Did you know that humans are the only species on Earth who continue to drink milk after we wean from breast milk?
We are also the only species who drink another species’ milk. If you’ve never considered why that may be, it may be time to start re-thinking your recommended 2-3 glasses of cow’s milk per day.
Sure, your grandparents grew up drinking milk every day and your parents told you to drink your milk to get strong bones, but the truth is that the milk we get in today’s grocery stores isn’t the same as the milk our grandparents drank. Today’s milk contains dozens of reproductive hormones, allergenic proteins, antibiotics, and growth factors known to promote cancer. It’s also been proven that we actually don’t need milk to have stronger bones. In fact, dairy may increase the risk of bone fractures by 50% and research shows that Vitamin D is much more effective at preventing fractures.
Aside from the lack of nutritional value found in milk, it has been determined that almost 75% of the world’s population suffers from digestive distress due to lactose intolerance. Milk can cause inflammation, poor gut health, and skin issues. And to make matters worse, milk is 100% for weight GAIN not weight loss. Think about it, a baby cow triples in size during its first month of life drinking only milk! Don’t be fooled into thinking low-fat will save you, fat is not the issue when it comes to milk, 8oz of milk still has 13 grams of sugar!
“Based on research and experience practicing medicine, I typically advise most of my patients to avoid dairy completely.”
~ Dr. Mark Hyman
In this YouTube video Dr. Hyman outlines 6 reasons to give up dairy:
1. Milk doesn’t benefit sports performance
2. There is no evidence that dairy is good for your bones or prevents osteoporosis and the animal protein found in dairy may cause bone loss.
3. Dairy is linked to prostate cancer in men.
4. Dairy causes digestive distress to 75% of the world’s population due to lactose intolerance.
5. Full of Saturated fat and is linked to heart disease.
6. Aggravates Irritable Bowel Syndrome
So to save yourself from a ton of health problems, digestive issues, and unnecessary sugar in your diet you may want to consider giving up your dairy completely. Try switching to a non-dairy alternative like unsweetened almond or coconut milk and using a non-dairy coffee creamer. Buy them at the store or learn how to make Almond Milk or how to make any nut-based milk if you like to source your own ingredients.
If you want to make sure you have strong bones take a good Vitamin D supplement, get Calcium from other foods like leafy greens, seeds, sardines, and salmon with bones, and if you do not have digestive distress due to dairy, only use raw/organic dairy from fermented products like yogurt or kefir.
