Milk Is Good For You?

Is milk good for you, or is this just another health lie?

Let's start with the most common myth about milk and dairy products - that they are good for your bones. There is little evidence for this. In fat in the Harvard Nurses Study, researchers followed more than 77,000 women for over twelve years, in part to see if the calcium from dairy products would help prevent or slow the progression of osteoporosis (a disease that makes bones more brittle). There was no evidence that it helped at all.

Apparently, the calcium found in dairy products isn't very absorbable. The calcium found in plants is much easier to absorb, and so may have some of the beneficial effects claimed for dairy. These sources include leafy green vegetables, as well as sesame butter (which is also used in humus), some other seeds, nuts and whole grains.

Lactose Intolerance

Years ago I cared for a little girl who vomited whenever she ate dairy products. She was Native American, and after a bit of research I found that most Native Americans don't have the enzymes necessary to digest lactose (the natural sugar in milk). In fact most adults of all races lose their ability to easily digest dairy products. Symptoms of lactose intolerance include digestive problems, irritable bowel, and gas.

You can buy lactase supplements to help with this. Lactase is the enzyme that digests lactose, and you simply take a capsule whenever you eat dairy products. Unfortunately, lactose intolerance is not the only problem with milk products.

Dairy Allergies

Many people are allergic to the proteins in milk and dairy products. Symptoms include inflammation throughout the body, but most commonly in the upper respiratory tract. Many people suffer from this for years before learning the truth of the cause. Dairy allergy is also a common cause of sinusitis, as well as frequent colds and ear infections.

So is milk actually good for you? Not likely. On the other hand, if you are not allergic to dairy, and you are not lactose intolerant, it probably doesn't do any harm either. There is also some evidence that yoghurt and soft cheeses may digest more easily than milk.

Why don't you here more about this? The dairy industry spends millions to promote dairy products as healthy. They have an obvious profit motive to do so. The government doesn't have any interest in telling us the whole story either, because dairy producers are subsidized, and they would require more subsidies if sales dropped off.

There are 99 more lies in the e-book "99Lies," and more health secrets in Chapter Five of "You Aren't Supposed To Know - A Book Of Secrets," at: http://www.TheSecretInformationSite.com/99lies.html

99 Lies | Milk Is Good For You?