We are bombarded with commercials from the dairy industry telling us that milk is one of the best sources of nutrition and is essential for good health. One popular advertising slogan with various pictures: a baby, a muscular man and even Uncle Sam. We have been told cow’s milk is a “perfect food” that helps build healthy bodies and strong bones. Commercials and nutritional guidelines have long us that we should all consume dairy products daily, beginning at birth, as the advertisement in Fig. 1 shows. Is this true or a myth perpetuated by the dairy industry? We need to know the facts about dairy products so we can make informed decisions about whether or not to consume them. Through my research I have discovered that many people, including respected physicians, believe that cow’s milk products can be harmful to our health and that there are safer ways to get high quality nutrition. I have also learned that organic and
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Benjamin Spock, also warns against dairy consumption. In the ninth edition of his book Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care, he recommends that vegetables, fruits, grains, and beans should make up the bulk of children’s diets and that meat, fish and dairy products should be limited or avoided. Green leafy vegetables and beans, he says, contain calcium that is as easily if not more easily absorbed than the calcium in milk is. Whereas milk generally lacks iron, vitamins, complex carbohydrates, and fiber, vegetables and beans are a good source of these nutrients. Spock gave up dairy products himself at age 88 and within two weeks was cured of chronic bronchitis (380). Similarly, Alisa Fleming, author of Go Dairy Free, describes her suffering from numerous health problems until an alternative doctor suggested she give up dairy products. She did so, and within days all her symptoms disappeared (6). In my own experience, I have had fewer colds and illnesses since I began following a vegan diet (no meat, fish, eggs, or
Benjamin Spock, also warns against dairy consumption. In the ninth edition of his book Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care, he recommends that vegetables, fruits, grains, and beans should make up the bulk of children’s diets and that meat, fish and dairy products should be limited or avoided. Green leafy vegetables and beans, he says, contain calcium that is as easily if not more easily absorbed than the calcium in milk is. Whereas milk generally lacks iron, vitamins, complex carbohydrates, and fiber, vegetables and beans are a good source of these nutrients. Spock gave up dairy products himself at age 88 and within two weeks was cured of chronic bronchitis (380). Similarly, Alisa Fleming, author of Go Dairy Free, describes her suffering from numerous health problems until an alternative doctor suggested she give up dairy products. She did so, and within days all her symptoms disappeared (6). In my own experience, I have had fewer colds and illnesses since I began following a vegan diet (no meat, fish, eggs, or