The biggest lie promoted by the dairy industry in North America is that dairy products are good for us. Due to pressures from a variety of groups, the dairy industry has had to increase their volume of advertising to an unbelievable level, hiring some of the most popular faces in show business to promote their products.



1. FAT AND CHOLESTEROL

Dairy products are high in saturated fat and cholesterol . The dairy industry has cleverly expressed fat content as a % of weight. Using this system, 2%-milk sounds like a low fat product. However, expressed as a % of total calories, 2%-milk is in fact 31% fat! Whole milk is 49% fat, cheese is 60-70% fat and butter is 100% fat. Eating such foods contributes to the development of heart disease, cancer and stroke.



2. IRON DEFICIENCY

Iron deficiency is more likely on a dairy-rich diet. Cow's milk is very low in iron . In addition, clinical studies have shown that infants consuming cow's milk lose some blood from their digestive tracts. For this reason pediatricians recommend that infants below one year of age not be given cow's milk.



3. DIABETES

Insulin dependent diabetes (Type I) is linked to dairy products. A specific dairy protein sparks an auto immune reaction which destroys the insulin producing cells of the pancreas.



4. OVARIAN CANCER

Ovarian cancer is linked to dairy products. The milk sugar lactose is broken down in the body into another sugar, galactose. In turn, galactose is broken down further by enzymes. According to studies done at Harward, when dairy product consumption exceeds the enzymes' capacity to break down galactose, there is a build-up of galactose in the blood, which may affect a woman's ovaries. Some women have low levels of these enzymes, and when they consume dairy products on a regular basis, their risk of ovarian cancer can be triple that of other women. The problem is the milk sugar, not the milk fat, so low fat dairy products cannot solve this problem. In fact, yogurt and cottage cheese seem to be of most concern because the bacteria used in their manufacture increase the production of galactose from lactose.



5. CATARACTS

Cataracts are also linked to dairy products. The galactose that is a breakdown product of lactose also appears to be capable of damaging the lens of the eye, leading to cataracts.



6. LACTOSE INTOLERANCE

Many people are unable to digest the milk sugar, lactose. Diarrhea and gas can result. On the other hand, they may consider themselves lucky. Those who can tolerate lactose, cannot rapidly breakdown the galactose which circulates in their blood, contributing to cataracts and ovarian cancer, as noted above. Lactose intolerance may be nature's early warning system.



7. FOOD ALLERGIES

Milk is one of the most common causes of food allergies. Respiratory problems, canker sores, skin conditions, and other allergies can be caused by dairy products. The sad thing is that many people never know that their problems are caused by dairy sensitivity. A break from dairy products often leads to surprising improvements. Asthmatics, in particular, should give themselves a long vacation from dairy products to see whether their condition improves.



8. TOXINS

Like any other animal product, mammary secretions contain frequent contaminant, from pesticides to drugs. About a third of all milk products are contaminated with antibiotic traces. The dairy industry slogan "something for every body" takes on a different meaning, doesn't it?



9. OSTEOPOROSIS

Dairy products, despite common myths, do not stop osteoporosis. Evidence shows that the rate of bone loss is largely unaffected by dairy products . Numerous studies have shown that the countries with the highest intake of dairy products also have the highest incidence of osteoporosis. High protein foods, such as meat, eggs and dairy products leach calcium from the body by causing excessive calcium loss through the kidneys, making the kidneys work harder and causing loss of minerals such as calcium.



10. COLIC

One out of every five babies suffers from colic. Pediatricians learned long ago that cows' milk was often the reason. Moreover, breast feeding mothers can have colicky babies if the mothers are consuming cow's milk. The cows' antibodies can pass through the mother's blood stream into her breast milk and to the baby .

Even though the USDA dietary standards are nothing resembling what one should Really put into there body if you want to be healthy

The average American eats nothing resembling the USDA recommended dietary guidelines. According to the USDA itself, in 1994 the average American ate the following:

586 pounds of milk and dairy products

394 pounds of vegetables

199 pounds of meat, and

193 pounds of products containing flour and cereal

121 pounds of fresh fruit.

The average American, rather than following health guidelines of having little or no milk and dairy products -- has milk and dairy as the BASE of their diet. Milk and dairy are the chief ingredient in the Standard American Diet. It is little wonder, then, that heart disease and cancer run rampant in the U.S.

Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) is a genetically engineered growth hormone many dairy farmers inject into cows to increase milk production. There is evidence that rBGH promotes tumor growth in laboratory animals. Of even greater concern, rBGH significantly stimulates a cow's production of another hormone that's secreted in milk, insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1); when we consume dairy products that contain IGF-1, we're overdosing ourselves with a hormone that prompts cells in our bodies to multiply -- including cancer cells.

It is impossible to know whether the milk, ice cream, cheese, butter or other dairy products you may consume contains rBGH. This is because Monsanto, the maker of rBGH, successfully lobbied the government to outlaw labeling which would draw attention to milk which is rBGH-free.

"The casein content of cow's milk is 300% more than is contained in mother's milk. Casein is a milk by-product used as one of the most tenacious glues for gluing wood together. "Dr. N.W. Walker

"I would call milk perhaps the most unhealthful vehicle for calcium that one could possibly imagine, which is the only thing people really drink it for, but whenever you challenge existing dogma... people are resistant."Neal Barnard, M.D.