The Per-ills of Dairy
Custom and Culture
Human beings are the only animals consuming milk as adults and human beings are the only animals perversely partaking of other animals milk.
Drinking milk is a bizarre dietary custom, merely appearing “natural”, since we are exposed to the homogenizing force of cultural conditioning: seeing our fellow man drinking milk; we consider the act safe and sound. A few hundred years ago, many cultures considered the practice of slavery “natural”. Cultural behaviors and beliefs do not necessarily express truth, perhaps, in view of history, quite the contrary.
For the love of mother nature, the well-being of the human body and compassion in relation to animals; avoid commercial dairy products at all costs!
The Health Risks
The obvious and easily defined risk, milk consumption poses, relates to specie specific evolutionary adaptations: milk is designed to develop and sustain infants of a specific, given, species. Milk contains growth hormones and the fluid is specifically designed to meet the particular nascent nutritional requirements of a certain species (1, 5, 10, 30, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35).
Human breast milk is designed to sustain a human youngling; and cow’s milk is designed to facilitate the development of a calf. Cow’s milk contains quantities of proteins, minerals and species specific growth hormones; unsuitable for the particular demands and specifications of a human infant, or any other animal's youngling.
In emergencies, another animal's milk may be introduced during the weening process, such measures are however, ultimately, unhealthy, but due to circumstances, perhaps sometimes unavoidable. In any case, cow's milk ought not be our first choice, since calves and human infants develop completely incompatibly.
Historically, humans probably, simply, selected cow's milk because of the high milk yield.
Human beings migrated to the cold, comparatively barren, northern hemisphere, in wake of the pre-historical exodus from Africa, departing from our natural hospitable tropical habitat; an environment supporting even cloth less homo sapiens, we where thereby forced to include emergency foods such as milk; ensuring survival during the harsh conditions of winter. Thousands of years later: an unhealthy practice, originally performed out of necessity, appears culturally sanctified.
The Pseudo-Bright Retort
Occasionally a supposed counter argument is presented in the summarized form below:
“Human beings do many things other animals do not; so what if we are the only animals drinking milk?!”
Human beings certainly engage in a number of activities other animals shun, or are incapable of performing.
However, evolutionary predispositions and physiological compatibilities require millions of years to supplant!
Human beings are not adapted to the consumption of other animals milk, nor even human milk, during adulthood; regardless of whether Northern-Europeans have adapted to metabolize lactose (11) during adulthood; a comparatively minor and contextually insignificant physiological "adaptation"; babies are already tolerant of lactose, the "extra-ordinary" capacity merely represents a minor adjustment.
For those who have eyes to see
The countries consuming the highest quantities of dairy products also happen to be the countries in which the highest rates of bone fractures and osteoporosis are recorded (13,36), whilst countries consuming the least amount of dairy report the lowest rates of bone fractures! (10,12,13) These measurements and comparisons are naturally age standardized.
Coincidence?
We will let you, the reader, be the judge.
Sadly, many still believe milk is good for bone health.
Scientific References and Information
Systemic Fundamental Physiological Factors
- Increased linear growth (5, 14, 17, 19, 20, 22) and decreased age at onset of puberty (2, 3, 5, 28) is strongly correlated with greater rates of early childhood dairy consumption. This association is largely undue to the fat or calcium content, as previously supposed (18, 5, 20).
- Increasing height and earlier instances of menarche are unequivocally associated with enhanced rates of most cancers (8, 9, 15, 16, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27).
- Dairy milk is a natural growth inducing liquid appropriated for the development of calves; and hence naturally filled with growth factors (35, 34, 30, 5, 1), which may be why dairy is linked to the etiology of many cancers that are sensitive to hormonal, or irregular, stimulation(29, 31, 32, 33, 34).
- High intake of dairy is linked to cardiovascular disease, and interestingly, this association may not merely be due to the high fat content of dairy products(6, 7).
A Word of Caution
A large part of the research conducted in relation to dairy consumption is funded by various organizations associated with the dairy industry, which, unfortunately, needless to say, causes an irrevocable, undeniable, conflict of interest. Notably, the tobacco industry previously, successfully, significantly delayed the attainment of any definitive fundamental association between smoking and lung cancer by engaging in a long, protected, scientific, turf war, this was possible since proving statistic correlations, amongst large, uncontrolled, populations groups, is notoriously difficult; given the always present, obfuscating, confounding factors.
