While
we leave you to your own devices over whether to eat meat or
not above, we strongly urge you to eliminate milk, cheese and
all other
dairy products from your diet.
Millions of people around the UK consume dairy products on a
daily basis. Our huge consumption of dairy is due not only to
the convenience it brings to cooking and the habit of cooking
with and eating dairy for the majority of our lives but more
alarmingly because of the mantra that we are fed by government
and the dairy industry that it is beneficial to our health that
somehow you need dairy to ensure you consume enough calcium to
maintain strong and healthy bones.
The stories we are told about why we should consume dairy are
based almost entirely upon half-truths and are driven, not for
the benefit of the nation’s health, but to ensure the continued
profits of the dairy industry.
The Myths Surrounding Why We Should Drink Milk
We Need the Calcium Provided by Dairy for Strong Bones
Dairy UK advocates the promotion of three portions of dairy
products per day. They claim that research results show that
dairy is ‘even more favourable (in terms of blood pressure,
cholesterol, weight control, certain cancers, bones and teeth)
than fruit and vegetables’.
This has been the golden ticket of the dairy industry for many,
many years – regardless of the fact that it simply is not
true. Literally hundreds of highly respected research studies
conducted over many years and with a huge cross section of participants
have shown that increased dairy intake does not correlate with
improved bone strength (Cumming and Klineberg, 1994; Huang and
Himes, 1996; Cummings, Nevitt and Browner et al, 1995; Nordin,
1997). In several studies, dairy calcium has been shown to actually
increase the risk of osteoporosis and decrease the strength of
bones!
How the dairy industry is still allowed to promote their products
on the basis of the benefits of dairy calcium is beyond comprehension.
Research has proven beyond doubt that bone strength is not related
to calcium intake.
Bone strength is increased through exercise (Lloyd, Petit et
al, 2004), increased intake of vegetables and fruit (Tucker,
Hannan et al, 1999) and a reduction of animal protein and sodium
(Finn, 1998).
3 Servings of Dairy Helps Weight Loss
’Dairy Management Inc. (responsible for the 3-a-day campaign)
is the non-profit domestic and international planning and management
organization responsible for increasing demand for U.S.-produced
dairy products on behalf of America's dairy farmers.’ – So
clearly our welfare is more important than sales and profits
then….
The UK and US dairy industries are allocating more and more
of their marketing spend to the message that three servings of
dairy can actually help people to lose weight.
This campaign has clear commercial, rather than health goals
as the dairy industry looks to ensure that dieters are given
a reason to continue consuming dairy. In the US, the $180-million
milk-moustache ad campaign during early 2005 was spearheaded
by celebrities such as Dr. Phil, giving consumers very little
information, but sending the message that it is ok to consume
dairy on a regular basis. This campaign has been met with mixed
reviews in health circles, but the bottom line is that it has
boosted sales of milk in the US through the publicising of just
one research study, funded by the dairy industry and with very
questionable data. Is this legal?
The basis of their argument is that dairy contains calcium (stronger
bones argument again), plus potassium, phosphorus, protein, vitamins
D, A and B12, riboflavin and niacin. However, nowhere on throughout
the 3-a-day literature are quantities of these nutrients or daily
requirements discussed – nor the fact that you can get
each of these nutrients in abundance from fruit and vegetables
without having to consume the cholesterol, calories, saturated
fats and sugars contained in dairy produce.
There is simply no way that dairy can help support weight loss.
Even skimmed milk is over 50% sugar (as a percentage of calories)
and of the thousands of research studies conducted on dairy and
its role in health, only one researcher claims that milk aids
in weight loss. And his research is funded by the dairy industry.
The Facts about Dairy
The increase in cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and
asthma that has occurred in the Western world over the past century
directly correlates with the increase in dairy consumption.
In fact, a Professor of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University,
Colin Campbell, has undertaken the largest study of diet and
disease in medical history. His findings are incredible - high
animal calcium and animal protein intake is the primary cause
of degenerative disease.
