By Carolyn E. Price.
Is milk the elixir of life or cancer-causing liquid fat that should come with a health warning?
This is a hugely interesting article about the pros and cons of milk, whether it is seen as a cancer causing agent or as the elixir of life. The author begins the article by saying: "To write about milk is to take your life in your hands." She goes on to say that there is probably no other food that has inspired such vehement accusations and counter-accusations as milk.
In the blue corner we have cow's milk as a cause of hosts of allergies, heart disease and breast cancer, not to mention excess phlegm. In the red corner we have milk as intrinsic to bone health, and protective against cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Meanwhile, on the sidelines, there are those advocating organic milk as nutritionally superior.
She asks the question should you wear the milk moustache or never touch the stuff again? How she answers that is byspeaking to organizations and people who have no direct link to a commercial organization that promotes milk, milk alternatives or therapies.
The pros and cons are then presented and debated as follows
Nutritional Value, we all know milk is a great source of calcium and is more easily absorbed by the body than say spinach (yuck!) and that it contains proteins and vitamin B.
Congestion, the sticky feeling you get in your mouth is caused by milk's fat content. A research study conducted by the University of Adelaide showed no direct correlation between mucous production and drinking milk.
Intolerance and allergies milk intolerance usually crops up before a person turns 20 and milk allergies are present in about 5% of the population.
Breast cancer the old breast cancer rates are low in Japan and they don't drink a lot of milk, therefore, milk causes breast cancer, is way too simplistic. The author suggests that saturated fat and obesity that are the real problem.
Heart disease and diabetes a professor of epidemeology points out that it is not milk that is the problem with regard to heart disease but milk with too much fat that is the problem.
Going organic is it better nutrionally? Yes, but you'd have to drink gallons of it to get the benefit.
And finally, her advice:
If you like milk, drink it, but not too much of it (because too much of anything isn’t good) and choose skimmed or semi-skimmed. Get your kids to drink more. If you prefer the taste of organic, fine. If milk upsets you, avoid it. Simple really.
