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Julieanna Hever, MS, RD

Posted November 20, 2010

Published in Health

10 Reasons to Ditch Dairy

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1. Dairy destroys your bones. Countries around the world that drink the most dairy have the MOST osteoporosis and hip fractures. As dairy and calcium consumption increases, so do your risk factors for osteoporosis and bone fractures. The high levels of sodium and animal protein places your body in metabolic acidosis (when your blood becomes acidic). To compensate for that, your body pulls minerals out of the bone-thanks to their great alkalizing effects-and they are excreted in your urine. To recap: the more dairy you eat or drink, the more bone you lose.

2. There are excellent plant-sources of calcium that do not cause metabolic acidosis; rather, they are alkalizing and support bone health. Broccoli, kale, other leafy green veggies, sesame seeds, tahini, calcium-set tofu, and fortified plant milks/juices all have adequate amounts of calcium to meet daily requirements.

3. The number one most important factor in bone health is exercise. To increase and maintain bone density, stress needs to be applied to your bones regularly. Add resistance training, and exercises such as walking, jogging in order to increase mass, and prevent osteoporosis. This factor far outweighs any nutritional component.

4. Casein-the primary protein in milk-causes physiological addiction. Have you ever noticed that the more cheese you eat, the more of it you crave? Casomorphines are formed in your brain when you eat or drink dairy. These are opiate-like substances that produce euphoria, making you physically need more dairy. The only way to break this addictive cycle, is to cut it out entirely.

5. Casein is a potent carcinogen. Dr. T. Colin Campbell, author or The China Study, found casein to be a powerful cancer promoter after decades of laboratory research. He was able to turn cancer on and off simply by increasing the amount of raw casein fed.

6. Dairy provides high levels of saturated fat and cholesterol, which are known to cause atherosclerosis. This leads to heart disease.

7. Vitamin D plays an important role in bone health too. No matter how much calcium you are consuming, you need vitamin D to help absorb it. Plus. 70-97% of the population is insufficient or deficient in their vitamin D levels. Ask your doctor for a 25-hydroxyvitamin D test and if your level is below 35-50 ng/mL, add a daily dose of sunlight (a few minutes at peak hours with no sunscreen). If this doesn't improve your D levels, you need to supplement.

8. We are the only species that drinks the lactation excretions of another species AND the only species who continues to drink milk after being weaned.

9. Besides being inherently unhealthy and disease-promoting, dairy comes packed with pesticides, antibiotics, hormones (even organic), steroids, heavy metals, and other toxins fed to the cows to improve milk production.

10. Seventy percent of the world's population is lactose-intolerant. The fact that more people than not react with painful gastrointestinal symptoms upon consumption of dairy demonstrates the fact that the human body is not intended to consume it. Doctors and dietitians are now pushing the use of lactase enzymes and other symptom-relieving medications in order to ensure "adequate" intake of dairy products. Yet, if we have to force our bodies to accept something it doesn't want, shouldn't that be a sign that something is wrong?