Too Much Dairy

[Negin]

Especially cow's milk. I'm sharing this here because someone asked and it's a spin-off from the calcium thread. I hope some find this helpful. I don't claim to know it all by any means and am learning along with everyone else. Me personally ... I've always loved dairy and milk and still do. I'm just trying to have less of it and it's not particularly easy. :tongue_smilie: So now, I have more almond milk and even goat's milk (which I think is better, but I could be wrong). If anyone has more info, please share. Also, in my siggy line is the link to my blog. I need to post this info there as well, just been very overwhelmed and busy lately. Sorry if this is all a bit jumbled and disorganized.

 

If milk were really good for our bones, Americans would have some of the strongest bones in the world. Instead, we have some of the weakest!

 

The best solution for bone health: eating a low-acid diet. A high-acid environment leaches calcium from bones. The American diet tends to be acid-producing.

Too much sugar, fat, carbohydrates, and protein can make you overly acidic.

When that happens, your body pulls calcium from your bones in an effort to control the imbalance.

While dairy does contain ample calcium, it’s also highly acidic. So if you drink milk or eat a lot of animal protein and don’t include plenty of alkalizing foods, your diet will suck more calcium from bone than it provides and eventually cause osteoporosis.

If milk were really good for our bones, all the people in high milk-consuming nations would have some of the strongest bones in the world. Instead, they have some of the weakest!

While dairy does contain ample calcium, it’s also highly acidic. So if you drink milk or eat a lot of animal protein and don’t include plenty of alkalizing foods, your diet will suck more calcium from bone than it provides and eventually cause osteoporosis.

 

While for years doctors have been recommending dietary calcium as the best way to ward off osteoporosis, many studies cast doubt on this idea. For example, a 2003 Harvard study looked at diet and hip fractures among 72,337 older women for 18 years and concluded that "Neither milk nor a high-calcium diet appears to reduce (fracture) risk." A more recent Harvard study, this one from 2007, analyzed seven trials that followed a total of 170,991 women for several years and found no association between total calcium intake and hip fracture risk.

The truth is that calcium isn't all it's cracked up to be when it comes to bone health. After all, in Africa and Asia, where people generally don't take calcium supplements and they consume little or no dairy (except for breastfed infants), fracture rates are 50 to 70 percent lower than they are in the US. Statistics show that most industrially advanced countries have the highest fracture rates, although they consume more dairy products than other countries.

 

Excessive amounts of calcium from supplementation and/or dairy intake can suppress the thyroid gland.

 

More illnesses are caused by a need for magnesium than for calcium.

Arthritis and joint pain are caused by excessive calcium and insufficient magnesium. If you need info on magnesium, I've posted about that many times before. You can do a search here, or, please visit my blog.

 

Milk is probably the #1 acne culprit. Even organic milk is a problem. Switch to calcium-fortified soy milk and other sources of calcium – spinach, collard greens, tofu, plain yogurt.

 

Lactase is an enzyme that helps you digest lactose, a sugar found naturally in milk and dairy products. Your body needs to make lactase before lactose can be digested. But if you’re over the age of 5, your body may be making very little lactase. 75% of the world’s population stops producing lactase after they’re weaned. That’s almost everyone! This is nature’s way of telling us we don’t need to drink milk in order to be healthy.

 

Lactose intolerance is actually an enzyme deficiency. It’s not an allergy. It increases with age as our enzyme production decreases.

 

If you don’t have enough lactase, lactose can’t be digested well enough to get into your bloodstream. Instead, it remains in your intestines, attracting water, which leads to bloating. When lactose makes its way into your large intestines (colon), intestinal bacteria eat this undigested sugar creating gas and acid. The gas and acid produce cramps, more gas, and, frequently, diarrhea.

