Many of us grew up with the idea that drinking milk “does a body good” and is essential to building strong bones and teeth. However, we now know that high consumption of dairy does not actually protect us from fractures, in fact too much of it may actually weaken our bones and lead to a variety of other health problems! Countries in which milk is consumed the least are the ones with the lowest rates of Osteoporosis. We turned to Dr. Faryal Luhar our in-house Naturopathic Doctor for her thoughts on dairy milk and here’s what she had to say: “In my clinical experience, cow’s milk is a major allergenic substance which contributes to, and worsens many conditions such as asthma, sinusitis, eczema, arthritis, allergies and others. These conditions improve remarkably after the elimination of dairy from the diet.” Well, she has us convinced!
Still got milk? Dairy has been touted for years as the best source of calcium – but contrary to popular belief, calcium needs can be adequately met by eating dark leafy green vegetables and nuts and seeds. Magnesium and Vitamin D are actually more important for bone health. Milk used to be called “nature’s perfect food”, but modern milk is far from it, as the actual production involves pasteurization and homogenization with the added use of hormones and antibiotics. These processes have been found to contribute to immune dysfunction with inflammation in the gut, and also can lead to autoimmune conditions such as Diabetes, even in children. Dairy milk also contains a molecule known as “Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1” which has been implicated in promoting cancers of the prostate, colon and ovaries. Furthermore, many people are lactose intolerant and suffer from digestive discomfort and distress when consuming dairy.
So, as you can see, dairy milk is NOT nature’s perfect health-promoting food—unless you are a baby cow, in the same way that human milk is perfect for human babies! And as we all know, in nature neither species truly requires milk after the infancy stage.
After reading all this you are probably thinking: “This all sounds great, but I could never live without -[insert dairy food you love here]-” Here’s what we say to that: So don’t! For most of your favorite foods there are some pretty outstanding dairy free alternatives. And the options available for dairy free milks include almond, rice, coconut, cashew, brazil nut and more! And let’s not forget fermented yogurt and kefirs are also healthier options than their dairy counterparts.
Now, if you can’t go cold-turkey on eliminating dairy and replacing it with non-dairy mylks, do what you can and gradually take milk out of your diet. Try it and trust us when we say that the benefits will speak for themselves, and you’ll be inspired to eliminate dairy completely!
If you need help with this journey, please reach out to us and let us help you. Our team and café are the perfect support for this transition and we would love nothing more than to get you addicted to Nut Mylk!
