Ok, the internet has my officially terrified of milk in all

BettrFastrStrongr

I'm trying to eat better and the one item that has left me especially confused is milk.

So, as I start off all of my research on anything, I type my broad question into google - "healthiest milk".
This pops up and catches my eye first, even though I know this is only yahoo answers and these people may be full of hot air, but curiosity got the best of me:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080725134037AAwk5wq

So, best answer guy's response had me wondering if there's any truth behind it.
Which leads me to finding this about how dairy is poison through-and-through:

http://www.naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=AF5893F8B986B56A1574254E8E9EA20F

and this about how soy depletes iron and is riddled with toxins:
http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/

I just bought light vanilla soy milk today to try for the first time ever and now I'm wondering if I should stick with my regular ol' dairy skim after I finish it. I'm not a dairy farmer, I'm not a scientist, I can only do so much internet research and still b/c I didn't conduct the study myself I don't know how accurate it is.

I grew up on mostly 2% (nothing fancy, Dairymens) and recently switched to a nothing-fancy skim. But I thought maybe soy /almond/ etc milk would be healthier. Is soy really not so fantastic? I saw at my grocery store Silk makes an almond milk and a coconut milk. Are these better? Is that guy on Y/A right about raw whole milk from free range cows? Excuse my ignorance, but I don't even know where that stuff exists where I live. I'd like to able to grocery shop normally. My tight budget doesn't really apply to milk as the boyfriend does not drink it so I only have to buy for 1, but I really don't want to search to the end of the earth for a carton/gallon of milk.

I'm so confused.
Soy...almond...rice...coconut....organic...skim...1%...2&...whole...raw............?????????

And to those who repond simply lose the milk and get calcium elsewhere, I really just need it for my cereal. I LOVE cereal.

Also, what other foods are excellent sources of calcium & vitamin D besides dairy? (I'm deficient in vit D, another reason I always liked milk.) Sorry for all the questions, the internet has me freaked. And no one throw rocks at me for getting spooked easily- I've just never heard of any of this before! The only bad thing I've heard about milk up till today is the stuff about hormones and anticiotics in cow's milk. (Yes, I may live under rock.) ^_^

SaraTonin

How about almond milk?

Personally I think hormone and antibiotic free milk is great for us, don't care what the links really say. Milk contains the most complete amino acids for our bodies next to eggs.

NoAdditives

Only cow's milk is milk. Soy, rice, almond, etc. are not actually milk and shouldn't be called milk. If you want to consume dairy products you should make sure they are organic. Not only will the cows not be treated with growth hormones, antibiotics, etc. they will be fed organic feed and aren't likely to be fed corn, which cows can't even digest. Organic foods are the healthiest all the way around, everything else should be avoided.

DrBorkBork

Personally I think ANYTHING is better than soy milk! JMHO

westcoastSW

Bumping for curiosity!

ruffledviolet

I drink almond "milk." Sometimes soy if it's that much cheaper. I am with you in being confused. There is way too much conflicting information on the internet. In my mind almond/soy milk seems more natural to me than cows milk (cows should drink cow milk, not people), but I know a lot of people that disagree.

My advice for you is, no one really knows which is best for you, so just drink the one that tastes the best or best meets your personal nutritional needs. If you're really concerned, talk to a doctor - don't rely on the internet.

Alyosha22

I drink raw goat milk every day. 1 cup either in a smoothie or with breakfast in a cup. Raw milk, in .my opinion, is very very good for you. That opinion is based on my experience with it and from scores of articles yaou can find from google searching 'raw milk.'

And, truth be told, i don't just drink plain and straight raw goat milk....i drink kefir that i make from that goat milk. I have a source who hooked me up with kefir grains, and whammo....I make my own kefir---about 1 cup every day (would be easy to make more). It is a five minute, daily obligation that I happily assign myself

Do you know about kefir? Full of probiotics and (I hear) it makes milk palatable to those who are otherwise intolerant. It is kind of a sour yogurty drink that you can make smoothies out of. I drink it is straight (which is an aquired taste for sure). Google search it and you can learn a lot. Sources of kefir are pretty easy to come by on craigslist and other similar means.

Lastly, and following up on the proceeding paragraph, I will say without reservation that kefir is one of my top three health/fitness things that i would not want to be without (MFP and grilled chicken being the other two). Really makes me feel healthier all around. Check it out if you are curious....

erisfreenici

I go back and forth about raw milk. The idea that it is not pasteurized makes me a little wary. Also, unpasteurized milk cannot be sold in a lot of states so you would have to check to see if it's legal in your state. The following site has a list of places that sell the raw stuff:

http://www.realmilk.com/where3.html

This is another good article I read on raw milk:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1736713,00.html

onawho

honestly, humans are the ONLY animals (yes we are animals) that drink milk after weaning. Why do you think that is? All other animals are lactose intolerant. Yet some time back when we were domesticating animals and plants we thought it would be a good idea collect the milk from a cow after she had given birth to a calf.