[Negin]

4 WAYS TO PREVENT YOUR BONES FROM BREAKING

1. Take 500-1000 mg of magnesium a day and 500-800 mg of calcium – if you’re eating dairy every day, you may want to add more magnesium to your diet and supplements

2. Strengthen your bones with bone-stressing exercise

3. Learn to balance. People break bones when they fall.

4. Reduce your stress. Stress hormones such as cortisol, pull calcium out of your bones.

 

TOO MUCH CALCIUM

Osteoporosis is the greatest misunderstood women’s health problem of modern times. No matter what you’ve heard, taking a lot of calcium is not the answer. If it were, fewer women today would have broken bones.

Think about it. Doctors have been pushing calcium supplements on women for decades, and osteoporosis continues to plague us.

 

Always remember this: High calcium intake causes bones to form that are brittle. Magnesium causes bones to form that are strong and flexible. You need plenty of magnesium and enough, but not too much, calcium.

 

While taking calcium may help preserve bone density, it also makes your bones more brittle, and brittle bones break easily.

Taking too much calcium has other consequences:

Heart Disease - Unabsorbed calcium can collect in your arteries where it contributes to atherosclerosis.

Arthritis - Unabsorbed calcium can collect in your joints where it becomes arthritis.

These are diseases that are becoming more common in women since calcium has been emphasized. Not only is calcium not the answer, in many cases it’s the problem. No wonder so many women suffer from heart attacks and painful arthritis as they age!

Excessive amounts of calcium from supplementation and/or dairy intake can also suppress the thyroid gland.

More illnesses are caused by a need for magnesium than for calcium.

Arthritis and joint pain are caused by excessive calcium and insufficient magnesium.

 

Meanwhile, vested interest groups continue to give out old information. The dairy and supplement industries are two of them. A review of nearly 60 studies on dairy consumption and bones published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that there was not enough evidence to support recommending dairy products for osteoporosis prevention.

 

While for years doctors have been recommending dietary calcium as the best way to ward off osteoporosis, many studies cast doubt on this idea. For example, a 2003 Harvard study looked at diet and hip fractures among 72,337 older women for 18 years and concluded that "Neither milk nor a high-calcium diet appears to reduce (fracture) risk." A more recent Harvard study, this one from 2007, analyzed seven trials that followed a total of 170,991 women for several years and found no association between total calcium intake and hip fracture risk.

The truth is that calcium isn't all it's cracked up to be when it comes to bone health. After all, in Africa and Asia, where people generally don't take calcium supplements and they consume little or no dairy (except for breastfed infants), fracture rates are 50 to 70 percent lower than they are in the US. Statistics show that most industrially advanced countries have the highest fracture rates, although they consume more dairy products than other countries.

[Negin]

EAT MORE

ALKALINE-RICH FOODS

For healthy bones, your blood needs to maintain a slightly alkaline pH level (a measure of relative acidity or alkalinity), which you can usually achieve by eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables for every one serving of red meat, chicken or fish. Another good idea is to eat vegan--no meat or dairy--one day a week, which is very easy given the wide availability of beans, tofu, and other protein these days.

The best solution for bone health is to eat more greens. Eating more greens, which, in effect, makes your body less acidic and more alkaline, is the most effective way to protect your bones. Try to have one fresh veggie juice daily and eat more raw greens. Juicing is wonderful for making your system more alkaline. If you don’t have time for making a veggie juice, powdered green drinks - Green Magma is an excellent one - are good also. Look for labels that contain little or no protein, lots of dehydrated fruit blends (especially citric fruits which are particularly alkalizing), as many greens as possible, bee pollen, and whole grains. Avoid products with ingredients that you can’t pronounce, as well as those that contain sucralose, which can negatively impact your kidneys and urinary tract. Capra Mineral Whey is another excellent drink to help alkalize the body. I love it.

Leafy greens (including arugula and other salad greens, collards, spinach, and Swiss chard) are high in calcium, magnesium, and vitamin K, so important to bone health.

Dr. Susan Brown, leading researcher in the area of osteoporosis, and author of the book “Better Bones, Better Body,†has found that the single most important factor in changing bone density and decreasing osteoporosis risk is maintaining optimal pH through an alkaline diet and lifestyle.

