from protein when you eat a healthy diet; protein deficiency (also known as "kwashiorkor") is very rare in the U.S. and is usually only a problem for people who live in famine-stricken countries. Eating too much animal protein has been linked to the development of endometrial, pancreatic, and prostate cancer. Consuming too much protein may also put a strain on the kidneys, causing them to compensate by leaching calcium from the bones.
What You Can Do
The best way to save cows from the misery of factory farms is to stop buying milk and other dairy products. Discover the joy of soy! Fortified plant-derived milks provide calcium, vitamins, iron, zinc, and protein but do not contain any cholesterol. Soy, rice, oat, and nut milks are perfect for cereal, coffee, and soups and also work well in baked goods and other recipes. Many delicious nondairy products are available in grocery and health-food stores.
References:
http://www.notmilk.com/
http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/dairy-industry.aspx
Infectious microbes found in cow’s milk
- Bacillus cereus: These bacteria produce a toxin that can cause diarrhea and another that causes vomiting. Bacillus cereus spores are heat-resistant and may survive pasteurization. There have even been very rare cases linked to dried milk and dried infant formula.
- Brucella: Brucella is a bacterial microbe that is found in unpasteurized dairy products.Brucella infection, or Brucellosis, has also been called “Undulant Fever” because of the regular recurrence of fever associated with the disease.
- Campylobacter jejuni: Campylobacter jejuni is the most common bacteria to cause diarrheal disease in the U.S. and is found in raw milk and poultry. It has an increased chance of causing disease when consumed in milk, because the basic pH of milk neutralizes the acidity of the stomach.
- Coxiella burnetii: Coxiella infects a variety of animals, including livestock and pets. The microbe can be found in cow’s milk and is resistant to heat and drying. Infection by Coxiellaresults in Q fever, a high fever that may last up to 2 weeks.
- E. coli O157:H7: This particular strain of E. coli has been associated with a number of food-borne outbreaks and is the cause of bloody diarrhea. Frequently associated with dairy cattle, microbial contamination of raw milk and soft cheeses can result in disease.
- Listeria monocytogenes: Listeria is a common bacterial pathogen that is found in soft cheeses and unpasteurized milk. It can even survive below freezing temperatures and can therefore withstand refrigeration. It is particularly dangerous to individuals who have weakened immune systems, including pregnant women, AIDS patients, and the very young and very old.
- Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis: This strain of mycobacteria can withstand pasteurization and has been associated with the development of Crohn’s disease, also known as inflammatory bowel syndrome. However, whether or not these bacteria can actually infect humans remains controversial.
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis: The cause of “consumption,” a horrific wasting disease that first affects the lungs, Mycobacterium bovis is associated with consumption of raw milk and was one of the most common contaminants prior to the practice of pasteurization. M. bovis causes tuberculosis in cows and can be passed to humans via unpasteurized cow's milk, causing a disease that is very similar to M. tuberculosis.
- Salmonella: Salmonella contamination of raw milk and milk products has been the source of several outbreaks in recent years. Symptoms include diarrhea and high fever.
- Staphylococcus aureus: Staph aureus produces a toxin that causes explosive vomiting. The disease may be considered a consequence of actual food poisoning from simply consuming the toxin, rather than from an actual infection.
- Yersinia enterocolitica: Associated with raw milk and ice cream, among other foods, contamination is believed to be a consequence of a breakdown in sanitization and sterilization techniques at dairy processing facilities.
Milk protein linked to Autism, Schizophrenia,
Diabetes and Heart Disease
Friday, July 24, 2009 by: Barbara L. Minton
(NaturalNews) Knowing about the health benefits of raw milk is not enough. In his book The Devil in the Milk, Dr. Kevin Woodford says we have one more lesson to learn: there is a link between the type of milk we drink and a range of serious illnesses, including heart disease, Type 1 diabetes, autism and schizophrenia. Epidemiological evidence from ten countries has demonstrated a strong association between high intake of milk from A1 positive cows and high incidence of these diseases, and has correlated very closely with World Health Organization data on the level of deaths from mental disorders.
Dr. Woodford, Professor of Farm Management and Agribusiness at Lincoln University in New Zealand, points out that milk consists of three parts: fat or cream, whey, and milk solids. The devil resides in the milk solids, composed of many different proteins along with lactose and other sugars. One of these proteins is beta casein.
