Do you use milk and dairy product or avoid them?

[JadeOrchidSong]

A friend sent me an article about how bad milk is to our health. Basically, no animals drink milk once they are weaned of their mothers' milk and are able to eat real solid food. And cows that produce milk even when they don't have babies do it in an artificial way and the milk quality is not good. Plus calcium in milk is not easily absorbed by human body.

I just want to see what you think. Do you drink milk or avoid it and what are your reasons for your choice? Do you avoid non organic milk and use organic or no milk at all?

Thanks! I really appreciate learning from you. This is a wonderful community from which I can glean lots of wisdom.

[rafiki]

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[patchfire]

We avoid conventional dairy products, as well as organic UHT products. Generally, the kids consume raw milk, raw milk cheeses, and raw or organic yogurt. Our raw milk is local and not certified organic, but the farmer & his family follow good organic practices. If for some reason we can't get raw milk, I try to get unhomogenized milk at least.

[5wolfcubs]

Moving towards no dairy because of reading similar things. Actually, for awhile over the summer we were close to eating a completely raw plant-based diet. But my boys were so unhappy with it and always hungry...we've moved back to cooked foods and eating dairy products. Currently I'm buying organic milk at the grocery store. I have an every other week organic raw option but it is SO expensive.

 

I guess what I think and what I do are not in sync right now. :(

[amy g.]

I milk the goats and cow twice a day, so we eat as much dairy as possible.

[mcconnellboys]

I buy organic and flash pasteurized as often as possible for most dairy. Organic hard cheeses are the only dairy product I've had trouble with; so I'm still not organic on those....

[Catwoman]

Milk, cheese, half & half.... I'm a dairy fiend! :D

 

Cat

[meena]

We consume dairy products without fear or trepidation. :) I usually buy organic milk because DH prefers it and organic yogurts because they seem to have the simplest ingredient lists; otherwise, all other dairy products I purchase are conventional/non-organic.

 

When my DD was young and starting to drink cow's milk, my MIL insisted that I was destroying DD's health by allowing her to have any kind of dairy. I'm more of an 'all things in moderation' kind of person, so I proceeded to allow DD (and eventually her brothers as well) to have dairy as one part of a varied diet. My family is extremely healthy--I can count the number of times we've been to the dr due to sickness on one hand--so I guess dairy hasn't done any of us in yet.

 

With that said, I realize there are people who are extremely sensitive to dairy products. If any of us had ever shown signs of intolerance, I would have adjusted our diets accordingly.

 

Another perspective you might look into is that of the Weston A Price Foundation, an organization which supports the health benefits of dairy products in their raw (unpasteurized) state.

[BeckyFL]

We buy organic milk only, make organic yogurt, use butter from Whole Foods or Target that has no growth hormone (organic butter is too much for us) and we look for no growth hormone cheese if possible as well.

[stripe]

I love milk.

 

I understand why it's rather unnatural, but I really do love dairy.

[In the Rain]

Dairy upsets my digestion, so I've used milk alternatives for at least 20 years. My whole family uses them on cereal, and for cooking, and we have water to drink. I buy organic yogurt for dh, and organic sour cream. We rarely eat cheese, but when we do I buy regular cheese.

[AnitaMcC]

A friend sent me an article about how bad milk is to our health. Basically, no animals drink milk once they are weaned of their mothers' milk and are able to eat real solid food. And cows that produce milk even when they don't have babies do it in an artificial way and the milk quality is not good. Plus calcium in milk is not easily absorbed by human body.

I just want to see what you think. Do you drink milk or avoid it and what are your reasons for your choice? Do you avoid non organic milk and use organic or no milk at all?

Thanks! I really appreciate learning from you. This is a wonderful community from which I can glean lots of wisdom.

 

 

We love dairy. We eat a lot of cheese. We drink some milk, use it in cereal, and in cooking. Just the kids drink more than a cup a day. We use regular milk (whole for Dh and cooking, 2% for rest of us).

[Hannah C.]

I love dairy products, specifically milk, cheese, and yogurt. We just buy the regular stuff, and avoid low-fat products. I grew up drinking whole milk and I love it. That being said, I eat cereal with milk pretty much every morning, have a glass of milk several times a week, and eat something with good amounts of cheese once or twice a week, so it's not excessive.

