Another Thought About Milk

FitnessPalWorks

I know there's another "milk" thread going on but my question is different....

A friend sent this to me earlier, wanted to see what you all thought:

"Milk is for baby cows. Period. We're the only species to drink the milk from another species, and we're also the only species who continues to drink milk after infancy. "

Thoughts?

(PS - Cow/Heffer gifs welcome..... I'm not easily offended!!!)

kms1320

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/aint_so_bad_foods_that_have_gotten_a_bum_rap&cr=

"Yes, I drink almond milk occasionally. It has virtually no carbs in it, so I guess it's a good dieter's drink. It also has a nice, nutty taste.

However, it doesn't stack up all that well against regular cow's milk. Granted, store-bought almond milk contains more calcium than cow's milk, but it's because of the added calcium carbonate. It also has a nice amount of Vitamin E in it, in addition to a decent number of micronutrients.

But almond milk only has about one-eighth the amount of protein as cows milk, as well as lacking the nutrient quantity and nutrient diversity of its bovine counterpart.

Despite the nutritional elegance of cow's milk, the food phobic's have largely abandoned it.

They say it contains hormones. They say it contains antibiotics. They say it causes allergies and mucus and, I don't know, locust in your shorts.

Let's try to look at the subject without any biases. Yes, some dairies use recombinant bovine growth hormone in cows and it elevates amounts of IGF in the milk.

It results in more milk and cheaper prices, but food phobics freak out when they contemplate it. They think that anyone who drinks milk is going to grow a big head and be indicted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice and then be blackballed by major league baseball.

Beyond that, they worry that the elevated IGF levels will cause cancer, as it's been shown to do in some lab studies.

The food phobics don't need to fret. Bovine growth hormone and IGF are protein hormones and they're cleaved into their constituent amino acids by your digestive enzymes in the same way as any ingested protein. In other words, they turn into food. It's not possible for them to have any growth-hormone like effects.

It's true that there are probably antibiotic residues in milk, though. People worry, probably with good reason, that ingesting antibiotics may lead to antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria that might put a big hurt on all of us, but the Government is currently trying to put limitations on that practice.

Furthermore, you can take your fate into your own hands by buying USDA-certified organic milk – which doesn't contain antibiotics – from the grocery store.

We've looked at the supposedly negative aspects of milk, but what about the positive? For one, milk contains large amounts of protein (anybody remember protein?), about 80% of which is casein and about 20% of which is whey, which are both world-class muscle builders.

Drinking two or three glasses of milk, either whole or skim, also purportedly lowers the risk of both heart attack and stroke.

Bottom line: If you want a nutrient-dense beverage that builds muscle, drink milk. Unless you're dieting, lactose intolerant, or have some allergy to milk, save the almond milk for mixing with Amaretto."

toddis

Hmm, don't dogs and cats drink others milk?
When chimps and apes take in strays do they feed them?

FitnessPalWorks

Hmm, don't dogs and cats drink others milk?
When chimps and apes take in strays do they feed them?

Right, but eventually those animals are weaned as well, correct?

RobynC79

I've seen this before and I think 'so what?'

We're also the only species to cook our food, thereby exploiting a range of nutritional options not available to other species. Milk is highly nutritious and humans are excellent at adapting animals and plants to provide nutrition for us.

Milk isn't bad for you unless you are genuinely lactose intolerant. It's a mildly interesting fact, that humans continue to exploit milk post-infancy, and that it comes from another species, but then there are many mildly interesting facts in the world.

CoachReddy

Hmm, don't dogs and cats drink others milk?
When chimps and apes take in strays do they feed them?

only because WE give it to them because WE deem it ok.

(and yes, in extreme circumstances when the babies have no mother, some animals have been known to breastfeed from other species, but again, this isn't a testament to the fact that they SHOULD, just a testament to the evolutionary process where life will find a way whether its "meant" to or not)

kms1320

Maybe other animals aren't smart enough to advantage of nutritious milk from other sources.

AllTehBeers

I've seen this before and I think 'so what?'

We're also the only species to cook our food, thereby exploiting a range of nutritional options not available to other species. Milk is highly nutritious and humans are excellent at adapting animals and plants to provide nutrition for us.

Milk isn't bad for you unless you are genuinely lactose intolerant. It's a mildly interesting fact, that humans continue to exploit milk post-infancy, and that it comes from another species, but then there are many mildly interesting facts in the world.

Milk is yummy in my cereal. My grandpa drank it every day of his life and lived to be 80. Causation...?

CoachReddy

Maybe other animals aren't smart enough to advantage of nutritious milk from other sources.

what's nutritious about milk? you'll say calcium - you can get 50% more calcium from Almond Milk.

so then what other reason is there to drink it?

CoachReddy

I've seen this before and I think 'so what?'

We're also the only species to cook our food, thereby exploiting a range of nutritional options not available to other species. Milk is highly nutritious and humans are excellent at adapting animals and plants to provide nutrition for us.

Milk isn't bad for you unless you are genuinely lactose intolerant. It's a mildly interesting fact, that humans continue to exploit milk post-infancy, and that it comes from another species, but then there are many mildly interesting facts in the world.

80 is about the average life expectancy of an adult white male these days so... I'd suggest it's unrelated.
Milk is yummy in my cereal. My grandpa drank it every day of his life and lived to be 80. Causation...?

The average life expectancy in a white male (guessing obviously) is 80 years, so... I'd say it likely had nothing to do with drinking milk.