All proteins are long chains of amino acids that have many branches coming off of the main chain. Beta casein is a chain with 229 amino acids and proline at number 67, at least in old fashioned cows, the ones that are A2. These include Guernseys, Jerseys, Asian and African cows. About five thousand years ago, a mutation occurred in this proline amino acid, converting it to histidine. Cows that have this mutated beta casein are the A1 cows. These are more recent breeds in the span of history, like Holsteins and Friesians.
The side chain coming off this histidine is a protein fragment known asbeta-casomorphin-7 (BCM 7). The negative health effects of this fragment can be devastating because it is a powerful opiate or narcotic as well as an oxidant. Dr. Thomas Cowan has thought all along that something was "not quite right" on the milk issue. Writing forthe Bovine, he says that many of his patients, in spite of trying to eat only the proper dairy products still have illnesses and are unable to tolerate milk. He has suspected "the story with milk wasn't quite finished."
In his attempt to finish the milk story, Woodford brings together a pile of evidence from more than 100 scientific papers examining population studies and research with both animals and humans. He explains the science underpinning the A1/A2 hypothesis and shows that BCM 7 is associated with milk intolerance and a range of auto-immune diseases including Type 1 diabetes, the diabetes that usually occurs during childhood or young adulthood. In people with Type 1 diabetes, the body destroys its own insulin-producing cells.
There is an important difference between the human beta casein protein and the beta-casein produced by A1 cows. All human beta-casein is more like the A2 type, meaning that human milk releases much less BCM 7 than is released in A1 milk. When New Zealand researchers tested human milk, they found less than 1% of the BCM 7 than was released from the same amount of A1 milk. This means that the narcotic effect from human milk fed to babies is less than one thousandth of that found in A1 milk.
BCM7 has been shown to cause neurological impairment in animals and people, particularly autistic and schizophrenic changes. It also interferes with the immune response. Animals injected with BCM 7 can be provoked into Type 1 diabetes. BCM 7 is pro-inflammatory to blood vessels, and selectively binds to epithelial cells in mucus membranes such as the nose and throat, where it can stimulate excessive mucus secretion.
When BCM 7 is released into the gut, it should be difficult for it to get through the gut wall and into the bloodstream because it is a fairly large molecule. But in people with leaky gut syndrome, it is able to pass easily through the gut wall and enter the bloodstream. Dr. Woodford states that BCM 7 can be detected in urine. According to him there is strong evidence that people with stomach ulcers or untreated celiac disease also absorb BCM 7 in this manner. Babies are likely to absorb it this way too, because their gut walls are able to pass large molecules easily into the blood stream. That is how they are able to absorb their mother's colostrum.
This susceptibility of babies to the effects BCM 7 makes infant milk formula products from A1 cows a very poor choice. Opioids like BCM 7 slow the rate of passage through the digestive tract which explains to Dr. Woodford why babies fed on cows milk formula products rather than human milk are susceptible to constipation and can suffer anal fissures. He suggests it is possible that this slower passage of A1 milk through the digestive system may increase lactose intolerance.
He views early and prolonged exposure to BCM 7 in infant formulas as a significant factor in the rising rates of autism and Asperger's syndrome along with the rest of the range of disease states that can result, and he is pushing for research on the topic. Until this is done, he suggests that mothers breastfeed their babies for as long as possible and insist on breast milk substitutes made with A2 milk.
The reasons for the mutation that produces BCM 7 is unknon, happening thousands of years ago. The A1 beta casein gene spread rapidly in many countries in the western world. Speculation has it that the spread of A1 cows resulted from their calves drinking A1 milk and being exposed to the opiate BCM 7, making them more docile than the older breeds. As a result, basically all American dairy cows have mutated beta-casein and are predominantly A1.
It is not known whether BCM 7 is likely to be a problem in cheese, ice-cream, yogurt, or other milk products. The French did not accept the A1 breeds of cows, and the delicious cheeses of France are made with A2 milk. In the U.S. there is only one A2 dairy so far, located in Firth, Nebraska.
Please go to the website of Natural News to read the entire article. Thank you!
(NaturalNews) Knowing about the health benefits of raw milk is not enough. In his book The Devil in the Milk, Dr. Kevin Woodford says we have one more lesson to learn: there is a link between the type of milk we drink and a range of serious illnesses, including heart disease, Type 1 diabetes, autism and schizophrenia. Epidemiological evidence from ten countries has demonstrated a strong association between high intake of milk from A1 positive cows and high incidence of these diseases, and has correlated very closely with World Health Organization data on the level of deaths from mental disorders.