[JeneralMom]

We have raw whole milk, I make yoghurt and kefir from the raw milk, have raw/cultured butter, and are awaiting our first order of raw cheese. For sour cream, cream cheese (if I don't make them) and other cheeses we find organic versions or at the very least, versions that don't use bovine growth hormone or antibiotics.

[Ellie]

But dairy products are tasty. Why would I avoid them altogether??

 

I don't give cow's milk to children; in fact, I rarely use cow's milk as a beverage at all. That's the kind of milk that humans don't need.

 

Both my dds were lactose intolerant which meant we didn't do cold cereal. However, we eat cheese and sour cream, yogurt once in awhile. I put cream in my hot tea. Yummo. And I prefer Plugra butter instead of mystery margarine product.

 

So, milk as a beverage...no. Dairy products in general, sure.

[MyLittleWonders]

We are all dairy/casein intolerant, so no dairy around here. We use coconut milk and rice milk as substitutes, every once in a while buy Daiya "cheese" and sometimes will buy coconut milk yogurt. It was hard at first (we were dairy addicts, which was probably a clue that we had issues with it), but now it's as easy as being gluten free and free of all artificial ingredients.

[Laurie4b]

Love milk and other dairy!

 

Promised Land: a land flowing with milk and honey.

 

I like honey, too! :)

[Caitilin]

We buy local, organic raw milk, hormone-free butter, raw cheese, and organic yogurt. We eat all of it. I am not convinced that simply because we are the only animal which consumes the milk of other animals makes doing so a bad idea. We are also the only animal which does a lot of other things too--we cook our food, for instance (yes, I know there are raw foodies too, but as a rule, humans cook their food).

[Jen in PA]

I haven't found a dairy product that I don't like. :D I eat lots of cheese, sour cream, and use cream and whole milk. I also make whole milk yogurt. Dropping dairy out of my diet caused my health to worsen, not improve (wheat turned out to be the culprit). I find dairy to be an easy and tasty way to get plenty of the protein and fat that I need in my diet.

[jld]

I think they're unhealthy, but I love them, too. We have them for a treat.

 

There's a lot of info on vegan sites (McDougall's, for example) on how dairy contributes to lots of different illnesses. Worth looking into . ..

[Rosie_0801]

Around here, dairy products are in the junk food category.

 

Rosie

[Parrothead]

I buy whole milk, a plethora of cheeses, several kinds of cream, yogurt, and butter every shopping day.

[justamouse]

I buy whole milk, a plethora of cheeses, several kinds of cream, yogurt, and butter every shopping day.

 

You and me both.

 

if you saw how much dairy was in my house right now, you'd be scared. Tomorrow it will be even worse. :D

 

FTR, all of my kids are beanpoles and drink almost all milk (and water). And, I found that I wasn't as healthy when I stopped eating it. My body needs it. YMMV

Edited December 20, 2010 by justamouse

[Ellie]

Dropping dairy out of my diet caused my health to worsen, not improve (wheat turned out to be the culprit).

A friend's testimony about dairy:

 

She and her dh had been married, oh, 10 years or more. His nickname was "Red," because of his skin issues, poor guy.

 

So she decided to change their diet, which included no dairy at all. I forget why she decided that. Anyway, after some months of no dairy, her dh's skin cleared up completely, such that people who had known him since he was a teenager didn't recognize him. And she got pregnant. They'd been unable to have children. Can't explain it, but there it is. :-)

[gardening momma]

We consume dairy products without fear or trepidation.

Same here.

[Liz CA]

Check out the Weston Price Foundation as well. There is a lot of differing info about milk and it's harm and benefits depending on where you are looking.

Weston Price points out the difference between pasteurized and homogenized milk and the raw product.

[colleenebeans]

We used to be BIG milk drinkers. About 6 months ago my 10 year old son insisted that he wanted to be a vegetarian after doing research on raising animals for food. He was horrified by what he dug up and has been a true vegetarian since. Being very active in FFA myself growing up I knew exactly how the dairy farms worked. In order for a cow to produce milk, it has to be preggo, but when calf is born, they dont want the calf drinking the precious milk, so the calf gets the short end of the stick...literally. If you ever heard the saying "there is a little bit of veal in every gallon of milk" that is what the saying means. Also, if you think about it...a cows milk is designed to support the needs of a big boned bulky calf and make it all big and beefy, why wouldnt it do that to us too?