 

RIGHT KIND OF CALCIUM

Your body does need calcium, but you must supply it with the right kind of calcium – which does not come from most dairy products – along with plenty of other vitamins and minerals.

Alternative sources of calcium:

Eggs

Non-pasteurized/unpasteurized dairy and goat’s milk products

Fish with soft bones (salmon, sardines)

Various fruits like strawberries

Goat Cheese

Goat Milk

Green vegetables like romaine lettuce, and kale

Kelp

Liver

Molasses

Nuts

Tofu (organic and non-GMO)

Plain Yogurt is one of the most easily assimilated sources of calcium. It’s easily digested, less likely to cause allergic reactions than other dairy foods, and rich in probiotics, beneficial bacteria vital to healthy digestive and immune systems. Yogurt is also an unexpected source of iodine, helping to promote better thyroid function.

Whole Grains

[Negin]

PROTEIN

Too much protein increases your risk for fracture. Too little protein causes low collagen and brittle bones. You need as much as 15-20 grams of protein at each meal, at least for a while. A study out of Harvard Medical School found that women who ate the most protein had the fewest hip fractures.

Eat some animal and some vegetable protein each day. Don’t fool yourself by thinking you can get away with eating protein only occasionally. You’ll survive, but your bones won’t be strong. Eating protein once a day is not enough. This won’t support muscle strength and tone.

• Add a scoop of rice protein powder to your morning cereal or juice.

• Add beans, nuts, or slices of pressed tofu to salads. Even the small amount of protein found in beans is better than no protein at all.

There’s no way you can have strong, toned muscles without eating enough protein. If you’re doing the right kind of exercise and not eating much protein, you’re fooling yourself. You may be healthy in other ways, but you’re not protecting your bones.

1 egg contains only 6 grams of protein

1 cup of yogurt has from 8-12 grams

A serving of chicken or fish can give you 20-30 grams of protein — if you’re able to digest it. Of course, if you’re taking antacids, you’re not utilizing the protein you’re eating. Antacids stop your stomach’s acid from breaking down food so you can’t absorb it properly.

Add protein powder to your cereal, or start the day with a protein shake. Boost your protein intake with snacks of nuts, cheese, and yogurt. Add beans to your salads. Don’t count calories. Count grams of protein. If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, it’s even more important to concentrate on proteins.

 

MAGNESIUM

A diet low in magnesium (the norm in most modern-day diets), and relatively high in calcium actually contributes to osteoporosis. Remember: Too much calcium and not enough magnesium forms brittle bones. Most of us get too much calcium and not enough magnesium in our diets. Milk, cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products are the culprits. They’re high in calcium with no magnesium. To balance the calcium in dairy, you need to eat large amounts of magnesium-rich foods:

Almonds

Avocado

Barley

Beans

Brazil nuts

Brown rice

Buckwheat

Dark Chocolate

Dates

Figs

Garlic

Greens (including Collard Greens and Dandelion Greens)

Kelp

Molasses

Millet

Parsley

Pecans

Rye

Sea vegetables (seaweed and kelp – but make sure they come from non-polluted waters and are high-quality)

Shrimp

Walnuts

Whole Grains

Wheat bran

Wheat germ

 

MANGANESE helps maintain calcium balance and prevent further calcium loss. The following foods are rich in manganese:

Avocadoes

Falafel

Garbanzo Beans (chickpeas)

Hummus

Nuts – especially pecans and hazelnuts

Seeds

 

SILICA is necessary for calcium utilization and bone strength.

Found in fruits and veggies

 

LYPOCENE helps prevent and alleviate hip fractures

Found in:

Blood oranges

Guavas

Pink grapefruits

Prickly pears

Tomatoes

Watermelon

Lypocene is more abundant in processed tomato products, including tomato paste, ketchup, pasta sauce, and tomato soup

 

BORON helps maintain calcium balance and prevent further calcium loss. This amount is easily met with a diet rich in fruits, nuts, and vegetables and in most healthy vegetarian diets.

