© Unknown
Healthy drink: Quantities of compounds found in
milk were minuscule.
A glass of milk can contain a cocktail of up to 20 painkillers, antibiotics
and growth hormones, scientists have shown.
Using a highly sensitive test, they found a host of chemicals used to treat
illnesses in animals and people in samples of cow, goat and human breast
milk.
The doses of drugs were far too small to have an effect on anyone drinking
them, but the results highlight how man-made chemicals are now found
throughout the food chain.
The highest quantities of medicines were found in cow's milk.
Researchers believe some of the drugs and growth promoters were given to the
cattle, or got into milk through cattle feed or contamination on the farm.
The Spanish-Moroccan team analysed 20 samples of cow's milk bought in Spain
and Morocco, along with samples of goat and breast milk.
Their breakdown, published in the
Journal of Agricultural and Food
Chemistry, revealed that cow's milk contained traces of
anti-inflammatory drugs niflumic acid, mefenamic acid and ketoprofen -
commonly used as painkillers in animals and people.
© University of Jaen, Spain
It also contained the hormone 17-beta-estradiol, a form of the sex hormone
oestrogen. The hormone was detected at three millionths of a gram in every
kilogram of milk, while the highest dose of niflumic acid was less than one
millionth of a gram per kilogram of milk.
However, the scientists, led by Dr Evaristo Ballesteros, from the University
of Jaen in Spain, say their technique could be used to check the safety of
other types of food.
Dr Ballesteros said: 'We believe the new methodology will help to provide a
more effective way of determining the presence of these kinds of
contaminants in milk or other products.
'Food quality control laboratories could use this new tool to detect these
drugs before they enter the food chain. This would raise consumers'
awareness and give them the knowledge that food is... harmless, pure,
genuine, beneficial to health and free of toxic residues,' he added.
© Unknown
Net result: Compounds manufactured and used by
humans are showing up in all parts of the food chain.
The tests also found niflumic acid in goat's milk, while breast milk
contained traces of painkillers ibuprofen and naproxen, along with the
antibiotic triclosan and some hormones.
The researchers say their new 30-minute test is the most sensitive of its
kind. If the findings are true for Spanish and Moroccan milk, they could
equally be true for milk produced in Britain and northern Europe.
Last year Portsmouth University scientists found that fish were being
contaminated with the anti-depressant Prozac.
The drug enters rivers from the sewer system and tinkers with the brain
chemistry of fish, the researchers claimed.
Previous studies have shown that caffeine is released into our waterways
after surviving the sewage treatment process.
The hormones from the contraceptive pill and HRT have been blamed for
feminising fish, leading to male fish producing eggs.
The effects of antibiotics, blood pressure drugs and cholesterol-lowering
drugs on wildlife are also being studied around the world.
Got milk?
These days, it seems like almost everybody does.
Celebrities, athletes, and even former president Clinton's head of Health
and Human Services, Donna Shalala, are all proud to wear the white
"milk mustache." After all, everyone knows that you need milk to
be healthy, right?
Not necessarily!
Sure, dairy is nature's perfect food -- but only if you're a calf.
If that sounds shocking to you, it's because very few people are willing to
tell the truth about dairy. In fact, criticizing milk in America is like
taking on motherhood, apple pie, or baseball.
But that's just what I'm about to do.
Based on the research and my experience practicing medicine, I typically
advise most of my patients to avoid dairy products completely.
I like ice cream just as much as the next person, but as a scientist, I have
to look honestly at what we know. In just a second, I will explore the many
documented ill-effects of dairy.
That advice flies in the face of the new, "up-to-date" food
pyramid from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA's
pyramid recommends drinking 3 glasses of milk a day.
What's wrong with that? Well, for one thing, it's not a recommendation
that's based on strict science. And some of the "experts" who
helped create the pyramid actually work for the dairy industry -- not
exactly the most unbiased group of people!
