Cow milk - is it safe for humans to drink? Why the hype?

rankinsect wrote: »

Alluminati wrote: »

I've heard people talk about this as well. The general consensus is that children (especially female children) should not be ingesting hormone filled milk because the hormones make them develop, mature, and get bigger chests too quick. LOL.

I suggested that perhaps maybe it wasn't the hormone-ey milk, that it was just an abundance of food in general? But I was poo poo-ed.

hormone milk = big jugs.

Hormones in milk don't affect humans. The first reason and the one that makes it a total deal-breaker is that bovine growth hormone is a large protein. Your stomach will shred it into its component amino acids before absorption, like with basically all proteins, since they are simply too big to pass across the intestinal wall. It's not like phytoestrogens from plants, which are relatively small molecules that actually could be absorbed by the gut - big proteins just don't get from the intestines into the bloodstream barring life-threatening illness or injury. And if it did, there's no evidence that bovine growth hormone has any effect on humans.

If drinking milk could give us growth hormones, that would actually be great for bodybuilders, dieters, and athletes, since (human) growth hormone tends to promote muscle growth and fat loss, and like HGH, it would probably be regulated if it actually affected us.

Oh, I was beginning to devise a plan of increased milk consumption to reduce shrinkage as I continue losing weight.

AnvilHead wrote: »

nutmegoreo wrote: »

rankinsect wrote: »

Alluminati wrote: »

I've heard people talk about this as well. The general consensus is that children (especially female children) should not be ingesting hormone filled milk because the hormones make them develop, mature, and get bigger chests too quick. LOL.

I suggested that perhaps maybe it wasn't the hormone-ey milk, that it was just an abundance of food in general? But I was poo poo-ed.

hormone milk = big jugs.

Hormones in milk don't affect humans. The first reason and the one that makes it a total deal-breaker is that bovine growth hormone is a large protein. Your stomach will shred it into its component amino acids before absorption, like with basically all proteins, since they are simply too big to pass across the intestinal wall. It's not like phytoestrogens from plants, which are relatively small molecules that actually could be absorbed by the gut - big proteins just don't get from the intestines into the bloodstream barring life-threatening illness or injury. And if it did, there's no evidence that bovine growth hormone has any effect on humans.

If drinking milk could give us growth hormones, that would actually be great for bodybuilders, dieters, and athletes, since (human) growth hormone tends to promote muscle growth and fat loss, and like HGH, it would probably be regulated if it actually affected us.

Oh, I was beginning to devise a plan of increased milk consumption to reduce shrinkage as I continue losing weight.

If that theory was true, there'd be a lot less plastic surgery and lot more milk drinkin' going on!

It's okay. They get in the way when I play drunken mini golf. I'll just have to get over it.

AnvilHead wrote: »

coryh00 wrote: »

Lower carbs and calories in my almond milk than regular milk.

Also less protein and less calcium. And less deliciousness too.

Actually I don't mind the taste. I also use coconut milk and cashew milk on occasion and like both of those as well. I get enough protein and calcium from the rest of my diet, so that isn't an issue for me either. I always liked cows milk, but it came down to drinking a glass of milk, or eating something with carbs in it (I found I always wanted bread/cereal/cookies/some other grain and/or high carb food of some sort when I had milk), not both at the same time. I also went through extensive surgery on my guts and chemo/radiation which caused a severe dairy/lactose intolerance for nearly a year....no issue with the nut milks at that time.

Christine_72 wrote: »

yesimpson wrote: »

As someone who has recently been diagnosed with a mild cow's milk allergy (it gives me digestive symptoms which are unsociable to live with, shall we say), I would proclaim loudly my love for the stuff. LACTO FREE, SOY AND GOAT MILK ARE NOT THE SAME.

I can still have a little bit, but my days of eating porridge with milk for breakfast, cheese sandwich for lunch, latte mid-afternoon, and ice cream for pudding are gone.

If you can ingest cow's milk, like it, don't have an ethical objection to it, just crack on and have it.

@yesimpson Have you ever tried digestive enzymes, and did they help with that unsociable problem? The reason i ask is, my favourite protein powder gives me the bad gasses, I can't do whey concentrate, and was hoping I could use it again if I also popped some D enzymes..

OP I love, love milk but it doesn't love my skin I could easily go through over 1Litre a day. If you can tolerate it and you like it then there is no reason to swap to anything else, plus it has much better macro's than Almond milk etc etc.
Just as a side note, the milk I chose came from an organic dairy not far from where I live, so no ethical issues for me.

I've never tried them (to be honest I'm not sure I know what they are); I tried the dairy-free thing for a week to see if it helped, and annoyingly I was less gassy and bloated two days in. My GP then confirmed it. I'm heartbroken because I love milk. I have to go back to the GP in a week so I will ask him about enzymes then.

Rofl, I drink over 1 litre a day, not because of hype because I luv it

This is an interesting article in the NYTimes about the politics of milk consumption in America - the alleged "health benefits" and some studies about adults who drink milk. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/18/upshot/got-milk-might-not-be-doing-you-much-good.html?_r=0

Personally, I never liked the taste of milk as a child, and when I did use it, I only used it in cereal (but never drank the leftover milk in the bowl). We have lactose-free milk in my apartment because my boyfriend is lactose intolerant, but we rarely use it except for when a recipe calls for it.

It's a personal preference, but many are starting to question the actual health benefits of milk for adults.

Also, almond milk is being called into question too because some producers use very little almonds and substitute a lot of additives and sugars into the milk. I had a roommate who used to make her own almond milk by blanching the almonds and then soaking them in a mesh bag. It was an interesting process, but her almond milk was 100% from almonds.

earlnabby wrote: »

jennifer_417 wrote: »

stephanieluvspb wrote: »

JHALLISGETTINGsmall wrote: »

I heard somewhere that humans are the only mammals that drink milk after infancy/childhood. Don't know if that's true though

I suspect my dog may be getting up in the middle of the night and pouring himself a tall glass of milk....but I can't be sure.

I mean, my cat was pretty happy to get milk, all the way up until she dropped dead of old age...come to think of it, my dog was happy to get it, too, when he could fight off the cat.

I have been owned by 5 cats so far in my lifetime and 3 of them were lactose intolerant, one so bad that she would barf after licking my yogurt carton after I finished. Apparently this is very common in cats

Same with my cats. They don't tend to have lactose persistence, and I suspect most mammals do not. Those of us who do are super lucky! (Thanks, ancestors.)

I rarely drink milk because I just don't care to drink calories anymore (I eat dairy and add milk to recipes and when baking sometimes). I used to use a little milk in oatmeal, but I don't eat it often enough to bother buying milk for that purpose -- it would go bad before it was used.

Despite all this, these threads always make me want to go buy some milk and drink a huge glass.

Also, the only other time I lost a bunch of weight (and kept it off for some time), I'd read some recent study about milk helping with weight loss and drank a glass every morning, as well as adding some to my oatmeal or smoothie (which at the time I had every morning -- this was before my egg obsession). I lost weight really easily then. Doubt it was the milk, of course, but it certainly did not hurt.

coryh00 wrote: »

Lower carbs and calories in my almond milk than regular milk.

True, but also virtually no protein.