Recently Published studies
1) The possible role of female sex hormones in milk from pregnant cows in the development of breast, ovarian and corpus uteri cancers (Davaasambuu Ganmaa, Akio Sato, 2005)
2) Milk Intake and Total Dairy Consumption: Associations with Early Menarche in NHANES 1999-2004 (Andrea S. Wiley , 2011)
3) Bone mass and lifestyle related factors: a comparative study between Japanese and Inner Mongolian young premenopausal women (Zhang M, Shimmura T, Bi LF, Nagase H, Nishino H, Kajita E, Eto M, Wang HB, Su XL, Chang H, Aratani T, Kagamimori S, 2004)
4) Use of dairy products, lactose, and calcium and risk of ovarian cancer – Results from a Danish case-control study (Mette T. Faber, Allan Jensen, Marie Søgaard, Estrid Høgdall, Claus Høgdall, Jan Blaakær3 & Susanne K. Kjær, 2012)
5) Cow milk consumption, insulin-like growth factor-I, and human biology: A life history approach (Andrea S. Wiley, 2012)
6) Dairy intake in relation to cardiovascular disease mortality and all-cause mortality: the Hoorn Study
(Marieke A. van Aerde, Sabita S. Soedamah-Muthu, Johanna M. Geleijnse, Marieke B. Snijder, Giel Nijpels, Coen D. A. Stehouwer, Jacqueline M. Dekker, 2012)
7) Is dairy product consumption associated with the incidence of CHD?
(Elisea E Avalosa1, Elizabeth Barrett-Connora1, Donna Kritz-Silversteina1, Deborah L Wingarda, Jaclyn N Bergstroma1 and Wael K Al-Delaimya1, 2012)
8) Childhood dairy intake and adult cancer risk: 65-y follow-up of the Boyd Orr cohort
Jolieke C van der Pols, Chris Bain, David Gunnell, George Davey Smith, Clare Frobisher, and Richard M Martin, 2007)
9) Milk Intake in Early Life and Risk of Advanced Prostate Cancer
(Johanna E. Torfadottir, Laufey Steingrimsdottir, Lorelei Mucci, Thor Aspelund, Julie L. Kasperzyk, Orn Olafsson, Katja Fall, Laufey Tryggvadottir, Tamara B. Harris, Lenore Launer, Eirikur Jonsson, Hrafn Tulinius, Meir Stampfer, Hans-Olov Adami, Vilmundur Gudnason and Unnur A. Valdimarsdottir, 2012)
10) Should dairy be recommended as part of a healthy vegetarian diet? Counterpoint
(Amy Joy Lanou, 2009)
11) The enzyme responsible for breaking-down lactose from mothers-milk is turned off when humans pass from the infant stage; whence mothers-milk is no longer the appropriate source of nutrition. However, due to constant intake, enzyme activity persists during adulthood; ensuring harm reduction from the prolonged toxic milk exposure. After hundreds of generations of systematic milk consumption in Northern-Europe; the enzymatic function simply remains active during adulthood.
12) Dhanwal D.K. et al. (2011): ”Epidemiology of hip fracture: Worldwide geographic variation.”. (FAO 2009, see milk consumption per capita in various countries)
13) Population groups increasing milk intake, show a clear correlation between incidences of bone fractures and the equivalent raise in dairy consumption, see note 12, 10.