Foods high in magnesium are also high in boron. Boron protects against osteoporosis.

 

POTASSIUM helps balance the body’s pH. Over time, an acidic pH can cause bone loss. Most fruits and veggies contain potassium, especially the following:

Acorn squash

Bananas

Prunes

Raisins

Spinach

 

VITAMIN K keeps calcium from getting stuck in your arteries, where it’s inaccessible to bones.

Significantly reduces the incidence of fractures – although it does not increase bone density

Found in lettuce, spinach, chard, cabbage, broccoli, collard greens, turnip greens, parsley, cauliflower, kidney beans

Because the body cannot store vitamin K for long periods of time or in large doses, benefits are best obtained through food

Try to have 1 cup of spinach at least 3 times a week

Vitamin K is fat-soluble, so eat your greens with a little olive oil to help absorb the nutrient

 

SULFUR is necessary for calcium uptake. It increases bone and connective tissue strength.

Sulfur food sources are eggs, onions, garlic, and asparagus.

 

TURMERIC blocks the mechanisms that break down bone as you age. Turmeric also prevents arthritis by stopping the action of a protein that triggers joint inflammation.

To be assimilated by the body, turmeric must be mixed with black pepper and dissolved in olive, canola, or linseed oil.

All of us should regularly consume a soupspoon of turmeric every day, with a generous pinch of pepper and olive oil. You can use it in your salad dressings, cooking, vegetables, and soups

In store-bought curry mixes, turmeric represents only 20% of the total, so it’s better to obtain turmeric directly

Because powdered turmeric is a powerful blood-cleansing herb, don’t overdo it.

Research has shown that turmeric in capsules is poorly absorbed by the digestive system.

When turmeric is not mixed with pepper or ginger, it does not pass the intestinal barrier. Pepper increases the body’s absorption of turmeric by 2000 percent

CAUTION: Some brands of turmeric powder and supplements have been found to be contaminated with heavy metals themselves. Make sure to obtain a high quality brand.

 

CATECHINS help prevent and alleviate osteoporosis

White, green, and oolong teas

Spiking tea with citrus juice such as lemon stabilizes the catechins, making them easier to absorb.

 

Pumpkinseeds are loaded with magnesium, zinc, iron, and phosphorus all vital for bone health and normal heart function.

[Negin]

EAT LESS

The best solution for bone health: eating a low-acid diet. A high-acid environment leaches calcium from bones.

If you eat a diet that is high in meat, dairy, sugar, salt, phosphorous, and caffeine, and low in fresh fruits and vegetables, and if you don't get enough exercise, and sunshine, you're writing yourself a prescription for osteoporosis.

The bottom line: For healthy bones, your blood needs to maintain a slightly alkaline pH level (a measure of relative acidity or alkalinity), which you can achieve by eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables for every one serving of red meat, chicken or fish. Another good idea is to eat vegan--no meat or dairy--one day a week, which is very easy given the wide availability of beans, tofu and other protein these days.

 

If milk were really good for our bones, all the people in high milk-consuming nations would have some of the strongest bones in the world. Instead, they have some of the weakest!

While dairy does contain ample calcium, it’s also highly acidic. So if you drink milk or eat a lot of animal protein and don’t include plenty of alkalizing foods, your diet will suck more calcium from bone than it provides and eventually cause osteoporosis.

One can completely avoid dairy and still have healthy bones. You can find calcium in a lot of foods, not just dairy.

 

Meat

Animal protein metabolizes in our bodies forming two strong acids, sulfuric and phosphoric. To keep our blood pH slightly alkaline, our bodies need to neutralize (buffer) these acids, and calcium is the best substance our bodies have to do this. And the most plentiful source of calcium is in our bones.

Animal protein also contains large amounts of phosphorous, which reacts with calcium to form an insoluble compound, inhibiting calcium absorption. If you eat a diet high in animal protein, it doesn't matter how much calcium you consume, you will still lose bone mass.

