Confused!!! - Liberty,MO

It is simple really. Say I make a change in my life. Say this change is someone has convinced me milk is bad. I will then go around telling everyone else milk is bad. Say the same person that convinced me milk was bad didn't mention cheese, I will continue to eat cheese and not seek out any information that shows this contradicts my milk decision. It is simple psychology, we seek to back up the choices we make.

Next question.....:p

Hmm? I'm with you on this one! I never knew or heard that milk was bad for you? You need the calcium in any dairy product...And how is it still on the food pyramid? My whole family drinks milk and enjoy it and have never had a problem with any dairy either....And yes, cheese is a dairy product. I agree with ya!

I've heard a lot about the added hormones they give to cows to make them produce an extreme amount of milk, much more than would be natural for them. Those hormones then get passed into their milk, then to us. Those folks who are talking about organic cheeses or other dairy, probably mean the ones produced without these hormones.

They are saying that these added hormones, along with childhood obesity, are putting our girls into puberty way too soon (like at age 7 they are growing breasts and starting their periods).

I think it's probably a combination of a lot of things. I'm guessing lots of processed foods, fast food, lack of physical activity, mixed with all the food additives is in general making us unhealthy. I highly doubt that just drinking a glass or two of milk a day, along with cheese/yogurt or other dairy foods is the problem by itself.

ST

Yes, cheese is made from milk.....

I don't know what people are talking about milk not being healthy...I wouldn't listen to that - sorry - but I would go with what works for me and my family...I truly believe that milk is an IMPORTANT part of ones diet and gives us the calcium we need to help keep our bones strong!!

They've changed the food pyramid so many times over the years...i just stick with what I know...and what I grew up with instead of listening to all the scare tactics about what causes cancer and what something did to mice in an experiment - they give them like 1000X the normal ingested...so of course something is going to happen!! DAH!!!

i think milk is good for you and your kids and your bones. maybe not an excessive amount

I LOVE milk, drink about 12 oz for breakfast and again before bed. And I like white russians, which are Kahlua and vodka and milk. But milk is high in calories even if it has a lot of good stuff for your bones. I think people go overboard and the pendulum swings too much one way or the other. We as a society for many many years have been drinking milk and there is nothing wrong with that. So what if cavemen did not drink milk, cavemen died when they were 30 years old. Cheese is indeed made from milk and the same calcium that is good for you and fat that is bad for you is in both milk and cheese.
Oh, and the bad thing about cows getting hormones all the time in order to give milk? People forget that only cows that are pregnant give milk so they have those hormones in them as well. It may not be the best for the cow to be artificially "pregnant" at all times, but I doubt it makes much difference in the milk they produce.
PS: I am from Holland where milk and cheeses and porridges and puddings made with milk and buttermilk and cheeses are a daily staple, and I did not get my period until I was 15. Both my girls love their milk and cheese and my oldest got her period at 12.5 and the 11.5 year old has not gotten hers yet.

Another reason some people oppose cow's milk is because it's for cows...meaning, essentially we are ingesting a substance that is supposed to nourish a calf into becoming a giant animal...and the theory is that we should drink milk from an animal that is more "our size". A lot of it does have to do with hormones, which others have mentioned as well.

In the end, although I do think that both theories have some merit, dairy is certainly okay and healthy and delicious to have in moderation...just like everything else!

I do know people who have taken dairy out of their lives and felt much better. I don't think that works for everyone though and I personally would never even consider it! ;)

I haven't read the other comments, but I'm guessing it has to do with pasturized vs non-pasterized milk.

Pasterized kills everything in it. It can also make it more difficult to digest. But it protects against things like e.coli and other nasty bugs (but you can also prevent that by feeding cows/goats their proper diet and cleaning their utters really good before milking).

Non-pasterized milk has a ton of good things in it. It's also much easier for us to digest than pasterized. But it does carry the risk of infection...but if you educate yourself, you'll see that it's possible to avoid those risks. Just farmers do mass milking these days and feed cows improperly, leading to illness, which leads to a need for antibiotics, which leads to a higher chance of e.coli and other bugs in the milk. So, you need to find a farmer that knows how to REALLY care for a cow.

I'm guessing the organic cheese is non-pasterized and that's why it's recommended.

EDITED TO ADD: I've read most of the other comments and wanted to add that I do think that we are meant eat meat. I know that's not what you're asking, but I think a lot of people are trying to go vegan, but I don't at all believe that is a healthy way to live. For the first eight years of my marriage (so a couple years ago), that was the way I tried eating. I didn't eat red meat, ate some chicken and turkey but was trying to toss that out of my diet as much as possible. I was also on a low fat diet.

Then I ended up prego with a placenta previa when full term and had to do all I could do to increase my iron/hemoglobin. The doctor mentioned red meat. So, I decided to go for it. I ate a ton of red meat (organic) and I was shocked at the difference I felt. There was a strength inside of me that I hadn't felt for YEARS. And I'm not usually anemic or anything. There's just something in the meat - specifically red meat - that to me was very clearly needed by my body, even after baby was born. So, I no longer omit that from my diet, nor do I think it's healthy to.

With fats, I always lose my hair really bad after I have a baby. There's the initial hormone change that causes the hairloss. Then it keeps going, and I lose a ton. I was talking to one of my friends (big into nutritiion) and she said I need more fat in my diet. I was definitely on a low fat diet. So, I ate more fats. I stopped draining fat out of my meat (again, it was organic, which I think is VERY important). After I had my baby, my hormones changed, I lost some hair, then it STOPPED. It was my 4th baby, and I had never had that happen. The only difference was eating more fat and eating meat.

