Cow’s milk could very well be considered one of   mankind’s biggest dietary errors. The more mankind analyzes the affect milk has on our bodies the less we will be pleased about. For many years, cow’s milk has been sold as the “perfect food” for our bodies and especially for children. Is this common sense?

The milk from every species of mammal is incomparable and specifically linked to the necessities of that animal. Cow’s milk is designed by nature to stimulate the stages of development of a rumen in the calf’s digestive system. The rumen is much like a fermenting vat with a grand amount of bacteria that is required to breakdown huge quantities of fiber in the cow’s diet. Cow’s milk has several factors intended too encourage bacterial growth in the gut.  Mankind, on the other hand, have an almost sterile little intestine. Human milk, explicitly designed for humans, includes substances that inhibit intestinal bacterial growth.

People are exposed to milk in early childhood and the long-term damage from consuming cow’s milk starts then. Exposure to milk, during the early years of life, contributes to lack of tolerance, excessive sensitivities and interference with absorption. The human infant is not able to digest cow’s milk and this produces damage to the bowel mucosa. Young children that drink cow’s milk have small but major effects of bleeding from their digestive tracts.  This bloodletting causes iron deficiency and anemia.  Health concerns such as childhood diabetes, obesity, bowel disease, colic and ear infections are all associated with the consumption of milk in infancy.

One out of every five infants suffers from colic. Pediatricians learned long ago that the consumption of cow’s milk was often the cause. We now understand that breastfeeding mothers can also have a colicky baby if she drinks cow’s milk.

Cow’s milk is not only detrimental to young children but it is also detrimental to adults.  The proteins in the cow’s milk is associated with matters of digestion, intolerance, impaired assimilation of other nutrients and autoimmune reactions. Many adults are lactose intolerant.  This is because once we are weaned off breast milk our body stops production of lactase, the enzyme that helps us to digest lactose.

Dairy products add a lot of cholesterol and fat to an individual’s diet. A high cholesterol and high fat diet is associated with heart disease and other health problems. Ovarian cancer is also associated to drinking milk. The sugar found in milk called lactose is broken down to another sugar called galactose. This sugar influences a woman’s ovaries and expands her risk of developing ovarian cancer.

Humans are the only animals that drink another animal’s milk and to make matters worse we consume it into adulthood.  Female mammals present milk to supply as food and nourish their young. Once the infant can move on to solid foods and it is taken off the mother’s milk the infant no longer drinks milk.

Much healthier choices for human consumption are the fluids obtained from various plants and manufactured into milk.  These may be from nuts, grains, seeds or fruits. Several of these milks have been around for thousands of years in different locations around the world.  Best recognized are soy, rice, almond and coconut milk.

Milk Article by Fernanda B.Sc.Pharm, M.H., courtesy of HealthTopics.ca