"Dietary protein increases production of acid in the blood which can be neutralized by calcium mobilized from the skeleton." - American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1995

As animal food consumption increases, so do hip fractures.

 

Too much protein increases your risk for fracture. Pay attention to your sources of protein and don’t overdo protein from animal sources. Eat some animal and some vegetable protein each day.

 

Refined sugar acidifies the body - requiring buffering with calcium which leads to bone loss.

Also, processed sugars strip the body of magnesium, which is needed for bone re-mineralization.

 

Soda and Soft Drinks containing phosphoric acid also contributes to osteoporosis; the acid having to be neutralized with calcium.

You don’t want too much phosphorus or it will keep calcium from being absorbed.

Instead of soda which creates acid, have vegetable juices which boost alkaline levels.

 

Quit smoking and cut back on alcohol. Since smokers, along with women who consume two or more alcoholic drinks daily, are at the highest risk for osteoporosis, women should refrain from smoking and limit alcohol intake.

 

Caffeine destroys calcium. Limit caffeine intake to 1 or 2 cups a day. More than 2 cups of coffee a day can affect your bones.

 

Watch your fiber intake. An overly high-fiber diet restricts the amount of calcium that is absorbed. You don’t need to go to the extreme of drastically reducing fiber intake, just consider reducing it a little. There are still a lot of good things about fiber – and it does help lower cholesterol.

 

Limited quantities of all of the above should cause no problems. Two cups of coffee (or 4 cups of green tea) a day, with an occasional cookie or dessert, is not going to affect your bones. But 4-5 cups of coffee and a lot of sugar may. Don’t take the risk. Keep your intake low.

[Negin]

SUPPLEMENTS

Our bones need more than just calcium. The way we eat – along with our lifestyle choices and stress levels – can actually contribute to bone depletion, no matter how many calcium supplements we take or glasses of milk we drink.

Calcium is an essential mineral necessary for good health [a calcium deficiency can exacerbate migraine symptoms, for example]; but bone health doesn’t depend on taking lots of calcium.

I think there is a very big difference not only in the brand but the type of calcium you use.

The major types of calcium are: Carbonate, Citrate and Bone Meal.

1. Calcium carbonate (also found in coral calcium) is the hardest calcium compound for the human body to break down and absorb. You’ll find it in a lot of supplements because it’s inexpensive. The Carbonate (like Tums) is basically like taking chalk board chalk. It may alkalize your body, but it does almost nothing for your bones.

2. Calcium citrate is slightly better than calcium carbonate, since minerals need an acidic base to break down and get used. It is a little bit more bio-available, but still not the best.

3. Bone Meal is the best source for bones and has one of the highest bio-availabilities. Just make sure it's from a clean source, and the animals it came from weren't given hormones or antibiotics. KAL from New Zealand is good and I get it from vitacost or amazon.

4. You can also get an herbal calcium source that is also bio-available and easily absorbed.

 

MAGNESIUM

Most of us need more magnesium than calcium to prevent bone loss. You need magnesium to drive calcium into your bones, which is where you want it. Unlike calcium, most people don’t get enough magnesium in their diets and dietary supplements.

For most people on a healthy diet, 400 mg of Magnesium daily should be sufficient. But for those who have symptoms of deficiency (and most of us do), I would recommend more, but probably no more than 1200 mg. Add in more magnesium gradually. Your body knows how much it can handle according to how much your bowels can tolerate. The stools should feel soft, but not excessively loose.

Take in divided doses and with meals to ensure optimal absorption – preferably more at night

I have read that it’s preferable to not take magnesium at the same time as calcium. Others say that it’s fine. This is where I am confused. I think the former makes more sense.

The most absorbable forms are:

Magnesium Citrate

Magnesium Glycinate

Magnesium Taurate

Magnesium Aspartate

Magnesium Malate

Magnesium Succinate

Magnesium Fumirate

Avoid:

Magnesium Oxide

Magnesium Carbonate

Magnesium Gluconate

Magnesium Sulfate

These are not absorbed well and are the cheapest forms

Side effects from too much magnesium include diarrhea, which can be avoided if you switch to Magnesium Glycinate.

