You’re ready to start your day. You reach for frozen berries, banana, cherries and fresh greens, along with some super foods, such as cacao, maca, chia seeds, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, and flax seeds to add to your smoothie and then you head to the fridge for the milk.
If you just reached in for some cow’s milk, whether it is homogenized, whole, 2%, 1% or skim – STOP!
Switch to almond milk, coconut milk or hemp milk instead for a healthier product. Yes, they have been processed, but you can make your own nut milk. (Recipe below!)
The problem with cow’s milk is that it is a highly inflammatory food. One of the first systems to be affected by cow’s milk is the digestive system, as it has the most immediate and prolonged exposure to this toxin.1 Often reported are symptoms of colitis, Crohn’s disease and inflammatory bowel disease.
Does Milk Contribute to Osteoporosis? Yes!
Animal and dairy products are acid-forming foods.
In other words, when these foods are broken down in the body, they create an acidic residue.
The body’s chemistry does not like an overly acidic environment, and will make every attempt to balance this state of acidosis by using alkaline (the opposite of acid) materials as a buffer.
The most abundant alkaline mineral in our body is calcium.
Calcium is leached out directly from the bones in order to buffer the acidic state created by overconsumption of meat and dairy products, sugar, and refined carbohydrates. This process leads to calcium excretion through the urine.”3
How do I get enough Calcium?
In actuality, the absorption rate of calcium from milk is only 32%, while the rate of calcium absorption from leafy greens is approximately 50%.3 It is possible to obtain all your calcium from dark green vegetables (where do you think cows get their calcium from?). The darker! The better! Cooked collard greens and kale are especially good.2
More Facts about Milk…
Consider the health of the cows that milk is coming from. They are fed hormones and given antibiotics, all of which ends up in the milk they produce.
Dr. Mercola explains that the recent approval by the FDA of the use of BGH (Bovine Growth Hormone) by dairy farmers to increase their milk production only worsens the already sad picture.
BGH causes an increase in an insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) in the milk of treated cows. IGF-1 survives milk pasteurization and human intestinal digestion. It can be directly absorbed into the human bloodstream, particularly in infants.
It is highly likely that IGF-1 promotes the transformation of human breast cells to cancerous forms. IGF-1 is also a growth factor for already cancerous breast and colon cancer cells, promoting their progression and invasiveness.2
In addition, the majority of people lose the lactase enzyme which breaks down the sugar (lactose) found in milk after weaning. This provides evidence that the human body is not built to metabolize milk after weaning.
Make your own Raw Nut Milk!
Begin by soaking 1 cup of raw almonds overnight.
Strain and rinse the almonds.
Add almonds and 4 cups pure filtered water to high-speed blender.
Blend for several minutes until it is fairly creamy.
(If you have a small blender, do this in 2 batches as the mixture tends to expand)
Strain mixture into a large bowl through a nut milk bag.
If desired, pour bowl of milk back into blender and add vanilla been, a dash of maple syrup or a couple of dates to sweeten it.
Pour into mason jars to store in the fridge for up to one week.
Enjoy!
With Sources From:
1 – http://www.naturalnews.com/037156_milk_fats_bowel_disease_inflammation.html
2 – http://www.mercola.com/article/milk/no-milk.htm
3 – Shulman, Dr. Joey. (2003). Winning the Food Fight. Etobicoke, ON: John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd.
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Jo-Anne Richardson, Registered Holistic Nutritionist & Energy Medicine Practitioner
Jo-Anne works with Fournier Homeopathic & Integrative Health to provide online education for clients and patients. Her interest in healthy, joyful living is demonstrated in her writing, coaching and teaching. Her goal is to improve the health of her community by empowering you with knowledge, support and new ideas.
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