Have you been drinking a frothy glass of cow's milk each morning since long before you can even quite remember? You're not alone of course, and you've probably enjoyed every glass your mom placed before you as a child, especially when it was accompanied by cookies or some other treat. Milk can seem quite appealing as you douse your cereal in the innocent enough looking liquid.
However, beneath that pearly exterior flow some dark truths that you might want to learn more about before your next breakfast.
Let's start with the pro-milk arguments. "Milk Does A Body Good" is an advertising campaign we are all familiar with. But aside from the self-promotion of the milk industry, there are still many doctors and health professionals who support milk consumption as a compact bundle of nutrients that can offset an otherwise incomplete daily diet. Many claim that milk's calcium and Vitamin D levels provide the body with cancer and osteoporosis fighting nutrition. Milk provides additional electrolytes besides calcium like sodium, potassium and magnesium which maintain vital bodily functions. The protein helps build muscle and there are studies showing that milk can help reduce appetite and help lessen stress levels. These are all very valid arguments but the question is... "at what cost?"
Over the past decades, the case against dairy milk has been mounting from several fronts, and the evidence becomes more difficult to deny for the most ardent milk lovers. Between the predominant animal activist organization PETA, vocal vegans in general and a growing number of scientists; most notably the Harvard scientific community. Additionally, some groups are joining in on the charge against cow’s milk for less direct reasons, such as the addition of sugar to the processing, potentially adding to the already problematic issues of obesity, diabetes and inflammatory-based pain. With that, the American Academy of Pediatrics has joined the crusade.
Consider the following reasons that these various groups offer as to why you should nix dairy milk from your breakfast rotation. You might find yourself feeling more inclined to reach for a plant-based milk the next time you need to drench a bowl of your favorite cereal.
You Might Not Love All the Contents of Your Glass of Milk
Besides all the virtuous nutrients we’ve always acknowledged in an average glass of milk, such as vitamin D and calcium, milk contains some other ingredients you won’t find on the label. Calcium leaching acidic animal protein, bovine growth hormone, pus cells, antibiotics and feces are just a few unnamed items in addition to cholesterol, sugar and fat.
Excessive Protein Does Not Do a Body Good
Cow’s milk contains three times as much protein as human’s milk. According to the American Journal of Epidemiology, this protein overload can create metabolic disturbances. Our pH levels become acidified, causing calcium to leap into action to neutralize this unhealthy environment for our system. By drawing calcium away from the bones where it is most needed, this chain of events leads to bone deterioration, further leading to the greater risk for bone fractures.
Bovine Growth Hormone Injections and All That Comes With Them
Cows simply cannot keep up with human milk consumption, so dairy farmers inject their cows with this hormone to increase production. They are also routinely given hormones to help fatten them up, so the dairy industry intentionally compromises the benefits of drinking milk on top of the natural reasons it is already questionable.
The Inhumane Conditions for the Cows
Vegans and other animal rights activists have been vocal on this matter, and the point regarding injection of hormones and steroids all on its own would make this point, but cows often suffer inhumane conditions that most humans would find appalling if they knew.
Dairy cows are artificially inseminated every year to keep them pregnant and to assure they provide a maximum supply of milk. Calves are removed from the mother within days, the females then raised to become dairy cows themselves and the males raised for beef. Though awareness is rising, numerous male calves are slaughtered for the veal industry. This is true regardless of whether the cows are “organic” or not.
There Are Far Too Many Viable Plant-Based Alternatives to Keep Using Cow’s Milk
Even if you don’t like soy, you can choose from almond milk, rice milk, coconut milk, hemp milk, and the list goes on and on. Seeds, nuts and grains are increasingly pressed into milk to use in recipes and cereal bowls around the world.
Selected Sources
http://www.trueactivist.com/harvard-scientists-urge-you-to-stop-drinking-milk/
http://www.thedailymeal.com/why-you-should-stop-drinking-milk-right-now/013014