People with kidney disease or severe heart disease should take magnesium only under a doctor's supervision.

 

VITAMIN D3

One of the studies which showed no benefit from calcium intake alone also showed that of the 72,337 women who took Vitamin D in adequate amounts there was a 37% lower risk of hip fractures. The National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute in their September, 2007 conference on Vitamin D concluded "Combined calcium and vitamin D supplementation decreases the risk of bone fracture and increases bone mineral density but vitamin D alone does not."

This conclusion about the ineffectiveness of vitamin D alone, however, was based upon relatively low doses of the vitamin.

So calcium by itself? Not so helpful. But with its colleague, vitamin D, this is a good thing. [VitaminD3 is the best absorbed].

Besides osteoporosis, vitamin D deficiency causes muscle weakness. It also increases the risk of multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and other auto-immune diseases.

Vitamin D fights frailty.

One study found that people with low levels of vitamin D walked more slowly and took longer to get up out of a chair than people with higher levels.

Another study found that when people took vitamin D, their posture improved and their thigh muscles got stronger!

And still another study showed that vitamin D actually improves your balance, making you less likely to fall!

Vitamin D deficiency is not an occasional issue. It is in fact, a worldwide epidemic.

If you're under 60, take at least 2,000 IU per day.

If you're 60 or over, take 5,000 IU per day of vitamin D3.

Your need for vitamin D3 is affected by age, skin color, and the severity of any deficiency

Most people are deficient in D3!

• Body-mass index (BMI) and obesity

• Older people

• Dark-skinned people

• Strict vegetarians

• People with celiac, Crohn’s disease, and cystic fibrosis

• Heredity

• Certain medications

• Regular use of sunscreen

• Northern Latitudes (above that of Atlanta, Georgia)

D3 in pill form is very poorly absorbed. Be sure to take the oil-filled gelatin capsules, and take them with a meal that contains fat to help with absorption.

Don't be concerned that 2,000-5,000 IU will give you too much. With exposure to sunlight in the summer, the body can generate between 10,000 IU and 20,000 IU of vitamin D per hour with no ill effects. In addition, no adverse effects have been seen with supplemental vitamin D intakes up to 10,000 IU daily.

To this day, medical textbooks mention the risk of vitamin D toxicity. Yet, the scientific literature suggests that toxicity occurs only with very large intakes of vitamin D over prolonged periods (more than 10,000 IUs daily for longer than 6 months). Except in people with disorders known as granulomatosis (such as sarcoidosis or tuberculosis), little risk (if any) is associated with vitamin D supplementation.

 

STRONIUM

Strontium is particularly helpful in building strong, flexible bones when you take it along with calcium and magnesium. But you need to take strontium at a different time. Take it on an empty stomach and take calcium and magnesium with food.

 

If you don’t have time for making a veggie juice, powdered green drinks such as Green Magma are excellent.

 

Capra Mineral Whey is another excellent drink to help alkalize the body. I love it.

[Negin]

OTHER SUPPLEMENTS – THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE NEEDED – DEPENDS ON QUALITY OF DIET

MANGANESE helps maintain calcium balance and prevent further calcium loss. But don’t take it at the same time as calcium.

This nutrient should be supplemented in the form of manganese picolinate. The recommended dose is 15 mg per day.

 

SILICA is necessary for calcium utilization and bone strength.

5-20 mg

 

LYPOCENE helps prevent and alleviate hip fractures

10-20 mg daily

 

BORON – 2-3 mg boron daily helps maintain calcium balance and prevent further calcium loss. Make sure that your daily multivitamin contains enough of this mineral. 1 mg won’t give you the protection you want unless your diet regularly contains high-boron foods.

It has been found to reduce urinary calcium loss and to increase serum levels of 17-beta estradiol (the most biologically active estrogen); both of these effects help bone health.

