The Dangerous Success of the Dairy Industry

I have spent 30 years in the field of advertising and marketing, and so I  know the power of advertising.  One of the most successful marketing campaigns over the past 50 years has been that of the dairy industry.  They have convinced us that drinking milk is essential to our health.  However, the more research I do, the more I realize that this is totally untrue!  Casein, the protein found in milk and other dairy products is in fact detrimental to our health.  Did you know that:

• 75% of the people on the planet don’t consume any dairy products because they are lactose intolerant and they are doing just fine.
• The Japanese consume much lower levels of dairy than we do, yet they maintain a higher life expectancy and better health than the United States.
• Calcium can be found in non-dairy foods such as spinach, kale, broccoli, tofu, soybeans, almonds and molasses, and these foods provide more calcium per calorie than milk.
• As for cow’s milk’s role in building strong bones, that the countries with the highest dairy consumption also have the highest rates of osteoporosis
• Dairy consumption has been linked to cancer, diabetes, autism and schizophrenia, and many autoimmune disorders including Multiple Sclerosis.
• The fat and hormones in dairy have been strongly linked with a variety of hormone-related illnesses in humans, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, and acne.
•  Most of the milk in the US is produced on large factory farms, where cows are kept in unhealthy conditions, and fed hormones and antibiotics, we need to pasteurize the milk so we don’t get sick, but this process destroys many of the nutrients
• And lastly dairy cows suffer immensely in dairy farms/factories, and they also account for huge amounts of CO2 emissions, land degradation, water consumption, and water contamination

I strongly recommend that you read The China Study and read or watchForks Over Knives for more information.

For more information and references please refer to my earlier post on this subject.

I Want What I Want and I Want it to Be Good for Me!

There is a new study, paid for by the National Confectioners Association that states that:

1.)    “Frequency of candy consumption was not associated with the risk of obesity, overweight/obesity, elevated waist circumference, elevated skinfold thickness, blood pressure, low density lipoprotein (LDL) or high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, or insulin resistance.”

2.)    “Increased frequency of candy consumption among adults in the United States was not associated with objective measures of adiposity or select cardiovascular risk factors, despite associated dietary differences.”

Come on people!!  Don’t get me wrong, personally I LOVE chocolate, but I don’t pretend that it is good for me (even dark chocolate).

We are a society that wants what it wants and doesn’t want any consequences.  I want to eat candy and I don’t want it to be bad for me, and voila! Here is a study that supports that very notion.  When looking at research that seems contradictory, the most important thing to consider is, who has paid for the study?

We really can’t blame the National Confectioners Association; they have an economic interest in encouraging people to eat candy.  As long as refined sugar and food coloring is legal. Sugar manufacturers have a right to try to sell their products.  (Same is true with tobacco, as long as it is a legal product, we can’t fault tobacco companies for selling cigarettes)

But what is clear to me is that we need to take control of our own health by using our own common sense.  Does it make sense that candy, (basically 100% sugar with no nutritional value), would NOT be contributing to this country’s overweight epidemic and all its consequences?

Does it make sense that inhaling smoke  (you know the stuff that kills people in a house fire), WOULDN”T be bad for you?

 

Does it make sense that drinking cow’s milk (the hormone laden breast milk of another mammal whose sole purpose is to grow a baby calf to a full sized cow weighing 2 tons in a short period of time) could possibly be a good idea?  Feel free to see some of the stats on dairy here.

Where Do You Get Your Calcium?

We have been trained since childhood that dairy products are good strong bones and teeth, in other word they are our best source for getting calcium.  But it turns out that the Dairy Industry has been the source of almost all of this information!  Let’s look at some facts as reported in The China Study.

• “Casein, which makes up 87% of cow’s milk protein, promotes all stages of the cancer process”
• “Plant protein did not promote cancer cell growth, even at higher levels of intake”
• “Milk has been linked to Type I diabetes, prostate cancer, osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases…casein, the main protein in dairy foods has been shown to experimentally promote cancer and increase blood cholesterol and atherosclerotic plaque”

And interestingly,

• 75% of the people on the planet don’t consume any dairy products because they are lactose intolerant, and they are strong and healthy.
• The Japanese consume much lower levels of dairy than we do, yet they maintain a higher life expectancy and better health than the United States.
• The countries with the highest dairy consumption also have the highest rates of osteoporosis

Whoa!

Given the research linking dairy products with heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and autoimmune diseases, I have decided to look for other, plant-based sources of calcium!

First of all, how much calcium do we need?  The recommended daily allowance for calcium is 1,000 mg for adults 19-50 and men over 50, and 1,200 mg/day for women over 50.

