“I could never give up cheese!”. I hear it all the time. It’s one of the first responses people give when they first ask about my plant-based diet. And to be honest, I might have said the same thing early on in my journey. But I learned a few things, and my perspective on a few things changed, and to be honest, I don’t miss milk at all. In fact, I see the removal of dairy from my diet as a great improvement in my life.
Sorry, I found this picture and couldn’t resist
First off, lets talk about perceptions. We are all taught that milk is natural , that it’s natures perfect food. I remember being told in a college nutrition course that milk was an ideal food because the protein profile found in milk perfectly matches what our body needs. And then there is the calcium. We need calcium right? And that means milk. So how natural is milk? For one, humans are the only animal that seem to drink milk past infancy. All other animals wean themselves off as soon as they are able to find another source of food. Humans are also the only animals that drink the milk of another species of animal. Ever see a cat sucking at the teat of a cow? I think not. And it doesn’t stop there. We are so comfortable with drinking cows milk, but what if I suggested that you enjoy a nice cold glass of dog milk with your cookies? Did you just gag a bit just like me at the thought of it? We have been conditioned to think of drinking cow milk as natural and normal, but when I started to question my preconceived notions, I began to see it as anything but normal.
Beyond what has become a mental aversion to drinking milk, there are all kinds of health benefits to removing milk from your diet. The one that got us off milk the quickest was the link found between milk and breast cancer in “The China Study”.
The authors link breast cancer to the long-term exposure to higher concentrations of female hormones, which in turn is associated with early menarche (age at first menstruation), late menopause, and a high concentration of blood cholesterol. They argue that all these risk factors are linked to a diet high in animal protein, particularly casein from cow milk. The average Chinese woman is exposed to 35–40 percent of the lifetime estrogen exposure of the average British or American woman, and the rate of breast cancer among Chinese women is about one-fifth of the rate among Western women. They also argue that lower rates of colorectal cancer are associated with the consumption of plants high in fiber, such as beans, leafy vegetables and whole grains. (wikipedia)
There are a host of other possible health risks linked to the consumption of milk. They range from acne and increased mucus production (leading to asthma) to premature puberty and even Parkinson’s disease (http://nutritionfacts.org). After looking at the available data, that was enough for me to figure where there is smoke there is fire. The benefits of removing milk outweighed the costs.
The good news is, there just aren’t that many costs. Cow milk can easily be substituted with many different nut milks. My favorite is almond milk. You can buy it in many stores now, or just make you own mixing water and almonds in a blender, and filtering it with a cheese cloth. If you do buy it at the store, watch out for the sweetened flavors, they can add a lot of sugar that you don’t want.
So there you have it, why I stopped drinking milk, and how I replaced it. But wait you say, “what about the calcium.. you still need calcium right?” Of course I do (less then the milk industry wants you to believe), and I get it from all the dark leafy greens that I eat (http://www.vrg.org/).
