My generation was raised on dairy products. Milk, yoghurt and cheese had been an integral part of my childhood and became a hard-to-break eating habit carried through to adulthood for many of us. You may remember taglines like ”Milk for a stronger tomorrow.” used by the dairy industry to promote dairy as a health food that is good for your bones.
In recent years, studies have shown that these health claims are false. Dairy is associated with many health risks contributing to various chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity, and osteoporosis. (1, 2, 3)
What’s in dairy?
Dairy refers to milk and milk products made from the milk of mammals. The most common dairy products such as cheese, cream, butter and yoghurt come from the cow’s milk but dairy products are also made from other animals like goats and sheep and even camels.
Cow’s milk is a potent source of protein, fat and sugar and it also contains some vitamins and minerals such as calcium. It is a rich growth-stimulating food source that is designed to grow a calf from the birth weight of approximately 30kg to more than 200kg in just under one year when it’s weaned and never drinks the milk again. We will learn later in this article that this potent growth-stimulating potential of cow’s milk has negative effects for our health.
What about calcium?
Dairy is a rich source of calcium but it is a double-edged sword. It comes with many risk factors that you can avoid if you choose other plant-based sources of calcium.
When you eat a diet rich in wholefoods such as fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds, you will absorb enough calcium that will meet your body’s calcium needs without extra effort.
Did you know all green vegetables are high in calcium and have higher calcium-absorption rates than milk?
Only 32 percent of the calcium in milk is absorbed compared to 59 percent of the calcium in kale (2). Other rich sources of calcium are: bok choy, turnip greens, collard greens, tofu, kale, romain lettuce, unhulled sesame seeds, and broccoli.
Let’s find out what are the reasons to keep dairy intake to absolute minimum and how you can replace dairy with healthier plant-based alternatives.
Dairy’s troublemakers
There are many troublemakers in cow’s milk that impact our health and put you on a higher risk of developing disease.
Saturated Fat
Dairy products are very high in fat content. For example, full cream milk contains 50% of calories as fat, cheddar cheese is 75% fat and butter is 100% fat. Your body converts dairy fat into body fat quickly and easily, so digested dairy fat is more likely to contribute to excess body weight than burned for energy.
The high proportion of fat also strains your digestive system including your liver to process it. The majority of the dairy fat comes from saturated fat which is directly linked to high cholesterol, heart disease and is also a risk factor for cancer and dementia (1, 2, 3).
Milk Protein – Casein
Milk is a rich source of animal protein with 8g of protein in one cup. Casein and why protein are the 2 major types with casein accounting for 80% of the total protein.
In past, milk protein was regarded as high-quality protein that is easily and efficiently utilized by your body to growth and repair mussels. This view is now changing thanks to Dr. Colin T. Campbell‘s research, who has proved that casein is a strong carcinogen, promoting cancer growth and is also linked to several autoimmune diseases. This research was published in his book called the China Study – the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted (1).
Insulin-like Growth Factor (IFG-1)
Dairy products also increase the amount of IGF-1 hormone in your blood which stimulates the growth of cancer cells in your body. The more IGF-1 you have in your blood, the higher risk you have to develop cancer as your body is constantly receiving a message to grow, divide and keep growing. (3).
IGF-1 is naturally high during childhood up to the puberty when your body is rapidly growing and IGF-1 supports the growth of your cells. However, once you reach adulthood and your body no longer need to produce more cells than retire, IGF-1 levels naturally drop to minimum. This is why high levels of IGF-1 puts you at a higher risk of developing cancer.
According to one study, men with the highest levels of IGF-1 had more than four times the risk of prostate cancer compared to men with lowest levels (3).
Milk Sugar – Lactose
Lactose is the carbohydrate (milk sugar) contained in cow’s milk. When you drink milk, your body requires enzyme Lactase that is produced in your small intestine to break down and digest lactose. The production of this enzyme significantly declines after the age of 2.5 – 5 years which is the natural weaning time for humans. It is estimated that approximately 75% people worldwide are lactose intolerant, having great difficulties to digest milk. Lactose intolerance and sensitivity may lead to bloating and stomach pain. But this is not the only consequence. According to the Nurses Health Study, woman who consumed the highest amount of lactose had a 44 percent greater risk in developing ovarian cancer than those who eat the lowest amounts (2).
Hormones
Dairy also contains high levels of reproductive hormones – estrogen and progesterone which interfere with your own hormones, effecting the hormonal balance within your body. The majority of milk comes from pregnant cows who continue to lactate during their entire pregnancy so the levels of estrogen and progesterone are very high. This is the case for both organic and conventional milk.