Vegetables, Nuts and Seeds, Grains, Legumes and Beans, and Fruit are great sources of calcium.  And, green vegetables also have calcium absorption rates of over 50 percent, compared with about 32 percent for milk. (3)

VEGETABLES (per cup)
Bok Choy	330	mg
Bean sprouts	320	mg
Collard greens (cooked)	260	mg
Spinach (cooked)	250	mg
Turnip greens (cooked)	200	mg
Kale	180	mg
Mustard greens (cooked)	100	mg
Swiss chard (cooked)	100	mg
Seaweek (Wakame)	120	mg
Okra	130	mg
Broccoli	45	mg
Fennel	45	mg
Artichoke	55	mg
Celery	40	mg
Leeks	44	mg
NUTS, NUT BUTTERS AND SEEDS
Almonds 1/4 cup	95	mg
Tahini 1 Tbsp	65	mg
Sesame seeds 1Tbsp	63	mg
Brazil nuts 1/4 cup	55	mg
Hazelnuts 1/4 cup	55	mg
Almond Butter 1 Tbsp	43	mg
GRAINS
Cereals (calcium fortified, 1/2 cup)	250-500	mg
Quinoa, cooked, 1 cup	80	mg
Brown Rice, cooked, 1 cup	50	mg
LEGUMES AND BEANS
Soy beans, cooked, 1 cup	200	mg
Tempeh, 1 cup	150	mg
White beans, cooked, 1 cup	140	mg
Tofu, 4 oz	120	mg
Navy beans, cooked, 1 cup	110	mg
Chickpeas, cooked 1 cup	80	mg
Pinto beans, cooked 1 cup	75	mg
FRUIT (per cup)
Rhubarb	350	mg
Figs, dried	300	mg
Apricot, dried	75	mg
Prunes	75	mg
Orange	70	mg
Kiwi	60	mg
Blackberries	40	mg
OTHER
Blackstrap molasses, 1 Tbsp	135	mg

Lastly, it is important to look at factors that leach calcium from our bones: (3)

• Animal Proteins
• Salt
• Caffeine
• Refined Sugar
• Alcohol
• Vitamin A supplements
• Nicotine
• Aluminum containing antacids
• Antibiotics, steroids, thyroid hormone drugs

Sources

• The China Study, T. Colin Campbell, PhD and Thomas M. Campbell II MD
• 2. One Green Planet
• 3. drfuhrman.com

More on Eating Vegan

In  my previous post I stated that reading, The China Study “changed my life”.  Perhaps you think this is a bit of an exaggeration.  Let me explain…

The book clearly outlines how consuming animal protein (meat and dairy products) leads to higher levels of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer, autoimmune diseases and more.  The research makes it clear that ALL animal protein has this effect.  It is not just an indictment of fatty red meat.   Lean meat, chicken, turkey, fish, milk, cheese, eggs, you name it — all animal protein!

It isn’t just the fat and cholesterol in animal products that is dangerous to us, but rather the proteins themselves.  This is why the study that was done to test the effects of dietary fat on cancer, The Nurses Study, showed that dietary fat had NO relationship to the incidence of breast cancer.  The nurses in the study, while they reduced their fat intake,  all consumed a diet  high in animal protein.

And look at the population around us.  As we are obsessed with exercise and low-fat foods, we are getting bigger and unhealthier day by day!

What sort of diets do not contribute to these killing diseases?  Plant based diets–Vegan diets.  Research has shown that populations that eat a more plant-based diet (Thailand, Japan, the Philippines) have the lowest incidence of cancer than those who eat a more meat based diet (Netherlands, UK, Canada, and the US).

And so, based on this information and a lot more from the China Study, I have totally changed my diet to be near vegan.  I cut out all dairy products, including cream in my coffee and ice cream!  I cut out all red meat, I only have a small portion of organic chicken about twice a month., and I do still occasionally eat fish (about once a week).

Having  made these changes in my diet I have found that I have more energy, my skin is healthier, I haven’t gotten even so much as a cold, my running has improved greatly, and I lost 10 pounds!  So, yes, the information in The China Study  has changed my life!

Time to go Vegan

I recently read The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, PhD and Thomas Campbell, MD, and I can honesty say it changed my life!  I have read a lot of nutrition books (Super Immunity by Dr. Joel Fuhrman being another favorite of mine) and most of them refer back to The China Study so I thought I should find out for myself what it’s all about.

In a nutshell, the book if a compilation of a lifetime of research, including the most comprehensive nutritional study every conducted — The China Study.  The results are staggering in their simplicity:

There is a direct and significant correlation between the diseases that plague our modern world: cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabetes. cancer, and autoimmune diseases such as MS, and the amount of animal protein consumed;  specifically the protein found in dairy products.

