Some Dairy Q & A
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition, Weight Loss
My epic blog post a few days ago (The Case Against Conventional Dairy) has generated a lot of talk and questions. It was by far my longest and most in depth blog to date, and so in covering all that ground it obviously left some people wanting more answers! I will do my best to provide a few here today, to continue to clear up any remaining or lingering questions.
Q: I rememeber reading about dangers of milk pasterisation(sp). So maybe this “casein-cancer connection” actually is “heat-treated casein-cancer connection”.
A: While I am no fan of pasteurization as it destroys the beneficial bacteria in raw milk which actually make it more digestible for people with mild lactose intolerance, it destroys the taste of the milk (ever had a glass of raw milk?, much sweeter and creamier) as well as causing large increases in 7-keto cholesterol content, which is a dangerous oxidized cholesterol, I do not think it is the cause of the casein-cancer connection. Wow that was a long sentence. Yogurt is pasteurized and it’s casein content is not linked to the issue, so I don’t think that is the problem. Now might the pasteurization process denature some of the casein and make it worse? That is within the realm of possibility, but as of right now I would definitely not state that pasteurization is what causes the connection.
You have to keep in mind that cows milk is much higher in protein, in particular casein, than human milk. Human milk is much higher in whey. Back home in Maine I found unpasteurized Greek yogurt at a local natural foods store near my parents home. Talk about jackpot!
Q: Do you think a acid/base balanced diet is a possible reason why diseases associated with a lack of calcium are not prevalent where cow’s milk is a neglible part of the diet?
A: To be totally honest I am unsure how I feel about acid/base balance. The kidneys are actually quite good at keeping things on an even keel. While it is true that the average American eats a highly acidic diet, I just don’t know if it is enough by itself to cause the increased fractures risk. It could certainly be a contributing factor, and obviously eating more alkaline foods (like fruits and vegetables, especially spinach) and less acidic ones (refined carbohydrates, sugary foods, fried foods) is just a great thing for health overall, as well as acid/base balance. So it is definitely possible that the data is skewed because nations like the US who consume more cow’s milk, and therefore calcium, and have more fractures also have more access to and consume more crappy acidic foods.
The way I look at it is you should be eating as many basic foods as possible, and minimizing acidic foods for overall health anyway, and acid/base balance will be improved as a nice little side effect. If you top it off with a little Greek yogurt consumption you get a nice dose of protein, immune and digestive boosting probiotics, as well as a nice dose of calcium without contributing highly to the acid side of things.
Q: Hey Brian, Just curious, if you could gain access to raw milk, would this change?
A: Maybe. While I do think raw milk is a HUGE step up over conventional store-bought milk, even the organic kind, I would still want to know a few things. How much grazing and pasture time does the cow get? How much corn or silage are they fed in addition to grazing? Are they artificially inseminated and kept pregnant year-round? Are the milking the cow through all phases of pregnancy? Things like that.
If the cow get the vast majority of its calories from pasture grazing then you know the milk will be higher in cancer-fighting conjugated linoleic acid, omega-3′s and from a healthier cow. If they only milk the cows at the beginning of their pregnancy or after they give birth then the amount of dangerous estrogens is reduced dramatically, to levels that have not been found to be problematic. If those conditions are met, then it is a much healthier product. I also like to think that the probiotics in the raw milk, like lactobacillus acidophilus somewhat inhibits that casein-cancer connection and then we have a pretty good food.
What it comes down to is asking these questions to the people who produce your milk, find someone who makes it the way you want it, and I think some small consumption should be just fine as we have been consuming it for thousands of years without problem.
A small reminder for those interested in losing that post-holiday weight. The other day I sent out an email link to a video of Dr. John Berardi talking about his two latest programs – Lean Eating For Men and Lean Eating For Women.
Far and away, the most frequent questions had to do with his $40,000 in prize money. $10,000 to the top female winner and $10,000 to the top male winner. Plus, 5k to each of a few runners up.
Click HERE to check out the blog post announcing this amazing prize.
You see, the biggest transformations, body transformations or otherwise, are accomplished when people have big incentives. And I’d say 10 thousand bucks qualifies as a big incentive all right. But big inspiring goals also need some potential punishment. Or, some risk.
And in today’s video, Dr Berardi shows you how to coerce yourself into sticking to the plan, even when the motivation wanes. Enter “the best kept secret in weight loss.”
So, if you’re REALLY interested in changing your body this New Year and you’d like a little extra incentive for doing so, this is definitely a program you need to check out.
Again, this message is time sensitive. From what I hear there are A LOT of people clamoring to get in on the program.
So check out these posts below. I know you won’t be disappointed.
Could The Chance To Win $10,000 Help You Get In Shape?
The Best Kept Secret In Weight Loss
Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the dairy week, and if any of you have any more questions on the topic, please feel free and I will do my best to give them a thoroughly detailed and honest answer.
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Posted on December 24th, 2009 by Brian St. Pierre
1 Comment
April 20th, 2011 at 7:28 pm
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