'Milk can cause cancer'.

[bubble99]

According to the 'White Lies' campaign spearheaded by The Vegetarian and Vegan Society.

I'm totally P'd off by this as, rightly or wrongly, I suspect that human health is fairly low down their list of priorities.

I'm assuming they're not including human milk?

Any links would be appreciated.

\link{http://www.publishingnews.co.uk/pn/forum_pn/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=841\milk causes osteoporosis}

There's more than one side to this story, but the milk producers have done the most fantastic job of promoting their product, to the extent that people simply can't believe evidence to the contrary.

it is a difficult one. Recent research suggest soya products [soya milk, yoghurts etc] given to young boys can damage their fertility in the long term. I used to give my dairy intolerant ds the odd soya yoghurt but don't anymore. With children the main thing [and the thing i struggle with] is getting enough calcium into them. I suppose for adults it may be different. anyone out there raise their children without dairy?

Franny&zooey,please don't tar all farmers with the same brush.I lived grew up on a dairy farm & lived there for 27 years.I can honestly say that our cows were not fed crap & their welfare was paramount.No milk from any cow being treated with any medication made it into the tanks.

We don't produce milk anymore,so I have no axe to grind personally,but knowing the long days my family worked & the care they took of their stock,(we came 2nd best to the cows),it pisses me off to hear the 'greedy farmer' stuff being trotted out again.

"people simply can't believe evidence to the contrary"

Or maybe they read peer-reviewed papers and judge on the basis of the weight of the evidence rather than a selective use of studies by Russell in Wokingham?

Haven't read all the comments but personally have recently switched to goats milk from cows milk.

This is because I am not convinced that the hormones and antibiotics they pump into cows to make them produce more milk are that good for us. Its not so much me I worry about, its more for the future health of my children.

I haven't switched because of reading capaigns by various societies, but because of reading some pieces research undertaken, for example, regarding farmers whom go through come sort of 'male menopause' and experience symptoms (eg. growing breasts) which nmay be due to their exposure to these hormones.

If you are worried about routine drug administration in dairy herds then there are several organic dairies you can get your cow's milk from - Rachel's for example. Our milkman even delivers it.

I think I'd rather drink organic cow's milk than goat's milk. I just find it yuck. Can't be any worse for me than all those years I spent smoking 1+ pack/day and abusing alcohol.

Milk causes you to grow breasts?Wow I wish it'd work for me.27 years living near a dairy herd & I'm still as flat as a pancake!So is my cousin who milked them twice a day for over 20 years,in fact she is even flatter than me. (smile)

I have to say that I haven't noticed any farmers around here looking particularly 'bosomy'(grin)

I'm interested in w2hat you say about milk being implicated in causing diabetes jimjams. Could you point me in the direction of this research. My ds was dxed with type 1 just before christmas. I'd already identified a dairy intolerance in him and we had cut right down on his dairy intake, but perhaps it was too little too late.

The milk issue does seem to be pretty polarised. Anyone who questions milk is rounded on IME.

My life long asthma and hay fever have almost completely disappeared since I came off dairy.
I'm so delighted to be symptom and drug free after all these years. I tell other asthmatics in the hope that someone else may get similar results, but they look at me as if I'm mad and they can't imagine a life without dairy.

To me that's amazing. I'm not saying all asthma is caused by dairy intolerance but I can't be the only one. Would they really rather have the debilitating symptoms of asthma and rhinitus than just try cutting out dairy? People are fiercely reluctant to entertain the possibility that cow milk is bad for them. Bizarre.

Mirage that is good to hear that your herd were treated with such care :)

Thanks.It is a bit sad to see the empty milking parlour now,it doesn't seem the same without them somehow.They were such characters & had names that suited them-no Daisies or Buttercups though,ours were far more unusual.

interesting spidermama. My asthma has always been dust mite and exercise provoked, and though they are still triggers i haven't used my inhalers since i gave up dairy. But then I haven't been for a run either.

\link{http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/consumers/food-safety-topics/chemicals-in-food/milk-a1-a2/index.htm\this appears fairly balanced spidermama}

From what I understand the research is at a very early stage and it's more of a theory at the moment. The only published research I've seen is correlational and I have not seen any clinical evidence as such testing the theories.The idea is that someone (like ds1 and ds3!) has a leaky gut, A1 proteins get through (usually they wouldn't because the would be too big), and antibodies are produced. Those antibodies then attack the pancreas (accidentally). Hey presto diabetes.

A very similar(ish) process has been proposed in the development of autism. In NZ and Oz you can now buy milk (from cows) that is high in A2 proteins.

spidermama - I do know what you are saying- ds3 has changed dramatically in the last 2 weeks (and measurably with the CHAT test thingy). 5 people have now commented on the huge change in him (without prompting). The only change we've made is to tighten up on gluten (he was hardly having any anyway) and switch from cows to goats milk. But I don't bother telling anyone except in a jokey way as people then think you are insane.

Thanks for that link, SM.

And yes, jimjams, that does seem to be a well-balanced factsheet. Thanks to you, too.

Very interesting. Thanks jimjams.