Dairy: friend or foe?
By Kate Short

Some of us love it, some can’t drink it. Some think it’s one of the worst foods you can put in your body, while others swear by its miracles. We’re talking about dairy—milk, cheese, ice cream and butter. Good? Bad? It depends on whom you ask, so let’s consult some of the facts.

Sally Fallon, author of Nourishing Traditions, and a believer in the need to return to our indigenous dietary roots, leaves the question of whether or not to eat dairy in the hands of one’s individual ancestry. “By some estimate, only 30–40 percent of the world’s population produces lactase” (the enzyme that digests the milk sugar lactose). Nomadic and agricultural-based societies, whose biology has adapted to fit their agrarian roots, still use dairy from their animals as one of the main staples of their diets, with little seen with ill effects of modern milk consumption. However, the most common blood type in the world is “O”, which is the hunter-gatherer type. Non-coincidentally, people with type-O blood tend to have a more difficult time digesting milk. Their ancestral roots have not often evolved to include such things as dairy, wheat or corn.

Fallon also acknowledges that it is the destruction of the raw enzymes, vitamins and minerals during the pasteurization process that is one of the real problems behind widespread lactose intolerance.

While pasteurization began as a way to ensure the cleanliness of milk, it has had many detrimental effects on the milk and its consumers. “Modern pasteurized milk, devoid of its enzyme content, puts an enormous strain on the body’s digestive mechanism,” says Fallon, with the result of allergies, chronic fatigue and a host of degenerative diseases. However, the safety of eating raw dairy is strongly debatable, as there are still substantial risks of infection by the organisms that both boiling and pasteurization eliminate, including brucellosis, a bacteria passed from animals to humans, especially prevalent in developing countries like Mexico.

Aside from pasteurization, there are other destructive properties to the integrity of milk, including pesticides in the feed given to the cows and antibiotics given to fight off infections.

And then there is the obvious complication of added hormones, given to the cows to force their endocrine (hormone) systems to go on overwork and therefore produce more milk. All of these are transmitted into the milk and our bodies when we drink it, which leads us to inquire: What effects are all these additives having on our physical development?

Energetically speaking, milk is a building food. It is nourishing, comforting and even nostalgic for many. Who doesn’t have a memory of being comforted by a tall glass of cold milk and a cookie? Milk is produced to pass on all the blood-building, immunity-enhancing, life-giving nutrients and nourishment from the mother to the child. Therefore, if we’re continuing to eat such a building food, beyond our growth stages what are the effects? If we are constantly introducing building foods into our bodies, without giving them a rest, we will end up with accumulation and constipation of the energy systems. 

Cow’s milk is compositionally very different than human milk. As such, it is not a proper substitution for babies when mother’s milk is not available. Goat’s milk is actually a closer resemblance and easier to digest in most cases. “If we put human milk into the system of a human being, the result is smooth growth, correct energy level, and no excess because all the elements are fully utilized…But if we put in cow’s milk, say 100 grams…we will have 2.4 grams of protein, 85 milligrams of calcium (and 34 milligrams of sodium) in excess of human needs,” notes holistic chef and physicist Anne-Marie Colbin. In light of the task of eliminating such excess, our elimination organs (liver, kidneys, skin, lungs, mucous membranes and intestines) can become clogged and lethargic—which leads them to excessive buildup and later toxicity in the blood and organ systems. “Many people report a noticeable rise in energy once they stop using dairy products as a main food,” says Colbin.

A high consumption of dairy (homogenized Vitamin D-fortified milk, cheese, etc.) has been linked to many complications with the human sexual organs—cysts, tumors, discharges and infections. This is especially prevalent in women, who seem to suffer more from the building and blocking effects of milk than men. As milk comes from the sexual organs of mammals, it makes perfect sense that they would thereby stimulate activity in the hormone centers in humans. As Colbin so poetically wrote, “Milk is supposed to go out of a woman, not into her.”

Processes like fermentation and souring make all milk products easier to digest. Therefore in my opinion, it is far better to eat yogurt than to have a glass of milk, for the fermentation adds back in friendly bacteria to help with digestion and your overall gut-health. Try yoghurt, kefir, cottage cheese, and sour cream, for a few.

The bottom line: look for organic (hormone-free), grass-fed, cultured, raw (if you are sure about the health of the cows) dairy. Use it as a compliment to your meals, in moderation, and not daily. When you need nourishment from a glass of milk, try asking for a hug instead. “Let food be thy medicine…” and choose your food wisely.

Kate Short, a graduate from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York, is a certified holistic health counselor with the Open Door Retreat, a recovery center in San Miguel. She also teaches cooking classes based on the wisdom of eating seasonally and locally. She can be reached at flowtome@yahoo.com.