Elevated levels of estrogen and progesterone has negative effects on your health and are linked to acne, breast and ovarian cancer, PCOS, endometriosis, and an early offset of puberty.
If you like cheese, be extra careful as cheese magnifies the negative aspects of cow’s milk. It takes 4kg of milk to make a half a kilo of cheese so you get exposed to more hormones which are stored in the fat content of cheese (1, 2, 3).
Acidic Load
Dairy products are acidic foods that require producing a large amount of stomach acid to digest them. This high acidic load means your kidneys have to work hard to lower your body’s pH and get rid of the excess acid. This can put a strain on your kidneys, leading to chronic kidney disease or contributing to existing kidney conditions.
The high acidic load in your bloodstream also promotes excessive calcium loss in the urine as your body is using calcium stored in your body, mainly bones, to neutralize the acidic load. Once calcium is used, it leaves your body via urine. Despite a high calcium content in dairy, dairy may contribute to reducing your bone density and put you on an increased risk for developing osteoporosis (2).
Toxins
Cow’s milk is also loaded with unwanted additives that accumulate in the fatty content of milk when dairy cows feed on contaminated crops. These include pollutants such as pesticide, heavy metals and dioxin. Dairy is one of the highest source of environmental pollutants dioxins which are highly toxic chemical by-products of industrial processes and are carcinogenic (3).
Other Additives
Cows are often given antibiotics to prevent illness and injected with a genetically engineered form of bovine growth hormone (rBGH) to boost milk production. Studies have shown that rBGH hormone increases blood levels of IGF-1. So when you drink milk, you are increasing your changes to become resistant to antibiotics and to develop cancer.
Better choices
You can easily substitute dairy products with plant-based alternatives, available at grocery shops. You can also make them at home using nuts, seeds, fruits and water. I recommend to choose organic nuts over conventional to avoid pesticide residues.
When you shop for plant-based alternatives, make sure you check the ingredients label to choose the ones with minimum number of additives.
Milk substitute
Substitute with almond, oat, hemp, soy or coconut milk. Make sure you check the ingredients label to choose the highest percentage of nuts and minimum other additives. Some brands are enriched with extra added calcium. My favourite brand is Organic Nutty Bruce Unsweetened Activated Almond Milk or Oat Milk or Bonsoy Soy Milk. You can also make your own milk to avoid added salt which is usually present in all store-bought plant-based milks.
Yoghurt substitute
Substitute with natural coconut yoghurt and frozen berries (e.g. blueberries or strawberries) to make your fruit yoghurt alternatives. Or you can also use banana or avocado to create fruit-based smoothies with the same creaminess of yoghurt or cream.
Ice cream substitute
It is so easy to make home-made dairy-free ice creams. We call them nice creams in my family. If you want to eat out, opt for vegan ice cream like Coyo or choose good quality sorbets.
Butter substitute
Replacing butter is tricky as commonly available margarine spreads do more harm than good to your health. For baking, I usually advise to use Coconut Oil or Nut butters. If you need a butter substitute for your toast, try vegan butter with minimum additives. Try to look for a local good quality one at your local farmers market or in small local grocery shops.
Cream substitute
Coconut cream is a good alternative in curries and for other cooking needs where you would normally use dairy cream. Just be aware that even coconut cream is high in saturated fat so use it sparingly in your cooking.
Creamy dressing substitute
This Lemon Cashew Dressing is my favorite and we use it as creamy dressing for many plant-based dishes. Check out the recipe here.
Soft cheese substitute
Cashew cheeses are so delicious and there are now plenty of artisan products you can try. My pick is this one by Peace love and vegetables.
Hard cheese substitute
Love for hard cheese is hard to beat. I usually advise to focus on good quality sources of fat to reduce unhealthy cravings for cheese. These are organic nuts and nut butters like Noya butters, seeds and avocados. You can also try some vegan cheeses that replicate the look and texture of dairy cheeses e.g. the Vegan dairy. But be extra careful when selecting vegan cheese as many other brands contain unhealthy additives.
What’s next?
I hope this overview helped you to get a better understanding why it’s best to avoid dairy and focus more on plant-rich whole foods.
Do you need help to break your old habits and bring more fruit, vegetables, nut, seeds and beans into your diet? Check out Plant Oceans recipes for more inspiration or contact me for advice directly.
References
- T. Colin Campbell, The China Study, 2016, Dallas, USA
- Joel Fuhrman, MD, Eat to live, 2011, New York USA
- Michael Greger, MD, How not to die, 2015, London UK