The countries whose populations consume the most animal protein have the highest rates of these diseases.  Conversely, countries where they consume the most plant protein have the lowest incidence!  And this is not simply due to genetics.  When people from countries who eat a minimal amount of animal products move to an area where the western diet is prevalent, they too develop these diseases within one generation.

I highly recommend you read this book for yourself.  The evidence is compelling, and the story of how the food industry and government keep this information from the mainstream is eye-opening!

I also recommend you check out two of my favorite vegan recipe blogs: No Meat Athlete , and The Vegan Road

A Good Week!

I’ve had a good week this week both in terms of my eating and exercising.  I’ve been really concentrating on eliminating dairy products from my diet (you can read this post for the back story on that), and on eating a lot of greens and mushrooms, With the exception of last night, I’ve done well!

Last night I had a wonderful dinner at Grissini Italian Bistro in Kennebunkport, Maine.  It was very rich (butter) and wasn’t within my new diet plan, but it was good, it included mushrooms (in the butter sauce) and I didn’t eat too much nor did I have dessert!

I also managed to get in two runs and two yoga classes this week.  The runs were great.  It is a bit painful to get back into running, but it feels good.  Running makes me feel strong and I feel like I am strengthening my heart and increasing my lung capacity.

Yoga makes me feel powerful.  It strengthens my body and calms my “inner voice” — you know that annoying internal dialogue that holds us back.  Plus the physical stretching of yoga is a great compliment to running.   It stretches out all the things that  running tightens — hamstrings, hip flexors, lower back and glutes!

Resolutions to Stay on Track!

February 29 –Happy Leap Year Day!

A good opportunity to check in on those New Year’s Resolutions.

My theme for the year is:  “Welcome every morning with a smile. Look on the new day as another special gift from your Creator, another golden opportunity to complete what you were unable to finish yesterday. Be a self-starter. Let your first hour set the theme of success and positive action that is certain to echo through your entire day. Today will never happen again. Don’t waste it with a false start or no start at all. You were not born to fail.”

I like that!  I’ve been succeeding at waking up with a smile or at least not a groan as I shut the alarm clock…I’ve also been successful at keeping up with my blogs,   (this one and my blog on media), exercising, eating well, taking my vitamins, nurturing friendships, visiting family and writing at least 1 letter each week.

I still need to work on living in the present moment.  I’m pretty good about not dwelling on the past, but I can still use some work on not worrying about the future!  Also I see that I set a resolution to run the Seacoast Race Series again this year.  Funny just this morning I said to myself, “no, I don’t think I’ll run the series this year, there is too much pressure”–good thing I made a resolution.  Now I will do it!!  The first race is in May so it’s also good thing I started running again (this morning as a matter of fact.  I was running when I contemplated not racing this summer!)

Lastly, I find that breaking one or two of the resolutions into Monthly action items helps he achieve them so here are March’s  goals:

• Run at least twice a week
• Visit my friends and family in Virginia
• Cut out Cow’s Milk from diet

Spill Out the Milk!

My daughter is vegan. Her motivation for adopting a vegan diet was to eat a healthy diet. She is a firm believer that we should eat healthy foods that our bodies were designed to digest and avoiding those that we weren’t. One case in point…Did you know that humans are the only mammals who drink milk after we are weaned? And not only that, we drink the milk of other mammals.

Today she sent me a very interesting article on dairy consumption from One Green Planet

According to the article, we have been led to believe (by the dairy industry) that dairy products (cow’s milk) is vital for our health, but research has proven that:

• 75% of the people on the planet don’t consume any dairy products because they are lactose intolerant and they are doing just fine.
• The Japanese consume much lower levels of dairy than we do, yet they maintain a higher life expectancy and better health than the United States.
• Calcium can be found in non-dairy foods such as spinach, kale, broccoli, tofu, soybeans, almonds and molasses, and these foods provide more calcium per calorie than milk.
• As for cow’s milk’s role in building strong bones, that the countries with the highest dairy consumption also have the highest rates of osteoporosis
• Dairy consumption has been linked to cancer, diabetes, autism and schizophrenia, and many autoimmune disorders including Multiple Sclerosis.
• The fat and hormones in dairy have been strongly linked with a variety of hormone-related illnesses in humans, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, and acne.

• Most of the milk in the US is produced on large factory farms, where cows are kept in unhealthy conditions, and fed hormones and antibiotics, we need to pasteurize the milk so we don’t get sick, but this process destroys many of the nutrients
• And lastly dairy cows suffer immensely in dairy farms/factories, and they also account for huge amounts of CO2 emissions, land degradation, water consumption, and water contamination

The interesting thing is that as people are becoming aware of what they are consuming, they are consuming less dairy in favor of soy, coconut, almond and rice milks.

And, ready for this….the dairy industry, not wanting to lose it’s place in the American diet is responding with a marketing campaign attacking plant based milks.