In fact, Walter Willett, M.D., Ph.D -- the second-most-cited
scientist in all of clinical medicine and the head of nutrition at Harvard's
School of Public Health -- is one of the pyramid's most vocal critics. He's
even called its guidelines "udderly ridiculous."
That's not something a Harvard scientist says lightly.
But Dr. Willett is right.
The pyramid just isn't based on key scientific findings about health. Just
take a look at some of the pyramid's recommendations -- and why I disagree
with them.
1. Consume a variety of foods within and among the basic food groups while
staying within your body's energy needs.
Sounds sensible -- but which food groups? If you choose dairy, meat, fats,
and carbohydrates, the "perfect" meal could be a cheeseburger,
milkshake, and fries with ketchup (potatoes and tomatoes are the two top
vegetables consumed in America). Generic advice like that is pretty
meaningless and potentially harmful.
2. Control your caloric intake to manage body weight.
Again, that sounds good, but as I wrote in my book
UltraMetabolism,
even the best-trained nutritionists and dietitians can't come close to
correctly estimating their own caloric intake in a day. And is it okay to
consume all of my calories from cola or ice cream as long as I stay within
my caloric needs? Of course not. So this is more useless advice.
3. Increase intake of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nonfat or
low-fat milk products.
Well, fruits, veggies, and whole grains are great. Milk? Not so much. I'll
get back to that in a minute.
4. Choose carbohydrates wisely.
Who could argue with that? But how do they define "wisely"? The
real advice here should be to cut down sugar intake from 185 pounds per
person per year (what we currently consume) to less than a pound, avoid
flour products (except as a treat), and stick to whole-food carbohydrates
like vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds.
5. Choose to prepare food with little salt.
That's not bad advice. But what if most of what you eat is packaged or
processed foods that you don't actually prepare? Like most Americans who eat
half of their meals outside their homes, this isn't helpful. A better
recommendation would be to avoid packaged, processed, canned, prepared, and
fast foods (unless you know exactly how they are made).
6. If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation.
Sounds good - but if you're usually drinking two bottles of wine a night,
then one seems like moderation! I think a better suggestion is to limit your
alcohol consumption to half a drink a day or 3 glasses a week (the amount
that seems to have the most health benefit).
7. Don't eat unsafe foods.
Of course you shouldn't leave your egg salad out in the hot sun or toss your
salad with hands that just handled raw chicken coated with salmonella. But
the food pyramid guidelines don't mention pesticides, hormones, antibiotics,
or genetically modified foods, despite scientific evidence of their harm.
Shame on the USDA!
You can see now why I have big problems with the food pyramid!
Mostly, its guidelines try to sound sensible -- while still protecting the
interests of the food industry, the agriculture industry, and all of the
lobbyists paying for the elections of the Congress.
Everybody's happy, right?
Well, I'm not, you shouldn't be, either. The public just isn't served by
this watered down, confusing, and useless pyramid.
Worse, some of the recommendations are downright harmful --like the one to
drink more milk and dairy products.
According to Dr. Willett, who has done many studies and reviewed the
research on this topic, there are many reasons to pass up milk, including:
1) Milk doesn't reduce fractures.
Contrary to popular belief, eating dairy products has never been shown to
reduce fracture risk -- but dairy may increase risk of fractures by 50
percent (according to the large Nurses' Health Study)!
2) Less dairy, better bones.
Countries with lowest rates of dairy and calcium consumption (like those in
Africa and Asia) have the lowest rates of osteoporosis.
3) Calcium isn't as bone-protective as we thought.
Studies of calcium supplementation have showed no benefit in reducing
fracture risk. Vitamin D appears to be much more important than calcium in
preventing fractures.
4) Calcium may raise cancer risk.
Research shows that higher intakes of both calcium and dairy products may
increase a man's risk of prostate cancer by 30 to 50 percent. Plus, dairy
consumption increases the body's level of insulin-like growth factor-1
(IGF-1) -- a known cancer promoter.
5) Calcium has benefits that dairy doesn't.
Calcium supplements, but not dairy products, may reduce the risk of colon
cancer.
