I just read a compelling article by Dr. McDougal, which solidifies my belief that you can be a completely healthy vegan. In this article, he debunks the 10 myths that the dairy industry wants you to believe.
I pulled some quotes from the article that I found especially interesting:
Consider the purpose of cow’s milk. This is an ideal food to grow a calf from its 60-pound birthweight to a 600-pound young cow, ready to wean. This is a high “octane” fuel. One obvious consequence of people eating “calf food” is rapid fat gain – and dairy products are one of the leading contributors to the epidemic of excess body fat affecting 25% of children and 65% of adults in Western populations. Matters are made even worse when cow’s milk is converted into even more concentrated products, like cheeses.
Hmm . . . rapid fat gain. You realize that the most obese nation, the US, also consumes the most dairy? Now isn’t it interesting that the dairy industry wants you to believe that you can lose weight by consuming dairy products such as yogurt or milk?
Cow’s milk has more than four times the calcium content as human breast milk. If this exaggerated amount of calcium is not required during our greatest time of growth – babies double in weight in six months – then why should a concentration of calcium ideal for calves be required when we stop growing bones as adults?
Again, milk is intended to help cows rapidly grow to 10x the weight they are born with. For more on this, check out the episode Milk is a natural food and cows naturally give milk, so what’s wrong with drinking it? of Collen Patrick-Goodreau’s Vegetarian Food for Thought podcast. She is truly my vegan guru!
Bantu women in Africa consume no dairy products at all, and take in only about 250 to 400 mg of calcium each day through vegetable sources (about half the recommended daily intake in the U.S.). These women typically have ten children each and breast-feed each one for about 10 months. Yet despite a diet with no dairy products and the tremendous calcium drain of pregnancy and breast-feeding, osteoporosis is virtually unknown among these women.
The truth is, milk is not the only source of calcium and it is not the best source of calcium. Consider that the original source of calcium is the ground. Calcium, and other minerals, are dissolved in watery solutions and absorbed by the roots of plants. These minerals are then incorporated in the roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits of the plants. Humans can get plenty of calcium the same way it gets into cow’s milk; from the plant foods they eat.
Other sources of calcium: broccoli, kale, sesame seeds, tofu, soybeans, nuts, arugula, figs, kelp, cranberries, figs, beans, chickpeas, spinach, okra, swiss chard, oats, lentil, prunes, and peas. (list from http://www.soystache.com/calcium.htm)
Inappropriate concern about calcium intake may divert attention and resources from more important nutritional issues. Calcium isn’t the only nutrient that affects bone health. Studies have shown that potassium and magnesium may be even more critical in preventing bone loss, and that beta-carotene, phosphorus, and fiber play important roles as well. Plants are excellent sources of these nutrients. Milk provides no beta-carotene and no dietary fiber. Most important, bone health can be more about what you don’t eat than what you do eat. Certain foods and substances – like animal proteins, cigarettes, soft drinks, caffeine, and salt – all affect your body’s ability to absorb and use calcium vs. the loss of calcium from the body.
This may explain why there is so much osteoporosis in the US and other wealthy countries.
And finally:
Milk may be white but it is far from pure. Unfortunately, some of that white comes from white blood cells – commonly referred to as “pus cells” – which are cells produced by the cow’s immune system to fight off infections, especially those of bacterial origin, such as mastitis.
Now isn’t that appetizing? You wouldn’t think of eating human pus cells . . . why would you want to consume the pus cells from another organism?
Mmm . . . pus.
