Got milk? On the surface of it, there's nothing healtier than a glass of milk - no preservatives, no artificial colors, no high-fructose corn syrup - just good ol' nutritious milk ... Or is it?
... almost 8,000 years after nomadic herders realized they could tug at the udders of slow-moving livestock, we still aren't sure how much of the stuff we should be drinking. The USDA recommends three cups of dairy a day for all adults, but the science behind milk hasn't been settled. "This is one of the most complicated and interesting areas of nutrition," says Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, "and we don't have all of the answers."
Many high-profile nutritionists — often working with large research grants from the dairy industry — say that milk in great quantities is an essential part of the daily diet that can help prevent osteoporosis, heart disease, cancer and other illnesses. "Anything less than three glasses a day, and you won't get all of the nutrients that you need," says Connie Weaver, head of food and nutrition at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. Most of Weaver's funding comes from the National Institutes of Health, but she's also supported by the National Dairy Council.
On the other side, groups promoting animal rights and veganism — including PETA and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine — say that cow's milk is a nutritional nightmare that doesn't belong in the human diet. "It's gross," says Dr. Neil Barnard, author and founder of the PCRM. "Milk is nutritionally perfect for one purpose: feeding a calf," he says. "The idea that we should be drinking milk from a cow is just bizarre."
Willett, one of the world's most prominent nutrition experts, doesn't belong to either camp. From his viewpoint, one or two cups of milk each day is a safe, reasonable and nutritious goal. "But beyond that," he says, "the benefits are unclear, and there may be some risk."
Chris Woolston did a special report for the Los Angeles Times: Link
That quote reminds me of the joke/analogy about the gay man sitting next to a Catholic priest in a aeroplane.
The Catholic Priest argues with the gay man about his sexuality, by saying "It's unnatural, it's not what God intended"
The gay man replies back, "We are in flying metal tube!"
And soybeans (used to make soy milk) are nutritionally perfect for one purpose: nourishing seedlings...
Cheese has become such a part of many Western European societies that it would be unthinkable to remove such a vital ingredient from their cuisine. PETA's simplistic argument is leaving out the obvious historical importance milk has in civilisation past and present!
The ability to produce this enzyme into adulthood would have been an advantage over those who were unable to produce it a.k.a. lactose intolerance, as it allowed people to gain valuable nutrients and energy from animal milk.
Those of us who can digest milk are able to do so today because we inherited the ability to produce this enzyme from our ancestors, who had an evolutionary advantage over those who couldn't.
So what better counter argument against the whole "we aren't supposed to drink milk" argument than the fact that we evolved the ability to drink milk over thousands of years? The only people who shouldn't be drinking milk are lactose intolerant people.
I do agree that drinking milk past childhood is odd though. Many Asians and Native Americans are lactose intolerant because they don't drink milk once they have been weaned, and Asians seem to consistently top the list of people who live the longest. They must be doing something right!
GOOD LORD! How can we save the 60% OF HUMANS ADULTS who CAN'T DIGEST MILK?!?!?!
"If you're American or European it's hard to realize this, but being able to digest milk as an adult is one weird genetic adaptation.
It's not normal. Somewhat less than 40% of people in the world retain the ability to digest lactose after childhood. The numbers are often given as close to 0% of Native Americans, 5% of Asians, 25% of African and Caribbean peoples, 50% of Mediterranean peoples and 90% of northern Europeans."
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2009-08-30-lactose-intolerance_N.htm
Symbiosis? I can't see how the cow benefits.
I still likes my dairy though. I'm getting my wisdom teeth out tomorrow so it looks like I'll be having a lot of dairy in the next few days - smoothies, yogurt, ice cream etc...
i drink lactose-free milk pretty regularly because it tastes good, and i still loves me some chocolate milk. but soy milk doesn't sit well in my stomach and cooking with it usually makes the food taste "off". if i were to drink 3 full glasses of regular milk a day, though, i'd be in a perpetual state of stomach cramps and explosive diarrhea, so something tells me it's not particularly beneficial to my health. almond and rice milk both taste good, but they don't taste like real milk and are pretty limited when it comes to cooking with them.
i don't think drinking milk is any more "bizarre" than mashing grains, fermenting them and then turning them into beer, vodka or bourbon. or soaking a paper baggie with dried plant leaves in hot water to make tea. or how about injecting water with CO2, pumping it full of sugar and carmel coloring and drinking it out of an aluminum can? that seems far stranger to me than drinking milk! by the good Doctor's assertation, it seems like he thinks we should all be drinking water and nothing else (although i have a strong suspicion he drinks beverages other than water.) hell, some culture regularly drink the blood of the animals they slaughter for food! he needs to be reminded that one culture's "bizarre" is another culture's "perfectly normal" and to stop pushing his own personal beliefs as science.
Longer Life For Milk Drinkers, Study Suggests
Drinking Milk During Pregnancy May Lower Baby's Risk of Multiple Sclerosis
Children Who Often Drink Full-Fat Milk Weigh Less, Swedish Research Finds
Milk: Two Glasses a Day Tones Muscles, Keeps the Fat Away in Women, Study Shows
(And also: Lactose Intolerance Rates May Be Significantly Lower Than Previously Believed)