For me, when I look at what foods we should or shouldn't eat, I think of what God or Mother Nature put on the earth for us. If we were out in the wilderness, what foods would there be (assuming there is any!). There would be normal milk, veggies, fruits, animals, etc. I think those are the healthy foods. There is info out there that shows that meat and fat is actually very important for you to eat. Watching "Fat Head" has some of that info in it.

Anyway...enough of my rambling and going completely off topic!

Much of what is marketed commercially is pretty dirty. It usually doesn't cause acute illness because of pasteurization, but sterilized filth is still filth. I suspect this has something to do with the increasing numbers of people who get sick from milk. I've talked to a lot of people who can't eat milk or eggs in the US, but can in Europe, where the food rules are stricter.

I believe milk from healthy cows eating grass is healthy food. I'm of northern European stock and my ancestors have been drinking milk for thousands of years. I drink it raw, when I can get it. My husband insists on pasteurized for himself and the kids. Of course, this kind of quality milk is a *lot* more expensive: anywhere from $8-$12 a gallon. If I was on a limited budget, I'd buy the good stuff and water it down. The cheap milk is cheap for a reason. I don't want my kids drinking it.

If you ancestors have *not* been drinking milk for thousands of years, milk might not be a healthy food for you, regardless of quality. And anyone can have an allergy.

The milk vs cheese issue is simple. Many people are unable to digest lactose, the sugars that naturally occur in milk. In cheese, that lactose has been broken down by bacteria, and is no longer present. So people who are sensitive to the milk *sugars* can't drink milk but they can eat cheese. People who are sensitive to the milk *proteins* can't consume either.

I definitely think that life without dairy would be better for everyone., its basically milk-fat solids and while it has traces of calcium it really isnt a great source of anything else. Plus you need magnesium and vit d to absorb calcium properly without it, calcium hits us like a rock and not like rubber(which its supposed to) A vegan diet, if obtainable is IMO the cheapest, most humane and cleanest way we can eat. But i never recommend that to anyone because its too darn difficult! I always recommend people cut back on meat, or omit red meat or give up meat altogether because meat is a much more plaguing thing, and it is much easier to rid ourselves of.

I think when people recommend organic dairy it is because they realize that giving up dairy completely is just not an option, but eating organic dairy eliminates some of the bad things that come with it (like antibiotics and hormones) Those are pretty big culprits in the acidic/dangerous vile institution that is our factory farming nightmare.

What all centurians (people who live over 100 years) have in common is a predominantly meat free diet chocked full of fresh fruits, veggies and whole grains and a rare instance of dairy, on occasion centurians have fresh fish and really sharp cheese in their diet , but it is very moderate.

i still drink it but someone told me we were the only species to drink another species' milk. something like cow milk has what baby cows need and human milk has what humans need. i dunno like i said i still drink it although the added hormone thing does make me wonder. ['m sure it isn't the only factor but it is enough of one.

NO idea on the cheese.

You are right and it is confusing, let me see if I can help:
People who say humans don't need milk are mostly right- young people obviously need milk but naturally it would come from mom, not a cow. The problem nowadays, at least in the U.S., is that, as people already posted here, the cows are given a lot of hormones that are passed through the milk. Additionally, the cows are consuming a lot of pesticides in their food which concentrates as it moves up the food chain so that it worse for us than them, and even worse for growing kids. Also, lots of people choose to become vegan because dairy farming is diasterous for the earth.
So, because kids do need a lot of calicium organic dairy is a better option because it mitigates much of those problems, as does breastfeeding. Giving kids broccolli, soy/tufu, fortified OJ are good sources of calcium. My oldest likes the chocolate flavored soy milk (and b/c he eats so healthily I don't care about the added sugar).
BTW- in response to another poster's comment: yes, the "calcium" (dairy & alternatives) is still on the newest food guide pyramid, but it has been shrinking in size over the generations. did you know that the Four Food Groups concept was created by the U.S. Dairy Council?

If there are actually documented, scientifically researched problems with cow's milk, that's one thing, but saying "we are the only animals that do it" is the stupidest argument I've ever heard. We're also the only animals to cook our meat--should we stop doing that and go raw? No other animals, to my knowledge, do any kind of cooking and baking at all, so let's all stop that. We're the only animals who wash our hands/food before eating--by all means an unhealthy practice. No other animals store their food in refrigerators--let's all dig holes in the ground instead. Come on, we as humans ARE DIFFERENT from all other animals! We have the ability to domesticate animals, which no other animal has, and THAT is what allows us to be the only animal to drink another animal's milk.

Amanda G and Mommy R said it best and said much of what I would have said.

wow how random! My husband was just saying something about this las night and thats the first I ever heard of it too! He said something about it being bad for you (not sure why) and also made a point that we (as humans) are the ONLY animals that drink milk 1. past infancy, and 2. from a source other than our mother. I dont know how true these are but he's usually pretty correct when he divulges info like this. curious to see what the other answers are.

Read up on this - you have to get informed - and the media isn't the place. Pasteurized milk IS the issue - I am putting some articles here to read up and learn the facts:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/0...

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/0...

http://search.mercola.com/search/Pages/results.aspx?k=raw...