Are Dairy Products Good For Your Health?

My husband is Korean and like many Asians cannot tolerate milk. I was raised in the South and milk was a constant thing at the table. I've become a vegetarian and have eliminated dairy from my diet. I don't miss it, I now drink soy milk and feel much better.

I can't help but believe that comsuming milk of any type is not wise. What other mammal comsumes milk after it is weaned? Shouldn't this be our clue? Is this really a healthy process? There are many other foods out there that are better for us than milk and dairy products. There is also the consideration of the inhuman way that cows and other milk bearing animals are treated.

Dear Dr. Kim,

When I read your latest newsletter on the subject of pasteurized I skimmed it so quickly that I failed to note you included the word "pasteurized". I didn't realize you weren't condemning all cows milk until I followed your link to the actual article.

Since I grew up on a farm where we milked our own cow, I learned the joy of rich cream filled raw milk early in life. We also made our own butter and cottage cheese. Despite your statement about your mom thinking cows milk was better than breast fed, I'm not convinced this was a common trend. I was born in 1950 and was certainly breast fed - according to one family source for 3 years!

After I left the farm, I found it more and more difficult to find raw milk, and finally started avoiding pasteurized milk altogether. It wasn't a conscious decision, I found it didn't satisfy me and just didn't care for it.

Glad to see you included links to give people more information about raw milk.

Thanks,
Rod

You didn't mention anything about people with poor immune system. I have had a kidney transplant and because of the medication I had a colon cancer and kidney cancer.

When in Europe 6 years ago, I ate tremendous amounts of Brie cheese, which was in the hotel in a big containers. When I came back to US, I immediately became quite sick. Finally doctors in teaching hospital diagnosed Listeria, which in my situation is very dangerous.

Doctors said that I propably got Listeria of the unpasteurized Brie cheese, and warned me not to eat any soft cheeses or unpasteurized producs even in this country.

This is an excellent topic about what is going on with the milk( got milk ). I had already been informed long ago from Nourishing Tradition I even bought the small book about real milk and it is great. My wish is that everyone should put attention to this. Happy New year to all.

Hello Dr. Kim,

Thanks for this write up—it was an excellent primer on the subject, for me. Last year I began to develop pain in the side of my neck, swelling of my tonsils and a sudden case of tonsiloliths. Through a process of elimination I have narrowed down the culprit to dairy products, especially processed cheese. Since then, I have switched to almond milk and avoid cheese. My wife and I are sourcing raw milk, for her, at least, to make yogurt and cheeses. Anyhow, I just wanted to give you a shout out for this. I will investigate the protein casein. Thanks so much.

Timothy

When young I had to milk two cows every AM and PM: Pet, a Guernsey-Jersey and Bossy, a Jersey - their names described their personalities. We had milk, cream, butter and buttermilk. We obtained the cream by pouring it off the refrigerated milk and could therefore regulate the amount of fat in the milk. I also had to churn the cream to butter - both sour butter and sweet butter.
Using the link provided by Dr. Kim I have e-mailed what I hope is a local provider.
Thanks for such a good article - it is truly appreciated.

Dear Dr. Kim,

Your many articles on all aspects of nutrition and welness are a joy to me and my wife. Your recent commentary on milk and dairy products, in particular, rings up a familiar tone within our family.

We have 2 boys (16 and 19) and they are both affected by the lactose in the milk. While our oldest son has no problem in digesting lactose-free milk of the organic kind, his sibling cannot tolerate lactose-free milk of any kind. Likewise, the highly processed cheese in the commercially available pizzas is always a major cause of concern as it creates powerful diarrhea and stomach aches.

My wife is from Uruguay and I am from Italy. Just like you with your family, we're proud of trying to expose our family to the joy of international travel in order to experience different cultures and different foods.

The moment we land in Italy (or France or anywhere in the UE), consumption of milk, gelato and local cheeses poses no threat to our kids' inability to process lactose and casein. What's more interesting is that the same happens in Uruguay, South America. No side effects from dairy consumption.

Upon further investigation I discovered that in these 2 countries there are very stringent laws which highly prevent the use of growth hormone in all milk producing animals. Furthermore, no additives and vitamines are ever added to the milk. There are only 2 types of milk one can purchase: Fresh milk which lasts up to a maximum of 3 days, and longer lasting milk which can last longer but not as long as our milk in Canada. In neither case, vitamins and other foreign agents are introduced into the milk.

So, in conclusion, it is not true that milk or cheese are not healthy. Attention must be given to the country of origin. In the case of milk, which can only be bought locally, we tend to buy either organic milk or organic soya without sugar.

As for cheese, we always buy aged cheese from either France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain or Greece and that makes for a very special addition to our dinners. Our kids love it and best of all, they get no side effects. We highly recommend it.

Best regards,

Silvio and Monica

Dairy products are good for you!
Of course are good, but you should not drink or eat these product if you live in CANADA or U.S. Everybody knows that!(hormones and antibiotics)Germany buy the meat from Argentina, because they don't add poison staff...England never import meat from US, because they know that US add poison.....

Your comments regarding cow's milk are erroneous or lacking on several points:

1) Infants should ONLY be given HUMAN MOTHER'S MILK whether by the mother or by a wet nurse or purchased as some hospital birthing clinics do. Cow's milk (nor sheep nor goat nor ANY OTHER MILK—such as “formula”) is not suitable—nor safe—for an infant's nutritional requirements. When children are old enough to begin taking other foods, they are then old enough to begin taking dairy products from non-human sources as their digestion is more developed.

