You Don’t Need Milk. Here’s Why.

Really, I was just as surprised to learn you don’t need milk, so here’s why…

Anyone else feel duped by the dairy farmers? I grew up believing that drinking milk (from cows) was the most wholesome food, and I was allowed to ingest as much as I wanted. I’m quite sure my mother spent more money on milk than any other food group when I was young. It was a quick, easy, cheap way to get vitamins, calories, and minerals into her growing daughter every day. The best part was how much I liked it and could easily down 1/2 a gallon per day.

Some of the slogans I heard growing up:

• Drink milk to get big and strong– quickly makes children interested.
• Milk does a body good- sold me!
• Got milk?-famous people with a milk mustache look cool, right?
• Milk Life-the newest campaign is to have people believe you need milk to live. Accentuating the protein craze.
• 3 A Day– burn more fat, lose weight. Referring to dairy products. 

Apparently, the dairy industry knew how to successfully advertise their product to earn big bang for their buck. Today, 99% of the USA purchases milk, and the average American drinks 25 gallons per year (that’s more than one glass per day). Curiously, the rates of osteoporosis have increased with the rise in milk sales. Does it surprise you that no other mammal has osteoporosis (unless raised on human meals)?

Milk from my early childhood came delivered to our doorstep. There was an insulated, metal can on the stoop, and the milkman left a glass bottle full of the delicious, creamy white stuff. That was back in the ’70s. Since refrigeration was in most homes by 1930-40s, and the milkman era started to decline, I’m not sure how we ever had a service still delivering in the 1970s, in NY?

Milkization

Obviously, with the industrialization of milk came the plastic and cardboard containers along with grocery stores and the extensive refrigeration system. Plus, the need for daily delivery was a moot point as most households had a car and could pick up the milk whenever needed. So out went the milkman and glass bottles and in came mass production.

Once dairy farmers told their convincing story of healthy children and factories could keep up, schools inadvertently marketed their product to parents. Who didn’t get “milk money” for chocolate or vanilla cardboard cartons of strong bones? Actually, even today this practice continues, but there are so many kids with allergies that it’s not pushed.

There have always been risk factors when eating food from animals, due to disease and processing techniques-including milk. Still, since industrialization, the dangers have quadrupled. It’s one thing to drink what you take from your own healthy, range-fed cows (or your neighbors) but a completely different story when cows are bred for mass consumption for greedy people (moneymakers).

The conditions for today’s cows have deteriorated;

• leaving them in poor quality conditions- visit a factory-farmed dairy mill to get this picture!
• Injected with growth hormones to make more at a faster pace-rBST, rBGH, BGH- imagine making 8 gallons of milk per day?
• They are given many medications due to infections- caused by the above.
• Stripped of their offspring to mass-produce their product- when only a machine does the job.
• Creating more CO2 emissions.
• Higher water consumption and contamination.
• Increased land degradation.

The moo juice produced from the modern cow has high levels of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, preservatives, GMO’s and pus in the samples, amongst many other bacteria that you’d probably not like to hear about. These are present even after pasteurization (or sterilization).

Milk is NEVER a Necessity

First, I’d like to point out that I am not here to judge you or berate you for dining on cow products. And I love my family farmers, dairy and all. I am not perfect and do indulge as well (maybe not anymore). The point of this blog was to bring awareness to parents about something we have been brainwashed into believing was best for our children. Matter of fact, many mothers think they need to drink milk to make milk (breastfeed).

So the #1 fact I want to point out is that you and your children will survive without dairy products. Dairy is not a core component of our existence on this planet. You can get all the same vitamins, minerals, protein, etc. from other foods-I’ll get to that. For now, I just want you to know that your baby, toddler, preschooler, school ager, tween, teen, etc. do not need milk, EVER.

A Little History

Milk is species-specific. Over 5000 mammals produce a liquid, after birth, for their offspring that is specialized for that particular breed. The nutrients vary based on calorie needs, lifestyle, intellect, age, health, etc. For example, a premature litter will receive a different composition of milk to survive the pups from its mother, naturally. And this fantastic substance will change to meet the needs of it’s young throughout the time it is needed. Weaning from such milk usually happens when the first permanent molar erupts, and other milestones have been met, in most creatures. Once a mammal is weaned from the mothers’ milk, it no longer drinks any milk. Unless it’s a human or if a human feeds “other” milk to the animal.

