Dairy foods

[_TJ_]

I am veggie but I eat cheese/yoghurt/milk etc. However, I'm not
sure if it's actually a healthy thing to eat. Obviously humans
didn't consume cow's milk throughout evolution!

What is your opinion on this?

Is there a medical consensus on this issue?

[Elad]

1. Humans are the only species on earth

that voluntarily, regularly seek out and consume the milk of another mammal. Milk is nature's food for infant mammals, it's not made for adults and it's not made for cross-species consumption (at least not in ideal circumstances, you hear stories all the time of some baby animal being adopted by the mother of another species and drinking her milk, but that is something done for survival, not the natural course of things). Mammals are not intended to drink milk past infancy, which is why lactose intolerance is so widespread except in cultures where we feed dairy to our children constantly (your body will naturally stop producing lactase, the enzyme required to break down the sugar in milk, after a couple years of age).

Milk is fatty, pussy, and disgusting if you ask me. And unless you buy organic milk, it's chok-full of synthetic growth hormones, antibiotics, and pesticides. You will not, however, find a "scientific consensus" regarding milk because the dairy industry has spent decades spreading the meme that milk is healthy and they've invested a lot of money into this, including funding "research."

Here is some good info on milk from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine:
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/milk.html

[Warpy]

2. I'd echo that for all the contaminants

and even cows from organic dairies can have subacute mastitis, giving you a little bacteria with milk, if it's raw. The good news is that the acid in your stomach will keep you from getting infected. The bad news is the "ick" factor.

There is no reason to consume cow's milk in any form these days. Soy milk is a tastier alternative, and you can see soy yogurts and cheeses in most health food stores. Yes, they're a little different from dairy products, but they're certainly acceptable substitutes.

The very best way to approach dairy is to use as little of it as possible. It's really not good for adults in large quantities. However, there's no way anyone should begrudge themselves an ice cream from a street vendor on a really hot day.

[_TJ_]

3. Sounds about right to me

I reckon I'll give the dairy foods a miss from now on.

[Robeson]

4. I'm vegetarian, not vegan, but the only dairy product I eat....

...is Parmesan cheese. I also make sure that it is organically produced. Its not like I eat it all the time, but when I do, thats what I have. Any other dairy products I eat are the soy types such as soy milk or soy cheese. And as others have said, there are some great tasting soy milks out there. I couldn't imagine going back to regular milk.

[smbolisnch]

5. I couldn't either....

Just thinking about regular milk gives me a woozy feeling! I LOVE chocolate soy milk too.....yum!! :P

[Robeson]

6. Your pic in the sig line is great!....

...:hi:

[smbolisnch]

7. Thanks!!

I love that pic ;)