Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Let Me MILK it for a Second...

I'm not one to preach, but let me get up on my soap box just for this quick note. Today I crawled out of bed to go to Geriatrics class, taught by an MD gone ND. I usually fall asleep pretty quickly due to his calming sing-songy voice, but he said something that I had heard him preach a few years back in Pharmacology...

MILK DOES NOT DO A BODY GOOD. That is, non-human milk. Mammals are given mammary glands to nurse their own species. Granted, I'm not trying to be a speciesist, but let's break it down.

1. Milk Companies (FDA) claim that we must have 2-3 servings of dairy every day. Why? For Calcium. You know, to build bones and stuff:) Well, I can see how we need it for the protein. But protein is not difficult to get. The thing about calcium is that it is not bioavailable in (cow's) milk! In fact, it is very difficult to absorb much at all due to the high phosphate content. Phosphate inhibits the absorption of calcium and increases it's excretion.

2. Magnesium. We NEED magnesium as it works synergistically with calcium in a number of functions such as muscle contraction and relaxation and bone health. Milk does not have optimal levels of essential minerals such as magnesium.

3. Food sensitivities- people with allergies or sensitivities to casein (protein found in milk) are at a serious disadvantage when they drink milk. They not only experience detrimental digestive symptoms, whether conscious or not, but they also don't receive any of the "benefits" of drinking it in the first place. Calcium absorption is seriously hindered in this case. More people are sensitive to milk than we think. I bet you even are, you just don't know. ha. Food sensitities are overlooked in our society. Our self-awareness is butchered when we eat in sympathetic states (fight or flight) as opposed to parasympathetic states (rest and digest). But that is a whole 'nother topic.

4. Acidity- Our conventional medical model is confused. Most of us are not overproducing acid in our gut. We are actually HYPOchlorydric. Without a balanced amount of hydrochloric acid (HCl), we cannot absorb calcium. Many people take TUMS as a source of calcium and to settle their acidic stomachs. Again, in most cases their problem is not too much acid but not enough. So this viscious cycle perpetuates, and calcium is not properly absorbed.

So. The solution? Drink nut, seed and rice milks. They contain high levels of bioavailable calcium, magnesium and other minerals as well as good fats. They do not alter the chemical state like they do with whole milk to make it "low fat." Hemp milk is yummy, but I'm more a fan of Almond milk. mmmmmmmmmmm

And another point to make. Why do we feed our own children milk of another mammal when we are blessed with the capability to feed our own and provide immunity and optimal digestion to them? Okay, gettin off the soapbox. I don't know everything, OKAY?! geez.

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