So, why do we humans feed milk to our babies when weaned from the breast or formula feeding? As you saw from the above information, the dairy industry ingrained in the past 20 or so generations the imperative that babies and children needed milk to survive. Various generations of physicians have drunk the kool-aid too, and now we have a society supporting the dairy farmers.

What’s the Harm Anyway?

Aside from the cow conditions and feeling duped, why not drink milk or eat dairy products? Well, I’m not a scientist, doctor, or expert in any way related to dairy. Still, I have personally seen and felt the effects of dairy on families. Lactose intolerance or sensitivity is a real thing. Babies need to have lactose, but it is harmful to adults. When we ingest foods not meant for us, it can wreak havoc on our bodies. Like this list:

Why addiction? Casein and whey are two proteins in dairy products. Casein digests so slowly and releases a peptide, casomorphin, which attaches to the opiate receptors in the temporal lobe of the brain (where speech and auditory integrate). This combination can mimic the effect of opiate drugs and keep you coming back for more. Especially cheese because it uses a lot of the casein protein. So the addiction to cheese is real!

So, Now What?

Yeah, that was hard for me to digest too! I don’t drink milk and haven’t for most of my adult life. I can relate to a good portion of the ailments listed above and done dairy-free for many months over the past ten years, but I always fall off the wagon. Mostly due to life circumstances; it’s hard to find dairy-free foods when you spend most of your life at a sports game, and ice cream is hard to resist.

How can you make sure your little ones are getting a well-rounded diet of the nutrients and vitamins needed without using dairy? It’s hard to imagine a baby going from breast or bottle feeding white liquid every day, to no white liquid. Most pediatricians will tell you to switch to whole milk because that’s part of the education, but they can drink water and a variety of calcium-rich foods to replace the dairy.

Or, if life without dairy is daunting, you could try organic RAW whole milk. The cows are treated better, have fewer antibiotic needs and aren’t injected with hormones. The lactose enzyme is still present so it won’t help those with sensitivities and as with everything, there are risks.

17 Tips to Kick the Habit

If you’d like to learn ways to incorporate a new dairy-free lifestyle, read, try an app, do some research, reach out to your vegan friends and start slow. It can be overwhelming to read all the ingredients in every food or to go out to a restaurant. The good thing is that dairy-free is a common thing and many eateries are prepared to accommodate you and your family. Don’t expect to change the diet of your spouse, BFF, mom, dad, sis, etc. Start with yourself and the littles, everyone else will fall into step later on when they are envious of your beautiful skin, slimmer body, and energy. You can do it!

Alternatives:

1. When first teaching about solids to children, show them to appreciate all foods. Offer things you don’t like. Cook your own baby food and get creative.
2. Change your diet to incorporate better quality and variety of foods.
3. Plan and prepare ahead of time, when possible.
4. Read all the processed food labels and the cheat sheet.
5. Get familiar with restaurants that cater to dairy-free.
6. Try green leafy vegetables in an assortment of recipes throughout the day; spinach, bok choy, kale, collards, swiss chard, beet greens, turnip greens are all superfoods.
7. Properly cook and serve beans- they should be soaked and easily mashed with a fork for best digestion. They are easy to hide in when mashed.
8. Use molasses when sweetening and in casseroles.
9. Toast and sprinkle nuts and seeds on everything- especially sesame seeds and almonds.
10. Use sesame or almond butter.
11. Offer wild salmon and sardines when eating fish.
12. Avoid soy products.
13. Drink orange juice with added calcium
14. Try tofu with added calcium
15. Learn to love broccoli in everything.
16. Use alternative milk; coconut, almond, rice, hemp, oat, pea-based, but don’t rely on them to fully replace calcium.
17. Make your own butter, yogurt, and ice cream with high-quality ingredients.

Do the best you can. Don’t berate yourself if finding the right family meals for you and the children are a struggle in the beginning. If you commit to it and start slow, you will be successful. By teaching the children early on you can eliminate the potential health issues in their future and they will thank you. It’s ok if the teenagers fall off the wagon because someday they will remember what you’ve taught them. Everything in moderation!

Happy Parenting!