Dr. Woodford, Professor of Farm Management and Agribusiness at Lincoln University in New Zealand, points out that milk consists of three parts: fat or cream, whey, and milk solids. The devil resides in the milk solids, composed of many different proteins along with lactose and other sugars. One of these proteins is beta casein.
All proteins are long chains of amino acids that have many branches coming off of the main chain. Beta casein is a chain with 229 amino acids and proline at number 67, at least in old fashioned cows, the ones that are A2. These include Guernseys, Jerseys, Asian and African cows. About five thousand years ago, a mutation occurred in this proline amino acid, converting it to histidine. Cows that have this mutated beta casein are the A1 cows. These are more recent breeds in the span of history, like Holsteins and Friesians.
The side chain coming off this histidine is a protein fragment known asbeta-casomorphin-7 (BCM 7). The negative health effects of this fragment can be devastating because it is a powerful opiate or narcotic as well as an oxidant. Dr. Thomas Cowan has thought all along that something was "not quite right" on the milk issue. Writing forthe Bovine, he says that many of his patients, in spite of trying to eat only the proper dairy products still have illnesses and are unable to tolerate milk. He has suspected "the story with milk wasn't quite finished."
In his attempt to finish the milk story, Woodford brings together a pile of evidence from more than 100 scientific papers examining population studies and research with both animals and humans. He explains the science underpinning the A1/A2 hypothesis and shows that BCM 7 is associated with milk intolerance and a range of auto-immune diseases including Type 1 diabetes, the diabetes that usually occurs during childhood or young adulthood. In people with Type 1 diabetes, the body destroys its own insulin-producing cells.
There is an important difference between the human beta casein protein and the beta-casein produced by A1 cows. All human beta-casein is more like the A2 type, meaning that human milk releases much less BCM 7 than is released in A1 milk. When New Zealand researchers tested human milk, they found less than 1% of the BCM 7 than was released from the same amount of A1 milk. This means that the narcotic effect from human milk fed to babies is less than one thousandth of that found in A1 milk.
BCM7 has been shown to cause neurological impairment in animals and people, particularly autistic and schizophrenic changes. It also interferes with the immune response. Animals injected with BCM 7 can be provoked into Type 1 diabetes. BCM 7 is pro-inflammatory to blood vessels, and selectively binds to epithelial cells in mucus membranes such as the nose and throat, where it can stimulate excessive mucus secretion.
When BCM 7 is released into the gut, it should be difficult for it to get through the gut wall and into the bloodstream because it is a fairly large molecule. But in people with leaky gut syndrome, it is able to pass easily through the gut wall and enter the bloodstream. Dr. Woodford states that BCM 7 can be detected in urine. According to him there is strong evidence that people with stomach ulcers or untreated celiac disease also absorb BCM 7 in this manner. Babies are likely to absorb it this way too, because their gut walls are able to pass large molecules easily into the blood stream. That is how they are able to absorb their mother's colostrum.
This susceptibility of babies to the effects BCM 7 makes infant milk formula products from A1 cows a very poor choice. Opioids like BCM 7 slow the rate of passage through the digestive tract which explains to Dr. Woodford why babies fed on cows milk formula products rather than human milk are susceptible to constipation and can suffer anal fissures. He suggests it is possible that this slower passage of A1 milk through the digestive system may increase lactose intolerance.
He views early and prolonged exposure to BCM 7 in infant formulas as a significant factor in the rising rates of autism and Asperger's syndrome along with the rest of the range of disease states that can result, and he is pushing for research on the topic. Until this is done, he suggests that mothers breastfeed their babies for as long as possible and insist on breast milk substitutes made with A2 milk.
The reasons for the mutation that produces BCM 7 is unknon, happening thousands of years ago. The A1 beta casein gene spread rapidly in many countries in the western world. Speculation has it that the spread of A1 cows resulted from their calves drinking A1 milk and being exposed to the opiate BCM 7, making them more docile than the older breeds. As a result, basically all American dairy cows have mutated beta-casein and are predominantly A1.
It is not known whether BCM 7 is likely to be a problem in cheese, ice-cream, yogurt, or other milk products. The French did not accept the A1 breeds of cows, and the delicious cheeses of France are made with A2 milk. In the U.S. there is only one A2 dairy so far, located in Firth, Nebraska.
Please go to the website of Natural News to read the entire article. Thank you!
Apart from humans, there is not a single creature on earth, that drinks milk after a certain age
and there is not a single species that drinks the milk from another species.
The human species has been brainwashed into believing that milk does a body good,
which is a load of crap!
