The Dairy Dilemma

There’s been some bad talk around lately about dairy. And, as usual, I see it as my job to set the record straight. So here goes – it’s all true! The fantasy with health benefits from dairy is just that, a fantasy. I’ve done the research and the findings are truly astounding. Bear with me a moment and let me share some of the dirty on dairy.

What About Weight Loss?
I’m sure by now you have seen all of the campaigns for adding dairy to your diet in order to lose weight. Well, if there is one thing that I learned from working my way through a psychology graduate program as a research assistant it’s that you can pretty much design an experiment to get any results you want. I did some investigative research into this particular study (which was funded by the National Dairy Industry at a price tag of near $200 million) and here are the real facts. The subjects in the experiment were divided into two groups with the same diet except that one group received their calcium from dairy sources and the other group received their calcium from oyster shell (which cannot be effectively absorbed by the body). The dairy group lost more weight on this diet than the oyster shell group. So the dairy industry was able to say that calcium from dairy sources helps you lose weight even though the truth of the matter is that calcium is an effective mineral in weight loss, no matter what the source.

Osteoporosis? Bone fractures?
Another research experiment gone awry. Calcium is necessary to fight off osteoporosis and bone fractures. However, calcium from dairy is another story. The National Dairy Industry also funded another experiment in which one group ingested high levels of dairy, the other group didn’t. When the results of the experiment came across the table, the dairy industry was not happy. It seemed that the group that ate a low dairy diet has less risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures than the high-dairy group. They pulled the study immediately.
But how did this happen? The truth is that dairy contains high levels of acidic animal protein. This acidic protein has to pull calcium out of our bodies in order to regulate its pH level (that’s why you take calcium carbonate (Tums) when you have an acidic stomach – the old acid/alkaline experiment). So dairy actually does more harm to our bones than good. The best way to bone up? Cut the high protein diet, soda, coffee, and other high-acid foods and ditch the dairy. You can get plenty of calcium from tofu, broccoli, collard greens, kale, and soy milk.

What’s Really In That Carton?
Dairy milk is also laced with pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics. It’s a vicious cycle. The cows are given hormones to produce more milk. Poor health and mastitis often results so the cows are also given regular doses of antibiotics. The antibiotics and hormones go directly into that carton of milk. And do you want to know the icing on the cake? The Food and Drug Administration allows for low levels of pus in milk. Yes, that’s right. It seems that even with all of the antibiotics, infections are still quite common among milking cows. Pus can’t really be prevented, so why not just allow it? Yuck!

Mmmm….Mucus!
Dairy also has this lovely little side effect called mucus production. That’s why we see so many runny noses and (in my opinion) ear, nose, and throat infections among children. But I don’t believe everything I read and I hope you don’t either. Do what I did. Take the test for yourself. You will find the proof is in the (non-diary) pudding. I had horrible asthma for my entire life. I have vivid memories of my mother running a hot shower and sticking me in the bathroom to breathe steam and open up my air passageways. I also remember puffing on my inhalers throughout the day. I had allergies as well, going in twice a week for shot therapy.

After four months of being completely diary-free, all of the symptoms went away completely. No allergies, no asthma, no wheezing, sneezing, puffing, and aching. No more shots and no more inhalers. It was miraculous! I had two children at the time I cut dairy out of my life and once I saw the changes in my own health, I immediately cut diary out of my children’s diet. No more infections, runny noses, strep throat, or antibiotic bottles in the fridge! Since our family has been diary free, not one of my children has ever had any type of ear, nose, or throat infection. Are you ready for a miracle? Dump the dairy!