6) Not everyone can stomach dairy.
About 75 percent of the world's population is genetically unable to
properly digest milk and other dairy products -- a problem called
lactose intolerance.
Based on such findings, Dr. Willet has come to some important conclusions:
- Everybody needs calcium -- but probably not as much as our
government's recommended daily allowance (RDA).
- Calcium probably doesn't prevent broken bones. Few people in this
country are likely to reduce their fracture risk by getting more
calcium.
- Men may not want to take calcium supplements. Supplements of calcium
and vitamin D may be reasonable for women.
- Dairy may be unhealthy. Advocating dairy consumption may have negative
effects on health.
If all that isn't enough to swear you off milk, there are a few other
scientific findings worth noting.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently asked the UDSA to look into the
scientific basis of the claims made in the "milk mustache" ads.
Their panel of scientists stated the truth clearly:
- Milk doesn't benefit sports performance.
- There's no evidence that dairy is good for your bones or prevents
osteoporosis -- in fact, the animal protein it contains may help cause
bone loss!
- Dairy is linked to prostate cancer.
- It's full of saturated fat and is linked to heart disease.
- Dairy causes digestive problems for the 75 percent of people with
lactose intolerance.
- Dairy aggravates irritable bowel syndrome.
Simply put, the FTC asked the dairy industry, "Got Proof?" -- and
the answer was NO!
Plus, dairy may contribute to even more health problems, like:
- Allergies
- Sinus problems
- Ear infections
- Type 1 diabetes
- Chronic constipation
- Anemia (in children)
But what about raw milk?
Isn't that a healthier form of dairy?
Not really.
Yes, raw, whole, organic milk eliminates concerns like pesticides, hormones,
antibiotics, and the effects of homogenization and pasteurization -- but to
me, these benefits don't outweigh dairy's potential risks.
From an evolutionary point of view, milk is a strange food for
humans. Until 10,000 years ago we didn't domesticate animals and
weren't able to drink milk (unless some brave hunter-gather milked a wild
tiger or buffalo!).
If you don't believe that then consider this:
the majority of humans
naturally stop producing significant amounts of lactase - the enzyme needed
to properly metabolize lactose, the sugar in milk - sometime between the
ages of two and five.
In fact, for most mammals, the normal condition is to stop producing the
enzymes needed to properly digest and metabolize milk after they have been
weaned.
Our bodies just weren't made to digest milk on a regular basis.
Instead, most scientists agree that it's better for us to get calcium,
potassium, protein, and fats from other food sources, like whole plant foods
-- vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and seaweed.
Convinced yet?
Here's my advice for dealing with dairy:
- If you want healthy bones, get plenty of exercise and supplement with
2,000 IU of vitamin D daily -- don't rely on dairy.
- Get your calcium from dark green leafy vegetables, sesame tahini, sea
vegetables, and sardines or salmon with the bones.
- Try giving up all dairy -- that means milk, cheese, yogurt, and ice
cream for two weeks and see if you feel better. You should notice
improvements with your sinuses, post-nasal drip, headaches, irritable
bowel syndrome, energy, and weight. Then start eating dairy again and
see how you feel. If you feel worse, you should try to give it up for
life.
- If you can tolerate dairy, then use only raw, organic dairy products,
preferably fermented products like unsweetened yogurt and kefir,
occasionally.
- If you have to feed your child formula from milk, don't worry. The
milk in infant formula is hydrolyzed or broken down and easier to digest
(although it can still cause allergies). Once your child is a year old,
switch him or her to real food and almond milk.
Still got milk?
I hope not!
Remember, dairy is not crucial for good health.
I encourage you to go dairy-free and see what it does for you.
Now I'd love to hear from you: Do you agree or disagree that dairy is bad
for you? Have you experienced any problems consuming dairy? Or, more
importantly, what changes - for better or worse - have you experienced if
you've tried eliminating dairy?
Comment: For more information about why milk isn't good for you, see this Sott link:
6 reasons why you should avoid milk at all costs...
******************************