Yes, its a good source of vit D, calcium, etc. I personally do not touch the stuff. (lactose intolerant here)

I also do not understand the hype against soy 'milk' the Chinese and Japanese cultures have been using soy for MILLIONS of years, they do not have nearly the same health issues that Americans do, and they live to be like 120 !!

lunula76

I understand the concern. He makes a good point that the milk is only as healthy as the animals that produce it. However, that is not reason to abandon milk completely. Yes raw milk is lovely if you can get it from a trusted source. But as you mentioned it can be difficult to locate (though its getting easier and easier to find). If you are worried what I recommend is to vary what milk you use. There are pros and cons to soy products. So don't use it all the time. Ricemilk has lots of sugar so again in moderation. Almond milk is good (but personally I can't stand it). Coconut milk can be highly caloric. I love goat milk which more and more people carry. Hemp milk is fantastic, I love it. I would basically recommend switching it up and finding what you like. Compare the nutritional values.

Good sources of Vit D are fish and mushrooms (that have been exposed to light) again check nutritional values. Eggs and liver too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D

This is a good source of info on calcium - dark leafy greens are great
http://www.ellenskitchen.com/faqs/calcium.html

lunula76

I understand the concern. He makes a good point that the milk is only as healthy as the animals that produce it. However, that is not reason to abandon milk completely. Yes raw milk is lovely if you can get it from a trusted source. But as you mentioned it can be difficult to locate (though its getting easier and easier to find). If you are worried what I recommend is to vary what milk you use. There are pros and cons to soy products. So don't use it all the time. Ricemilk has lots of sugar so again in moderation. Almond milk is good (but personally I can't stand it). Coconut milk can be highly caloric. I love goat milk which more and more people carry. Hemp milk is fantastic, I love it. I would basically recommend switching it up and finding what you like. Compare the nutritional values.

Good sources of Vit D are fish and mushrooms (that have been exposed to light) again check nutritional values. Eggs and liver too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D

This is a good source of info on calcium - dark leafy greens are great
http://www.ellenskitchen.com/faqs/calcium.html

BettrFastrStrongr

I am glad to hear others are a bit confused by it as well.

ruffledviolet - no worries, I don't rely on the internet for everything. I just use it as a platform. I actually had a dr appt today for blood work and asked my primary care physician about which milk I should be drinking. She knows I am trying to lose weight, so all she replied was keep it low in saturated fat. So yeah...wasn't all that helpful. That's why I turned to the internet.

NoAdditives - I just called it all "milk" for time's sake.

Alyosha22 - Raw milk sounds like a bit too much work obtaining and enjoying for me at this early stage in my newfound lifestyle, but perhaps one day. I think I would need to transition towards raw as I'm a bit of a wimp.

I was starting to feel inclined towards almond milk but then I figured heck I'll just eat almonds. It's a heck of a lot cheaper.

onawho - I think that's why all the articles that came up against soy shocked me so much!

Lunula76 - I actually really like the idea of trying all sorts of them to see what I enjoy and what seems to make me feel good. And thank you for the vit D food recommendations - I do enjoy my eggs. And I always hear that dark leafy greens supply calcium. I think I just always forget that though b/c it's never displayed ANYWHERE on the packaging. Only A & C.

BettrFastrStrongr

SaraTonin - I do remember learning that in school about the complete amino acids in milk.

erisfreenici - interesting Time article. I like how Time included both sides of the debate unlike so many one-sided articles and sites.

I'm still confused as ever but atleast I feel better, lol.

onawho

I personally would not believe an article or book unless it was peer-reviewed. As you have discovered, there is a lot of information and misinformation. I have to wonder in the back of my mind, if the government suppresses the use of soy over milk products because milk is a bigger money maker ( I am going out on a limb there on my own, I have no research to back that statement up) I just get so worried about our food production when you hear about Monsanto, grown hormones being injected into cows. ( did a huge paper on this in my bio. anthro class the findings were amazing !)

I remember in your OP that you said that you lack vit. D. Cant you just sit outside for 20 mins a day?

BettrFastrStrongr

onawho - LOL. I SHOULD sit outside 20 min a day. I sure as heck need it. I probably wll be outside more soon, we're just getting over our long grey Cleveland winter here.
Good point on keeping articles peer-reviewed. A prof at the community college was always drilling that into our heads - and with good reason!
Your government idea actually doesn't sound too far fetched to me. Who knows!