Is milk something you should drink or avoid?

I get this question often in my office. Can you guess whether I drink milk or not?

By New Leaf Staff

We are the only species in the world that drinks another animal’s milk. Could you imagine breastfeeding a puppy or a kitten? I bet not. But we are often very quick to suckle the product of bovine origin. More so, we are quick to pass this tradition on to our children.

Whether you know it or not, milk protein, known as casein, is the number two allergen in the world right behind gluten. Cow’s milk is made to take an infant cow and gain a few hundred pounds in a little over a year. Also, it doesn’t aid the brain in cognitive promotion, or cows would be able to communicate better. Don’t get me wrong, there are some smart cows in the world, and they can figure out how to get to their food, but none of them will make food for themselves.

Here’s where we go into some immunology, and if you are unsure, look up this information in the medical literature. It is well documented that cow’s milk can create an immunological response. Furthermore, it has been published as a cause for diabetes, and, in certain cases, it blocks islet cell production causing cellular death in the pancreas. I learned of the outcomes of this newer research several years ago, being familiar with previously published information (understood for decades) regarding milk. Even the USDA food pyramid gurus have admitted to knowing this. I cannot help but wonder why cow’s milk is still mass-produced.

There are some arguments for grass-fed, antibiotic-free, hormone-free raw milk that hasn’t been pasteurized and doesn’t have any pus. If you didn’t know, cow’s milk includes a high amount of pus (considered allowable) in commercial dairy processing. There are a few websites you can gain more information on this topic, but a rather interesting one is milksucks.org.

While I can agree the raw, organic milk is probably a better source, it still contains the casein protein, the number two allergen in the world. This protein can cause immune reactions, including cross-reacting with gluten antibodies event if you are entirely gluten-free. So, if you are gluten-free, drinking milk, and still having the same symptoms without resolution, you are probably having trouble digesting and processing dairy.

Be well and never stop learning,

Dr. Trites