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Got Milk? Don’t Believe the Hype

Word on the street is that “milk does a body good,” but did that ad campaign specifically say it should or had to be cow’s milk? Perhaps it was implied, but I’m of the opinion and research shows that:

Cows milk isn’t all it’s cracked up to be… and besides, shouldn’t cow’s milk be consumed by baby cows?
After a human mother has finished nursing her baby, something odd happens — a cow takes over! Why is that? This makes us the only mammal on earth that consumes milk in their adulthood, and as a matter of fact, we are the only species that consumes the milk of other species. *insert blank stare*

I know what you’re thinking, here’s yet another super healthy, PETA loving, eco-conscious weirdo trying to tell us that something we grew up on is quite possibly dangerous. On the contrary, I’m by no means employed by the Healthy Police, and my membership in the, “make everyone go vegan or die” club, expired ages ago. My philosophy: If you like it, I love it! But as somewhat of a health food blogger, I like sharing the reasons why I’ve chosen a specific lifestyle or eating regimen, and for those looking for alternatives, it’s my hope that my blog or Pinterest pages can/will provide those suggestions.

So back to the cows… there have been many articles written about the fact that human beings are not designed to drink any milk except human milk. Additionally, not only is consuming dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt, sour cream, ice cream) not healthy for humans, its not all that fun for poor Mrs. Cow either. Here are just 6 of the myriads of reasons I found why we should eliminate or at least reduce the consumption of dairy:

Cows produce milk for the same reason humans do―to nourish their young, so for ever gallon of milk in your grocers freezer, there’s a calf in a pasteur somewhere thirsty as hell.₁
When not on a factory farm (producing milk for other people’s children), cows can live to be 20 years old, but cows used for milk are usually slaughtered for low-grade hamburger meat when they’re around 4 years old.₁
There are 9 million cows living on dairy farms in the United States. They spend most of their lives in large sheds or on feces-filled mud lots, where disease is rampant.₂
Prominent medical doctors now claim that dairy consumption is a contributing factor in nearly two dozen diseases and ailments in children and adults (i.e. iron deficiency anemia, allergies, diarrhea, heart disease, colic, cramps, gastrointestinal bleeding, sinusitis, skin rashes, acne, increased frequency of cold and flus, arthritis, diabetes, osteoporosis, asthma, autoimmune diseases, etc.)_.3
If for whatever reason, you still want to consume cow’s milk, you should know that after pasteurization and homogenization, most of the nutrients and benefits of milk are destroyed.₄
Contrary to popular belief, drinking cow’s milk is nutrition-less due to modern farming methods. There is evidence to prove that nearly all cows (unless raised by you or a farm you know well) are full of toxins, pesticides, antibiotics, bacteria, and hormones.₄

Ok I know what you’re thinking now, so where am I supposed to get my calcium from now that you’ve thoroughly grossed me out and scared me milk-less? Don’t fret; there are tons of alternatives (i.e. almond, coconut, cashew milk) that have all the calcium you need. I don’t suggest the boxed, overly processed variety of these milks either. Recently I’ve begun making my own milk and it’s easy as 1-2-3; processing time takes less than 10 minutes.

Here’s a picture of my process using sunflower seeds. Note I’ve started using a simple strainer instead of squeezing liquid through a nut milk bag (noted in the video below) and it works perfectly:

Here is a “how to” video link by Chef Joy. She shows you two super simple ways that you can make Almond milk. You can use her process with any nut/seed you prefer.