Boron protects against osteoporosis.

 

POTASSIUM helps balance the body’s pH. Over time, an acidic pH can cause bone loss. Take 4700-5000 mg a day.

 

VITAMIN K keeps calcium from getting stuck in your arteries, where it’s inaccessible to bones.

Vitamin K can be safely taken in high doses to not only improve the strength of bone, but to significantly reduce the incidence of fractures. Vitamin K does not increase bone density.

Another finding is that Vitamin K may also reduce the development of cancers in a study of over 400 women with osteoporosis.

Vitamin K can be safely taken at doses greater than 1 mg per day to help reduce the risk of fracture for those with osteoporosis. It is an essential part of our osteoporosis treatment and fracture prevention program.

Take 1000 mcg daily

Do not take Vitamin K if you are taking Coumadin!

You may wonder if vitamin K causes blood clots. It actually does not. You do not increase clotting risk with these doses of K unless you are taking Coumadin.

High doses of K - 5 mg per day for four years -- have been studied without any increased risk of clotting or toxicity.

[Negin]

I have more info specific to osteoporosis. I won't go further on that, unless if anyone wants it. Here are some books that may be helpful.

Building Bone Vitality: A Revolutionary Diet Plan to Prevent Bone Loss and Reverse Osteoporosis--Without Dairy Foods, Calcium, Estrogen, or Drugs by Michael Castleman

In this book, of the 136 trials they found that examined the effects of dietary calcium on osteoporotic fracture risk, two-thirds of them showed that a high calcium intake does not reduce the number of fractures--even in those who took calcium (with vitamin D) during childhood. They also found that eating fruits and vegetables improved bone density in a whopping 85 percent of studies that looked at the effects of such foods. The key to preventing osteoporosis, they determined, is eating a low-acid diet.

Understanding, Preventing and Overcoming Osteoporosis by J. A. Plant

Better Bones Better Body by Susan E. Brown

The Myth of Osteoporosis by Gillian Sanson

User's Guide to Calcium & Magnesium: Learn What You Need to Know about How These Nutrients Build Strong Bones by Nan Fuchs

[Negin]

I have a 43 page word document that I need to organize and edit on breast cancer. Here's what I have on dairy and milk as related to breast cancer.

 

Saturated fats (such as those in dairy products and red meat) cause the body to produce higher-than-normal levels of insulin. Like certain types of estrogen, high levels of insulin can stimulate cancer cell growth in the breast. In a recent study, they found a 283 percent increased risk of breast cancer in women with high insulin levels.

 

Prolonged consumption of milk from cows injected with a genetically engineered growth hormone to increase milk production. This milk is contaminated with high levels of a natural growth factor, which increases risks of breast cancer by up to seven-fold.

 

This book is fabulous as well as this one by the same author. Here's her site.

 

 

She even has one on osteoporosis.

 

She's written several books.

 

Here are some other books on breast cancer.

Waking the Warrior Goddess: Dr. Christine Horner’s Program to Protect Against and Fight Breast Cancer

The Breast Cancer Prevention Program by Samuel S. Epstein, MD and David Steinman

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer: How Hormone Balance Can Help Save Your Life by John Lee, et al.

 

HTH.

[EmmaNZ]

Negin, thanks for posting this, it was an interesting read. I am confused though, perhaps you can enlighten me?

 

People in our culture (in my case the UK) have been drinking milk, and giving it to their children as something 'good for them' for years. I don't know how many years to be fair (I would guess a hundred or so), but it's kind of ingrained now don't you think? It didn't seem to do people much harm back then. Do you think it was because the overall balance in their diet was different, because they had shorter life expectancy, something else?

 

As with all things your article seems to be saying that moderation is key, with a healthy balance of lots of other 'good stuff' in your diet, but is there more to it than that? Goodness it's so confusing! I'm particularly interested in this because my dd6 drinks a LOT of milk, and I've just discovered on a recent thread that it may be contributing to her night-time wetting.