 

I also have now become a vegetarian and cut dairy as well. I see huge health benefits, clearer skin, lost weight, etc. We love almond milk and use it instead. As far as calcium goes...broccoli is full of calcium and more digestible then cows milk. I also get calcium fortified orange juice. Dropping cows milk as worked for us and had alot of positive effects on us. Now as far as our family members accepting this...thats a whole other story...it was almost as bad as when I told them I would be homeschooling...LOL. My parents still try to get my son to eat meat...it never works. They finally just keep the freezer full of veggie nuggets and are used to heating them up for him...LOL.

 

Dont get me wrong, I am not against people who choose to use dairy, its just not for us.

[katemary63]

I milk the goats and cow twice a day, so we eat as much dairy as possible.

 

:iagree: Love dairy! Eat lots!

[Lolly]

I use it but don't drink it. Dh drinks it by the gallon. One dd drinks it. The rest do not.

[Laura Corin]

My boys drink organic milk. I have moved to soy milk due to cholesterol issues. We eat a lot of things that our ancient ancestors would not have recognised: I'm not convinced that, as omnivores, we should be too alarmed about this.

 

Laura

[Tarreymere]

We have very inexpensive raw milk available nearby, ironically I am lactose intolerant. I use it for cooking and baking and making cheese and yogurt for the rest of the family. I had always naturally avoided milk because of my intolerance, but took a lot of lecturing on how healthful it was from my family. They were also big supporters of white bread over that nasty wheat stuff I used.

[Tammyla]

I love dairy!

 

Milk, cheese, yogurt, ice-cream...mmmmm.:001_smile:

[AngelaNYC]

We use dairy products in moderation. I know there isn't much nutritional benefit and too much can be actually be harmful. But we enjoy cheese, ice cream, butter on our toast, and milk in our cereal and coffee. That's the extent of our dairy use. And I try and buy either organic or at the very least, hormone- and antibiotic-free.

Edited December 20, 2010 by Abkjw01

[laundrycrisis]

We had to strictly avoid all dairy for years, even trace amounts, due to DS1's allergy, which he has officially grown out of. We use some dairy now. I find that when I consume too much casein, my asthma flares up, so I keep it in moderation for myself.

[HollyDay]

oldest dd is very allergic to dairy, so none for her. I even have to read labels on store bought bread, crackers, etc. That is main reason I make my own snacks, breads, and such. I limit my intake but I do not avoid it. I use Almond milk for cereal, pancakes, etc. But, I do eat cheese and the occasional dish of ice cream. Youngest doesn't like dairy except for the occasional milk shake in the summer and colby jack cheese. When I do purchase milk, it is organic. So, I guess I'm in the middle. We do not totally avoid dairy. But, we do greatly limit it.

[JFSinIL]

I love milk, cheese, ice cream....four of the six people here are lactose intolerant to varying degrees, so the Lactaid bottle is always out on the counter! I buy it in bulk!!!

 

I would buy organic dairy from the local Oberweiss dairy but is costs almost twice what plain old "evil milk" ;) from the grocery store does, and since we go through so much of it.....

[Rivka]

I think that SO much of the stuff people put out there about the benefits and risks of various foods is just junk science.

 

None of us are lactose intolerant, and so we enjoy our butter, cheese, hot cocoa, cream sauces, and (for the kids) milk.

[fairytalemama]

I grew up drinking milk twice a day and eating cheese, ice cream, etc. and loving it. My dh discovered this year that he is dairy sensitive so he eliminated it except for an occasional ice cream cheat. Because of his issue, I have eliminated dairy from all my cooking and have discovered the joy of rice and almond milk. I myself have become dairy sensitive this year (I wonder if it's because we've reduced our dairy intake so much?) so I avoid it most of the time too. Eating anything that's really cheesy or drinking egg nog now makes me ill.:(

 

My kids still love "cow milk" and cheese so our fridge is like a milk extravaganza --- organic cow milk, vanilla almond milk, and plain rice milk. When I make pizza, I use mozzarella on half and make the other half cheese free with nutritional yeast sprinkled on it. I can't get used to the taste and texture of soy cheese so I eliminate cheese from all my other recipes.

