Do you think that milk is good for you, then that is a necessity for your children and yourself to drink a glass of milk every morning ? Is this a must or a myth that milk is beneficial to us? If you wish to understand more, please read on, and then make a choice wisely.

Comparison Between The Composition Of Cow's Milk And Human Milk
Relationship Between Illness And Comsumption Of Cow's Milk
Milk And Osteoporosis
Pasteurization
Residue In Pasteurized Milk

Comparison Between The Composition Of Cow's Milk And Human Milk

As you now , only mammals breasfeeding their young. Calves upon reaching maturity no longer drink milk. Then why do we drink milk during infancy, adolescence, adulthood, and even in old age? Let us compare the differences.

1. Human milk has abundance of minerals such as iodine, iron, phosphorus and magnesium which are lacking in cow's milk.

2. The total content of proteins in cow's milk is three times that of human milk.3. Human milk also contains two important substances lecithin, a phosphoric fatty acid, and taurine, an amino acid, which help in the development of the infant's brain. Cow's milk does not have them. By examining closely the difference in growth of a calf and a baby, we can observe that cow's milk is most suitable for the calf. It allows the calf to grow physically at a tremendous pace - doubling its weightevery month for the first three months. However, very little and slow growth of the calf's brain is observed. On the other hand, a new-born baby need six months to double his weight, being relatively slow in physical growth. However, its brain develops at a fantastic rate-out-performing all other living things. Therefore we can see that the calf requires higher protein in cow's milk for physical growth while the human baby needs special nutrients, such as lecithin and taurine in its mother's milk to help with the tremendous pace of mental development.

4. Cow's milk contains lactose (milk sugar) and casein (curd) which depend on specific digestive enzymes to break them down. When the infant is about 3-4 years of age, the body stops producing these two digestive agents.

5. The proteins in cow's milk are largely made up of casein (curd) which is huge, hard, dense and difficult to digest. Casein is ideally digested in the four-stomached digestive system of the calf, where it is repeatedly ground to be completely broken down. On the other hand, the proteins in human milk are simple and small in structure and can be considered a kink of soft curd which can easily be broken down and digested even in the developing stomach of a new-born baby.

Relationship Between Illness and Consumption Of Cow's Milk

1. Patients with gastric disorder face the prospect of further deterioration of their gastric ulcers if they continue to drink milk. In the process of its digestion, large amounts of gastric acids and digestive enzymes needs to be secreted in order to break down the proteins.

2.Many chronic illnesses such as ulcers in the large intestines of adults, commonly seen acute tonsillitis in children, chronic sinusitis, lymphoma, chronic tympanitis, etc. are closely related to milk consumption.

3. If the mother is a heavy consumer of dairy products, allergies arising from milk consumption may be passed on to the baby through the mother's milk resulting in illness such as bellyaches.

4. A vast percentage of casein in cow's milk is not easily digested and assimilated constructively in the human's body as it clogs up the system with mucus. This mucus is usually lodged in sinus cavities, respiratory and digestive systems. Dr.N.W.Walker, a world renowned American expert in endocrine diseases attributed the direct cause of fragile respiratory and digestive systems especially in children, to the mucus lodged in their systems. Thus the frequently encountered sicknesses such as indigestion, abdominal distension, diarrhoea, constipation, vomiting or flu, bronchitis, asthma, nasal obstruction etc.

Milk And Osteoporosis

Dr.A.John McDougall of America has made an extensive worldwide study on the relationship between calcium absorption and osteoporosis. After years of study he was able to provide the following facts for our reference.

1. The higher the protein consumption, the higher the losses of calcium from our bones.

2. The amount of calcium in the blood does not reflect upon the amount of calcium lost in the bone. Even in serious osteoporosis cases, the calcium level in the blood still reflects as normal.

3. The basic principle of maintaining a healthy amount of calcium in the body and at the same time maintaining strong bones is the adoption of a sensible diet, the control of protein consumption and not to increase calcium intake.

	Africa Bantu Women	Eskimo
Daily intake of calcium	350mg (from vegetables)	>2000mg (from fish bones)
Daily intake of protein	47g	250-400g
% of osteoporosis	almost nil	highest in the world

There are between 15 to 20 million victims of osteoporosis in United States, which is the highest consumer of milk and milk products in the world. Interestingly when Bantu women moved to live in an advanced Western country and adopted the local dietary habits, osteoporosis become common among them. In United States, 25% of 65 years old women lost 50% of their bone density. There are more people dying from osteoporosis than from breast and womb cancer added together.

If a vegetarian takes too much proteins especially from dairy products, softening of the bones can occur. However, their bone structure is still stronger than meat-eaters. Dairy products,meat, egg and fish have other undesirable properties that can cause osteoporosis. This food group is acidic and in order to maintain a balanced acid/alkali relationship in the blood, calcium (being alkaline) from the bones dissolves in the blood to neutralize its acidity.

The body's absorption and utilisation of calcium is determined by the level of phosphorous in the food. Calcium and phosphorous in fruits and vegetables are much higher in contact, so the body is able to absorb calcium more effectively. On the contrary, the level of calcium and phosphorous in milk and meat is much lower, therefore absorption of calcium is not effective. This causes extra calcification at joints, resulting in added burden to the joints and eliminative organs. Degeneration begins to set in.

Other than high consumption of proteins, loss of calcium can also be caused by lack of exercise, menopause, consumption of soft drinks, or drinks containing caffeine and eating processed junk food. Excessive intake of salt and sour food is also a cause of osteoporosis. Backaches, fatigue, aches and weakness in the bones, loose teeth, diminishing gums, susceptibility to bone injury, slip disc, broken bones, etc. are indications of loss of calcium and other minerals. When any such symptom occurs, one should re-examine one's diet and cut sown on the consumption of proteins, milk and diary products as well as fish so as to ensure better health.

Pasteurization

Bacteriologist Louis Pasteur invented a method of destroying disease-producing bacteria by heating milk until it is cooked. After milk and cheese have been heated, the structure of proteins, fats and other enzymes are altered and become unstable. Bacteria, minerals, etc. are also wiped out. Finally, the proteins change into a denser form of curd and become very difficult to digest, allergy--causing and totally non-beneficial.

Pasteurization of cow's milk fails to remove undesirable pollutants such as hair, dust, pollen,fermentative bacteria and insects as well as chemical fertilizers. After pasteurization, the dead bacteria remains in the milk and begin to putrefy. Unlike raw milk, pasteurized milk does not turn sour when it's composition changes. Hence it is impossible to detect to toxins that are in the milk. When a calf is fed with pasteurized milk, it will eventually perish before it reaches maturity.

Residue In Pasteurized Milk

In modern animal husbandry, animals are fed with high doses of antibiotics and pesticides in order to prevent diseases. Beside that animals are fed hormones and growth stimulants to speed up their growth and milk productions. Consequently residues of these chemicals in milk find their way into our bodies.

The cows are well-fed and the lack of exercise leads to an increase in the amount of fat. Saturated fat is harmful become relatively higher in proportion while unsaturated fat(beneficial) becomes lower. Thus, this lead to higher risks of health problems of the heart and arteries as well as cancer of the reproductive system.