[whitestavern]

Negin, thank you for posting! I have only skimmed but plan on going back to read in depth. But I wanted to ask you what your thoughts are re: raw milk? Based on a bit of research on my part, we have recently made the switch to all raw/pastured only dairy products. This alone limits the amount of dairy we eat as we are only able to find some cheese, milk, yogurt and butter that are pastured or raw. It's expensive as well, so we eat less. But my reading has shown that there's a completely different make up in the two types of dairy, so I'm wondering if any of the information you posted would be different for pastured/raw. Any thoughts?

[The Girls' Mom]

I'm not Negin, but I give a crack at your question...

 

People in our culture (in my case the UK) have been drinking milk, and giving it to their children as something 'good for them' for years. I don't know how many years to be fair (I would guess a hundred or so), but it's kind of ingrained now don't you think? It didn't seem to do people much harm back then. Do you think it was because the overall balance in their diet was different, because they had shorter life expectancy, something else?

 

People one hundred years ago didn't drink a large amount of their dairy from pasteurized sources. Much of their dairy intake would have been from fermented products made from raw milk. (yogurts, cheeses, curds, etc.) The raw milk contains enzymes that aid in digestion and absorption. The processed stuff we drink and eat today really doesn't resemble what people in the past consumed at all.

Edited June 13, 2012 by Apryl H

[VeganCupcake]

Thanks, Negin! This is great information.

 

Something else I've recently learned is that weight-bearing exercise, which is great for bone health, has to be done in proper alignment for the bones (especially those in the hip or head of the femur) to increase bone strength. Otherwise, the bone doesn't get the message to increase its mass. So you need to have your pelvis, legs, and feet properly aligned to get the significant benefit of exercise. Here's the link to the biomechanics article about that: http://www.alignedandwell.com/?p=3125&option=com_wordpress&Itemid=223

[Negin]

People in our culture (in my case the UK) have been drinking milk, and giving it to their children as something 'good for them' for years. I don't know how many years to be fair (I would guess a hundred or so), but it's kind of ingrained now don't you think? It didn't seem to do people much harm back then. Do you think it was because the overall balance in their diet was different, because they had shorter life expectancy, something else?

Emma, I grew up in the UK and can relate. I used to drink milk as if it was going out of style. I still love the stuff, but just happen to drink much less of it now. I love ice cream and dairy and it's hard to completely cut them out - for me, anyway.

I do think that there are many factors. Yes, pasteurization has its definite drawbacks. Also, cows in the U.S., at least, are often given hormones, which can give us humans so many problems. Never mind the fact that all milk makes our bodies more acidic. This is not necessarily the worst thing, but can be if our diets are already quite acidic. Too much of anything can't be very good. Too much milk may lead to cancer, especially breast; acne; osteoporosis; asthma and allergies, etc.

 

I wanted to ask you what your thoughts are re: raw milk?

I don't know much at all and am sure that you know far more. :)

Raw milk, I'm sure is much healthier than pasteurized. You're lucky to have access to it where you live.

 

People one hundred years ago didn't drink a large amount of their dairy from pasteurized sources. Much of their dairy intake would have been from fermented products made from raw milk. (yogurts, cheeses, curds, etc.) The raw milk contains enzymes that aid in digestion and absorption. The processed stuff we drink and eat today really doesn't resemble what people in the past consumed at all.

Thank you for this. Very true.

 

Well, more cheese for me then. :D

Yes. I love goat's cheese and I also love plain yogurt. I've been told by my naturopath friends that both are good.

 

Thanks, Negin! This is great information.

Something else I've recently learned is that weight-bearing exercise, which is great for bone health, has to be done in proper alignment for the bones (especially those in the hip or head of the femur) to increase bone strength. Otherwise, the bone doesn't get the message to increase its mass. So you need to have your pelvis, legs, and feet properly aligned to get the significant benefit of exercise. Here's the link to the biomechanics article about that: http://www.alignedandwell.com/?p=3125&option=com_wordpress&Itemid=223

Thank you for this. :)