Many people are steering away from meat because of health concerns. This leads us to wonder if dairy products and eggs (learn more from this post) should also be discarded. The topic is highly debatable. But let’s dive in a little deeper: Can dairy products impact our health?
The Bible tells us several times that drinking milk was common among God’s people (1 Corinthians 9:7, Jeremiah 11:5). However, it also clearly tells us that our body is the temple of God and we should care for it. In doing so, we should watch for signs of the times and be vigilant. So in terms of whether or not we should be consuming something, the question arises: Will it negatively or positively impact my health?
Drinking milk might have been beneficial years ago and it might still be in parts of the world today where there is a lack of certain foods. As long as the animals providing milk are healthy, milk can support a healthy diet in constructive ways. But, in many countries today we can find a large choice of healthier and inexpensive alternatives to animal milk products such as almond or coconut milk.
Let us also consider the health of the majority of the animals today. Most of the milk sold in our supermarkets come from unhealthy cows. And therefore what they produce also becomes unhealthy. Indeed disease in animals increases, and the use of animal products is more and more unsafe.
In addition, there is the issue of hormones in dairies. Like us, a female cow doesn’t produce milk unless it is/was pregnant. Therefore, cow milk contains the hormone called oestrogenes.
Research claims dairy products impact health
Conditions such as migraines and asthma have been proven to be affected by the consumption (or lack of) dairy products in a person’s diet.
Postmenopausal women who consume too much dairy products had too much estradiol in their system, according to a 2010 Australian study. Women should not have too much of this hormone during this time of their life.
In another study conducted by the University of Rochester, male sperm count was low for those who eat cheese, and high for those who eat no to very little cheese. This is likely due to the high count of female hormones in cheese.
Migraines might also be affected when it comes to dairy. A study by the Hospital for Sick Children showed that when patients stopped eating cheese, sausage and fermented food, 78 of 88 were migraine free.
A Harvard study on prostate cancer has shown that countries with high consumption of cow milk have more people with prostate cancer.
People with asthma who stopped consuming eggs and milk had better breathing within 8 weeks, according to a study by New York University. Contrarily, some highly ranked medical websites stated that the consumption of dairy might help the condition of asthma.
Nevertheless, it is important to check who sponsors articles that are posted. For example, if we Google “asthma diary” we find out that the National Asthma Council in Australia said that it is good to consume dairy products when having asthma. But below that article, we can read a small disclaimer including a dairy company website link.
There are also other researches on arthritis rheumatism, Alzheimer’s, acne and other medical conditions, showing that stopping the consumption of dairy might help health conditions.
Milk alternatives
If you still want to drink milk, but not from a cow, here are some other options:
- almond milk
- soy milk
- coconut milk
- oat milk
- rice milk
They are also many dairy-free products that are available in supermarkets such as yogurt or cheese that tastes really good! And you can find tons of fun recipes online or in cook books to make your own milk, cheese, and yogurt.
