MILK - NECTAR OF THE GODS? OR...

You can guess my view from the way I phrase the question!


IS MILK ESSENTIAL IN YOUR DIET?
No, definitely not, is the simple answer. But milk has become a regular part of the diet for most of us. And it is hard to avoid in manufactured foods - it's added to so many.

If you think about it, what is milk really for?

Milk is for feeding the babies of mammals. Nothing more. A mother's milk varies in composition from hour to hour, depending on the needs of the baby. Its precise composition is 'computerised' for that baby.

In the case of cows' milk - it's designed to feed baby cows. And the nutritional needs of humans are very, very different from those of baby cows.

We are, in fact, the only 'animal' that regularly consumes milk after weaning. (You can't really count domesticated cats...!)

IS MILK EVEN SAFE?

You might say "Yes - we break down the excess food components in milk that we don't need, and this makes it safe to drink."

Some, yes. But can we break down the hormones in milk?

Hormones are highly active chemicals which govern the intricate bio-chemistry of our bodies. They cannot always be broken down immediately by our bodies.

External hormones can wreak havoc on our own hormone systems. Professor Jane Plant - whose case we study below - is certain that cows' milk was implicated in causing her breast cancer. This, she believes, is because of its hormone content.

This is not far fetched. Remember how early contraceptive pills and HRT caused a marked increase in breast cancer? And that was because scientists decided to mess around with the human hormone
system without realising the implications.

MILK AND CALCIUM
A common view is that milk provides loads of calcium for the body. Doctors, for example, often advise women diagnosed with osteoporosis to drink lots of milk.

I admit, I love challenging 'sacred cows' - that is, tearing down widely held, but erroneous, beliefs. Nevertheless, this one really does deserve it.

If you accept that widely held view - of milk providing calcium - then see if you can reconcile these two conflicting statements:

1. Milk is consumed in huge quantities in the western world.
2. Osteoporosis is very widespread only in the western world.

Surely:
* If milk is so good at providing calcium, and
* If calcium counteracts osteoporosis as many doctors tell us, then shouldn't osteoporosis be rare in the western world?
Whereas, it is common.

Milk clearly does not counteract osteoporosis. In fact:

1. The calcium in milk is very hard to absorb by the digestive system of humans, and
2. Osteoporosis - a complex condition which is often over-diagnosed - is not cured by simple calcium supplementation.

In fact, milk can CAUSE low calcium! This is because calcium is lost in the urine when getting rid of excess protein. Milk contains protein. 'Excess' means more than a couple of ounces a day for an average person. Most Westerners eat much more than a couple of ounces of protein a day. So, to preserve calcium in the body, don't drink milk - rather, eat less protein.

Jane Plant - Conclusion
The end of Professor Jane Plant's story, at least up to May 2000, was as follows. She detected a breast lump for the fifth time, and was monitoring its size in true scientific style - with calipers. She plotted the slow increase in size on a graph.

She was taking chemotherapy - which was having no effect.

This was the time that she and her husband realised the possible importance of the dairy link in breast cancer. Jane gave up all dairy food. Within days, the breast lump started rapidly to reduce in size. About two weeks later, a cancerous lump she had developed in her neck started to itch, soften and reduce in size - rapidly.

Her doctor was bemused and amazed. Jane had cancer which had spread to the lymphatic system in her neck. The prognosis was bad. But now, the doctor could find no trace of the cancer at all. It had disappeared!

That doctor now recommends a dairy-free diet to his other cancer patients.

(If you want to read more: Prof. Jane Plant 'Your Life in Your Hands', published in the UK by Virgin)

WHAT ABOUT MY CALCIUM?
Don't worry - if you eat lots of vegetables and some seeds and nuts, you'll get lots of calcium.

In fact, by far the highest content - ounce for ounce - of calcium in the vegetable kingdom, is found in sesame seeds. These are those small seeds - smaller than sunflower seeds - you find in health food shops. These can be ground and sprinkled on foods, or mixed into soups. They are ground up to make 'tahini'. This is used as a savoury spread, or as a dip, or added to soups. You find this in middle eastern shops. You can also find 'halva' there - a middle eastern sweet made from sesame.

Vegetables, especially green vegetables, contain lots of calcium. Just make sure your digestion is working well, so that they are digested.

How to do that? You can take a course of digestion boosting drops. Take them with each meal for 3-4 months. Specialist Herbal Supplies make the only one we know of. I believe BioCare make a similar formula.

You need to 'taste' the bitter herbs, to get the best benefit for the digestion - hence drops are better. Specialist Herbal Supplies have an advert with their website and email address elsewhere in this ezine.

Rule of thumb - if you are over 40, you definitely need a 3-4 month boost for your digestion from somewhere.

[Next: Alternatives to Milk]

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