14) P2-316 Adult height in relation to cancer mortality in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort
(P Wark, T Norat, E Riboli, on behalf of the EPIC investigators, 2011)
15) Height and cancer incidence in the Million Women Study: prospective cohort, and meta-analysis of prospective studies of height and total cancer risk
(Dr Jane Green, DPhila, Benjamin J Cairns, PhDa, Delphine Casabonne, DPhilb, F Lucy Wright, DPhila, Gillian Reeves, PhDa, Prof Valerie Beral, FRSa, for the Million Women Study collaborators, 2011)
16) Adult height and the risk of cause-specific death and vascular morbidity in 1 million people: individual participant meta-analysis (Wormser, David et al. 2012)
17) Dairy products and physical stature: A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials
(Hans de Beer, 2012)
18) Calcium Supplements in Healthy Children Do Not Affect Weight Gain, Height, or Body Composition
(Tania Winzenberg, Kelly Shaw, Jayne Fryer, Graeme Jones, 2012)
19) Dairy intake associates with the IGF rs680 polymorphism to height variation in periadolescent children
(G V Dedoussis1, E Louizou, C Papoutsakis1, K P Skenderi1 and M Yannakoulia, 2009)
20) Consumption of milk, but not other dairy products, is associated with height among US preschool children in NHANES 1999–2002 (Andrea S. Wiley, 2009)
21) Associations of adult height and its components with mortality: a report from cohort studies of 135 000 Chinese women and men
(Na Wang, Xianglan Zhang, Yong-Bing Xiang, Gong Yang, Hong-Lan Li, Jing Gao, Hui Cai, Yu-Tang Gao, Wei Zheng and Xiao-Ou Shu, 2011)
22) Dairy Consumption and Female Height Growth: Prospective Cohort Study
Catherine S. Berkey, Graham A. Colditz, Helaine R.H. Rockett, A. Lindsay Frazier and Walter C. Willett, 2009)
23) Body Size, Dairy Consumption, Puberty, and Risk of Testicular Germ Cell Tumors
Katherine A. McGlynn, Lori C. Sakoda, Mark V. Rubertone, Isabel A. Sesterhenn, Christopher Lyu, Barry I. Graubard and Ralph L. Erickson, 2007)
24) Some endocrine characteristics of early menarche, a risk factor for breast cancer, are preserved into adulthood
(D. Apter, M. Reinilä, R. Vihko, 2006)
25) Height, age at menarche and risk of hormone receptor-positive and -negative breast cancer: A cohort study
(Rebecca Ritte, 2012)
26) Evidence for a programing effect of early menarche on the rise of breast cancer incidence in Hong Kong
(Amy W.H. Leung, MB, BSa, Joyce Mak, BAb, Polly S.Y. Cheung, MB, BS, FRCSc, Richard J. Epstein, MD, PhDa, 2012)
27) Early Age at Menarche Associated with Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality
(Rajalakshmi Lakshman, Nita G. Forouhi, Stephen J. Sharp, Robert Luben, Sheila A. Bingham, Kay-Tee Khaw, Nicholas J. Wareham and Ken K. Ong, 2009)
28) Dietary Protein Intake throughout Childhood Is Associated with the Timing of Puberty
(Anke L. B. Günther, Nadina Karaolis-Danckert, Anja Kroke 4 ,Thomas Remer, and Anette E. Buyken, 2010)
29) Exposure to exogenous estrogen through intake of commercial milk produced from pregnant cows
(Kazumi Maruyama, Tomoe Oshima, Kenji Ohyama, 2009)
30) Naturally occurring estrogens in processed milk and in raw milk (from gestated cows).
(Malekinejad H, Scherpenisse P, Bergwerff AA. 2006)
31) The experience of Japan as a clue to the etiology of testis
and prostate cancers: milk and dairy products are
causatively related to these malignancies
(Ganmaa D, Li XM, Qin LQ, Wang PY, Takeda M, Sato A., 2006)
32) Estrogen: one of the risk factors in milk for prostate cancer.(Qin LQ, Wang PY, Kaneko T, Hoshi K, Sato A. 2004)
33) Cows’ Milk is Responsible for Human Reproductive
Disorders (Ganmaa D, Wang PY, Qin LQ, Hoshi K, Sato A., 2001)
34) The possible role of female sex hormones in milk from pregnant cows in the development of breast, ovarian and corpus uteri cancers.
Ganmaa D, Sato A., 2005)
35)Milk consumption and the prepubertal somatotropic axis.
(Rich-Edwards JW, Ganmaa D, Pollak MN, Nakamoto EK, Kleinman K, Tserendolgor U, Willett WC, Frazier AL., 2007)
36)Worldwide Incidence of Hip Fracture in Elderly Women: Relation to Consumption of Animal and Vegetable Foods Lynda A. Frassetto, Karen M. Todd, R. Curtis Morris, Jr., and Anthony Sebastian, 2000)