Coquette6

Several populations of humans evolved seperately to maintain lactase. There's several hypotheses about why this was, but the long and short of it is that for some populations, there was an evolutionary advantage to being able to digest milk because it was a good source of calories, protein, fat and nutrients. (Interesting article here if anyone wants to see the scientific article (Evolution of lactase persistence: an example of human niche construction. 2011. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3048992/)

If other people don't want to drink it, I'm certainly not going to make them. I eat 2-3 servings of dairy a day and I have no problems digesting it, and I love it.

sunsnstatheart

Hmm, don't dogs and cats drink others milk?
When chimps and apes take in strays do they feed them?

only because WE give it to them because WE deem it ok.

(and yes, in extreme circumstances when the babies have no mother, some animals have been known to breastfeed from other species, but again, this isn't a testament to the fact that they SHOULD, just a testament to the evolutionary process where life will find a way whether its "meant" to or not)

The "natural" arguments, of which this is one, are logically fallacious. There is no food at all that is specifically designed to be eaten by adult humans. I don't, for example, ever remember seeing a Shakeology tree.

rduhlir

I like milk.

CoachReddy

Hmm, don't dogs and cats drink others milk?
When chimps and apes take in strays do they feed them?

only because WE give it to them because WE deem it ok.

(and yes, in extreme circumstances when the babies have no mother, some animals have been known to breastfeed from other species, but again, this isn't a testament to the fact that they SHOULD, just a testament to the evolutionary process where life will find a way whether its "meant" to or not)

The "natural" arguments, of which this is one, are logically fallacious. There is no food at all that is specifically designed to be eaten by adult humans. I don't, for example, ever remember seeing a Shakeology tree.

really?
and no, of course foods aren't designed to be eaten by us, WE'RE designed to eat certain foods - dairy is not among these foods.

RobynC79

The "natural" arguments, of which this is one, are logically fallacious. There is no food at all that is specifically designed to be eaten by adult humans. I don't, for example, ever remember seeing a Shakeology tree.

You sir, deserve to have this quoted for the next 50 posts with no further comment.

:laugh:

AllTehBeers

The average life expectancy in a white male (guessing obviously) is 80 years, so... I'd say it likely had nothing to do with drinking milk.

Interesting. He also ate eggs, drank diet soda, enjoyed beer and smoked and people crucify these things because they're "bad for you." Yet, our life expectancy is the highest ever.

kms1320

Maybe other animals aren't smart enough to advantage of nutritious milk from other sources.

what's nutritious about milk? you'll say calcium - you can get 50% more calcium from Almond Milk.

so then what other reason is there to drink it?

Granted, store-bought almond milk contains more calcium than cow's milk, but it's because of the added calcium carbonate. It also has a nice amount of Vitamin E in it, in addition to a decent number of micronutrients.

But almond milk only has about one-eighth the amount of protein as cows milk, as well as lacking the nutrient quantity and nutrient diversity of its bovine counterpart.

Despite the nutritional elegance of cow's milk, the food phobic's have largely abandoned it.

MFPfriend

kms1320

Almond milk also has Carrageenan, which I try to stay away from.

Dr. Blaylock says about carrageenan (Health and Nutrition Secrets That Can Save Your Life; pg. 196):

"Carrageenan is a rather new additive. It is a complex polysaccharide extract made from seaweed, and is used as a binding agent. Experimentally, carrageenan is used as an agent to induce intense inflammation in experimental animals. A recent study found that when carrageenan was injected in animals along with a cancer-causing chemical, tumors appeared more rapidly and in significantly higher numbers than in control animals injected with carcinogen alone. The same was seen when human breast cancers were implanted in animals along with carrageenan: the combination made the tumores grow faster and spread more widely than in control animals. As a result, carrageenan is classified as a tumor promotor.

"

PikaKnight

Hmm, don't dogs and cats drink others milk?
When chimps and apes take in strays do they feed them?

only because WE give it to them because WE deem it ok.

(and yes, in extreme circumstances when the babies have no mother, some animals have been known to breastfeed from other species, but again, this isn't a testament to the fact that they SHOULD, just a testament to the evolutionary process where life will find a way whether its "meant" to or not)

The "natural" arguments, of which this is one, are logically fallacious. There is no food at all that is specifically designed to be eaten by adult humans. I don't, for example, ever remember seeing a Shakeology tree.

really? pathetic.

and no, of course foods aren't designed to be eaten by us, WE'RE designed to eat certain foods - dairy is not among these foods.

Wow. You really need to learn to hold your temper there buddy. It makes your argument go downhill. It's one thing to add in a little snark. It's another to blatantly start saying things or people are pathetic.

CoachReddy

Maybe other animals aren't smart enough to advantage of nutritious milk from other sources.

what's nutritious about milk? you'll say calcium - you can get 50% more calcium from Almond Milk.

so then what other reason is there to drink it?

Granted, store-bought almond milk contains more calcium than cow's milk, but it's because of the added calcium carbonate. It also has a nice amount of Vitamin E in it, in addition to a decent number of micronutrients.

But almond milk only has about one-eighth the amount of protein as cows milk, as well as lacking the nutrient quantity and nutrient diversity of its bovine counterpart.

Despite the nutritional elegance of cow's milk, the food phobic's have largely abandoned it.

so calcium, which we've covered - and protein, which can EASILY be met from any number of other sources.

hey, it's a personal choice and do what you want, but to me it's simple. Even if you're not lactose intolerant, milk often makes people phlegmy. Phlegm is the bodies natural response to something toxic entering its system. To me, that's all the info I needed - however I'm also a singer so I'm more sensitive to things like mucus and phlegm.

The point is, someone who doesn't drink milk isn't missing out on any nutrients compared with someone who does.