[NanceXToo]

Milk, cheese, half & half.... I'm a dairy fiend! :D

 

Cat

 

don't forget yogurt, ice cream, pudding.... chocolate milk.... yep, me, too! :D

[phathui5]

We don't drink cow's milk at all, but I do let the kids eat cheese.

[Haiku]

We are vegan and avoid all animal products. I wouldn't do dairy anyway because dd8 is allergic to milk and we can have a perfectly healthy diet without any form of milk/dairy.

 

Tara

[Dawn in OH]

I am the mother of a family of cheese lovers. The kids and my husband drink milk, me, not so much. I do however love cream in my coffee. We love ice cream and make our own. I also have a love affair with butter, but use it sparingly. Everyone loves yogurt except my oldest son.

 

Yeah, we do dairy.

[Rivka]

I can't believe I didn't mention ice cream in my litany of dairy products we love. Safeway just came out with a white chocolate raspberry ice cream with nuggets of chocolate truffle in it. I am the happiest person ever.

[bluemongoose]

We have one dairy anaphylactic (sp?) in the family and 3 mildly intolerant. 1 of the mildly intolerant can have cheese and butter, but pays if they have more than that! The other 2 do ok with yogurt as well as cheese and butter. DH can have any dairy he likes.

 

I purchase hormone free milk for DH to have on his cereal, but not necessarily organic. I purchase hormone free or organic cheese for all of us except the anaphylactic one. All of us except hubby use rice milk for drinking and I also use rice milk for cooking and sometimes use coconut milk or soy milk.

[Ali in OR]

Big supporters of milk products here! And I personally believe that it is healthy for us. My disabled dd doesn't have a big appetite, but she absolutely loves cheese. It is the only food that she self-feeds. It is a major tool in my bag of tricks for keeping her happy when we're in public. It would be difficult and expensive to get enough calories in her without dairy products (i.e. I think I would have to use a lot of Pediasure). And unlike my other kids, she has no cavities!

 

We have no dairy sensitivities here. My own personal unscientific opinion with no research to support it is that our ancestors have been big dairy consumers for many centuries. Lots of Scandinavian and northern European blood. When we were learning about the Vikings, I remember reading that milk and cheese were a big part of their diet. Short growing season there, but cows graze on the grasses and produce milk that people can make into cheese to store for the winter. Anyway, I find it a comforting thought to think that I am made for cheese and am living the way my ancestors did!:D

[knit247]

I grew up on dairy products and still love them all today! We buy Bio (organic) whenever possible, but I don't worry if we can't get a particular item. My daughters and I drink 2-3 cups milk (we can find skim at the Commissary - I don't think Germany goes below 1% or some such) each day. DH doesn't usually drink milk. One DD loves whole milk and will drink that if I need it for a recipe and have some left. We also eat cheeses, butter, ice cream, etc.

 

Bring on the dairy! :D

[Whereneverever]

Lots 'o milk and cheese here.

[Firefly]

We buy local, organic raw milk, hormone-free butter, raw cheese, and organic yogurt. We eat all of it. I am not convinced that simply because we are the only animal which consumes the milk of other animals makes doing so a bad idea. We are also the only animal which does a lot of other things too--we cook our food, for instance (yes, I know there are raw foodies too, but as a rule, humans cook their food).

 

 

:iagree: My sentiments exactly! And we only do raw/organic, too.

[momto2Cs]

We also do raw milk, for yogurt, cheese, etc. I buy organic (and local). I get our milk from the same person I get eggs, pork and lamb from, so it works out pretty well, and the kids love playing at her farm when I'm there for a weekly egg and milk pickup.

 

Having said that, I have never personally been much of a milk drinker, though I like Greek yougurt and I love some cheeses.

[LidiyaDawn]

Yep, lots of milk products here. The kids love cheese, ice cream, milk on cereal, yoghurt - especially that. No dairy-related health problems in our family. :)