Granted, dairy may contain certain useful nutrients in varying
proportions. However, similarly to how we often hear that coffee,
red wine and dark chocolate are ‘good for us’, it
doesn’t mean we should ignore the negatives or start on
a diet of red wine and chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
As with all life choices, we have to weigh up the pro’s
and the cons – and with dairy, the cons far outweigh the
pros .
Twelve pounds of milk are required to manufacture one pint of
Ben's very rich ice cream.
Reasons to Kick the Dairy Habit:
1. Trans Fats, Sugar, Saturated Fat, Cholesterol, Chemicals,
Calories
Dairy products are riddled with dangerously high levels
of bad, saturated fats, cholesterol and sugars which all
contribute
significantly
to degenerative disease. For example, butter is 100% fat,
Cheddar cheese 74% fat, whole milk 49% fat and even ‘2% milk’ is
35% fat .
High fat diets are, without doubt, strongly linked to the
alarming obesity levels in the US and UK, with research
showing that 59%
of American men and 49% of American women now being
overweight. In relation to dairy, this may have something to
do with
the fact that the average American consumes approximately
600 pounds
of dairy products every year – that is five times
more dairy than fruit!
2. Cancer
Dairy products are directly related to an increased risk of
prostate cancer , ovarian cancer , prostate cancer, breast cancer,
colon cancer and testicular cancer
The American Cancer Society states that "about one-third
of the 500,000 cancer deaths that occur in the United States
each year is due to dietary factors…Although the committee
recognizes that no diet can guarantee full protection against
any disease, we believe that our recommendations offer the
best nutrition information currently available to help Americans
reduce
their risk of cancer."
Furthermore, their two highest recommendations are: "1.
Choose most of the foods you eat from plant sources"; and "2.
Limit your intake of high-fat foods, particularly from animal
sources."
3. Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)
CVD is the number one cause of death in the UK and the US
with research suggesting that over 3,000 Americans suffer
a heart
attack every day – and over the past 40 years,
research from highly respected journals such as, the
International
Journal of Cardiology , European Journal of Epidemiology
and the American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition have all found a direct
correlation between regular dairy consumption and a
massive increase
in CVD.
This increased risk of CVD is not just a result of the cholesterol
and fat contained in dairy produce , but also the animal protein,
milk carbohydrates and milk sugar lactose which play havoc with
our bodies health.
4. Osteoporosis
For many years milk has been marketed for its supposed ability
to prevent osteoporosis – however, research has shown this
to be untrue . According to the 12-year Harvard Nurses’ Health
Study, milk intake had absolutely benefit with regards to
bone fracture risk and that increased dairy calcium could
actually
have the reverse effect and lead to a decrease in bone strength!
Studies into the factors that effect bone strength in young
adults have highlighted that exercise is actually the predominant
determinant of bone strength. Another research exploration which
examined over 58 studies into nutrition and bone health found
very little evidence to suggest that increasing milk or other
dairy intake improved the bone strength of young adults .
5. Diabetes
Medical science has proven, beyond doubt that there is a direct
relationship between frequent dairy consumption and an increased
risk of diabetes. For instance, a cross-cultural study conducted
with children from 40 different countries identified that the
higher the consumption of dairy and other animal products, the
more likely the child was of developing diabetes. The study also
found that those children who had a largely vegetarian diet has
a highly decreased risk .
Diabetes UK claim that ‘over 80 per cent of people with
Type 2 diabetes are overweight at diagnosis. The more overweight
you are, the greater your risk of diabetes.’ They also
add that those with cardiovascular illness and those with
high blood pressure are also highly at risk of diabetes.
As it is
clear that a diet high in dairy dramatically increases the
likelihood of being overweight and of suffering from cardiovascular
problems,
the chances of suffering from diabetes are also increased.
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