2) New-born infants require the "new milk" from their mothers—which is NOT milk—it is colostrum. Colostrum helps activate and enhance the infant's immune system after being parted from the mother due to birthing. This is why newborns are rested on the mother's chest so that they immediately begin suckling the colostrum from their mother. This also then stimulates the mother's production of the mother's milk that follows the colostrum. This sequence is ESSENTIAL to good health in the newborn and development of the newborn's immune system. (By the way, some societies have the men suckle the babies also—the infant's suckling action DOES stimulate milk production—even in men or non-lactating women.)

3) Many milk producers avoid the use of unsafe hormones and antibiotics in their dairy cattle (whether required to do so by any regulatory agency), and also avoid diluting the milk sent to market with WATER (a very bad practice considering the safety of most water sources—and it IS allowed by the USDA and the USFDA).

4) Pasteurization is, in today's society, a necessary practice for SOME people. Raw milk is always to be preferred in the presence of a well-established immune system and safe dairy practices. Even pasteurized dairy products contain beneficial nutrients and organisms (pasteurization usually takes place around 150* to 155* F—enough to destroy most unsafe organisms (but not all—there is still one organism that cannot be destroyed even by boiling at 212* F—unadvisable for any nourishing dairy milk product).

5) Homogenization is the remaining inadvisable practice (after adding WATER to the milk supply) for dairy milk production and can be avoided with the use of certain of the safe nutritive gums and saturated fatty acids for persons who do not find non-homogenized milk appetizing. My preference is for non-homogenized milk.

6) Certain breeds of dairy cattle require less homogenization than others and also have milk-fat and flavor differences. Fifty years ago in the USA dairy producers promoted the various breeds of cattle they used to produce milk, which then gave their customers a choice in their dairy breed preference. No-one in the USA today knows that WATER is added to the milk supply, let alone that the dairy breed influences the milk product outcome (along with feed, time of year, and so forth).

7) Cultured milk products (such as yoghurt and cheese and sour cream and buttermilk) and also CREAM and BUTTER are a necessary component of one's daily dairy intake. With today's calcium requirements alone (I cannot include my entire encyclopedia on nutrient information in this comment) most adults, pregnant and lactating women, and even children, require up to 3,200 mg calcium. This calcium requirement cannot be procured from pills (which cause kidney stones) nor from vegetables or meat (which do not have adequate calcium). For myself, this adds up to 1 quart of milk/day, 1 pint of yoghurt and sour cream, and 1/2 lb. cheese (unprocessed preferred).

8) In addition, culturing dairy products with beneficial bacteria or enzymes generates Vitamin K-2, an oil-soluble nutrient that has been under-valued and under-advertised in necessary and essential nutrients for good health. Vitamins K-1 and K-2 require FATS—like butter, palm and coconut oils, olive oil, soybean oil, canola oil—(as does calcium) for absorption and the Vitamin K's regulate blood clotting through the liver function. Calcium also requires citrus fruit for absorption and sun exposure for Vitamin D. There exists an important dynamic of Calcium, citrus fruits, and Vitamins A, D, and K-2. With higher Vitamin D exposure, one requires more Vitamin K-2, for example.

9) If one DOES NOT ingest adequate calcium from dairy products on a daily basis (that 3,200 mg per day) the body will steal the calcium from one's bones—it is THAT essential! Then you are prone to diseases due to: poor bone function (including the necessary marrow for immunity), the protective nature of calcium against pollution and radiation exposures, joint and bone degeneration resulting in bone and joint replacements, and more pre-disposed to pain (adequate calcium is necessary to inhibit pain and pain-generating disorders, along with cholesterol and saturated fats).

10) If one is dairy milk intolerant (such as lactose-intolerant) there could be several adverse health conditions at work, inclusive of gut infections, heavy metal exposures, impaired gut cilia, and other undiagnosed health conditions. These conditions require further investigation to rule out parasitic infection and pollutant exposures, proper medical treatment and restorative nutritional practices. Unfortunately today, with the poor nutritional advise disseminated by SOME medical practitioners, many people are avoiding red meats, pork, shellfish and sea food, eggs, saturated fats and other beneficial fats and oils (essential for absorption and adequate intake of Vitamins A, D, E, K-1, K-2), and cholesterol, lack adequate iodine intake (which one cannot procure from “iodized salt” and requires supplementation with potassium iodide as well).

11) Furthermore, with the poor health advise disseminated by SOME medical practitioners, many people are taking medications adverse to one’s health, such as cholesterol-lowering medications, blood pressure medications, blood thinning medications (read Coumadin and Warfarin), and diabetic medications. “Healthcare” and medication are supposed to be an INTERVENTION in an adverse health event—and NOT a daily lifestyle!

I am milk intolerant. My intolerance started at about 19 years. (I am now 61) It has progressed to the extent that i can not eat any cow product....milk, meat or other wise. I do live in the USA.
I switched from soy when Almond milk and Coconut milk became available. I love Almond milk, but right now i am using more Coconut milk. I use coconut oil for everything, including my night cream and in my hair the night before i will wash it. (Fantastic)
Anyway, to this discussion, Nobody has mentioned coconut milk as an alternative.

Milk contains no vitamin C ,therefore, Pasteurization do not destroy vitamin C and not denature milk protein.4624

I've been getting my hands on raw dairy: milk, yogurt, cheese, cream cheese, cottage cheese, kefir, etc. I never had any issues with milk prior to consuming it in a raw state. However, I notice that I get extremely tired by late morning and early afternoon. Milk products make up my breakfast most days (e.g. protein shake with whey, cheese, yogurt with cream cheese).

I plan on eliminating it for a week or so to see what happens. Anybody have this experience? I love dairy products, but not if it's going to cause me to crash every day like this!