When you talk about calcium - it never fails - someone is going to ask about milk.
In a recent e-Alert ("Skinny Dipping" 3/4/03) I told you about a study that showed how calcium intake may help those on a diet lose weight. One of the e-mail responses we received provides a perfect opportunity to take a look at some of the controversies surrounding milk.
We've written about milk's pros and cons in previous Members Alerts and e-Alerts, but the mythology still persists that "Milk does a body good."
The e-mail comes from a member named Amanda, who writes: "I have a question concerning whole milk and skim milk. I was raised on skim milk and like it much better than whole milk. I've heard that skim has every bit of nutrients and calcium that whole has, just minus those nasty fat grams. My question is, does the pasteurization process in skim delete or add any harm, as opposed to whole?"
I asked HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., to give us his take on Amanda's question, and he responded with these comments:
"Pasteurized, homogenized milk does not qualify as food in my opinion. Even skim milk is homogenized (it's too much trouble to not send it through the same machinery), and the homogenization process breaks up an enzyme (xanthine oxidase), which in its altered (smaller) state can enter the bloodstream and react against arterial walls, causing the body to protect the area with a layer of cholesterol.
"Pasteurization also destroys enzymes through its heating process. The skimming process makes the remaining nutrients more difficult to absorb. For one thing, the calcium is better absorbed in the presence of milk fat (though the high amount of fat in whole milk is for very-fast-growing baby cows, not baby people).
"The politics of running the certified raw milk dairies out of business is as sickening as the 'modern' milk we're now forced to drink. It was consistently shown that there were fewer bacteria in raw milk than the pasteurized variety! The problem is, it takes far more care and procedural hassle to pull it off, and the 'big boys' weren't into that. That's why the wonderful, certified raw milk from Alta Dena, Mathis, and other dairies is a thing of the past.
"Cow's milk is for baby cows…processed milk is for nobody who desires optimal health."
In an e-Alert I sent you some time ago ("Get All the Calcium You Need…Without Milk" 8/9/01), Dr. Spreen told us that cultured products (kefir, yogurt), and enzymatically altered products (cheese, etc.) are acceptable in moderation. But he listed several additional reasons why milk is unhealthy, including: - Calcium in milk is not well absorbed (and even less so once homogenized)
- There isn't enough magnesium in milk
- There's evidence that the antibodies the body makes to digest milk are closely related to the antibodies that destroy islet cells (insulin producers) in the pancreas in cases of juvenile diabetes
- Milk contains pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and Bovine Growth Hormone
But what about the "strong bones" claims you hear from America's Dairy Farmers and Milk Processors (the milk moustache people)? A 12-year Harvard study of 80,000 nurses showed that a high intake of milk appeared to actually increase the risk of bone fractures. And other studies have shown mounting evidence that milk may play a role in a variety of health problems, including prostate cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, anemia, MS, and leukemia.
For more detailed information on about the highs and lows of milk, Dr. Spreen recommends Dr. William Campbell Douglass' book "Eat Your Cholesterol!" (previously titled "The Milk Book"), in which Dr. Douglass (in his typical lively writing style) explains the many nutritional differences between pasteurized milk and raw milk. Unfortunately, whole raw milk from pasture-fed cows is quickly disappearing from the American scene. In fact, the milk industry has effectively cut off almost all sales of raw milk. You can still purchase it directly from some local dairy farmers, but its sale in stores is illegal throughout the U.S., except in Georgia and California.
Like Dr. Spreen, I also highly recommend "Eat Your Cholesterol!" - available from Rhino Publishing, S.A. (rhinopublish.com).
To Your Good Health,
Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute
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