I totally agree with everything negative you say about dairy...about pasteurized dairy. The calcium in pasteurized dairy is mostly not bioavailable to the body and can actually do more harm than good. The molecular structure of the proteins have been changed. Etc., etc. I highly recommmend that pasteurized milk and dairy products be avoided like the plague.

However, studies show that raw dairy DOES do a body good. In traditional societies where raw milk and cheese are liberally consumed, the people--from old to youth--are in much better health than those in Western nations, and don't suffer from allergies, osteoporosis, etc.

And yes, raw milk products are safe to eat. Why? In the states that still allow the sale of raw milk, safety regulations are very stringent. I and a lot of people I know consume raw dairy products and give them to their kids. We NEVER get food poisoning, and our kids are a lot healthier than the population at large.

Think I'm crazy? Read the book Nourishing Traditions.

Blessings,
Emily

Dairy has more negative health consequences than listed here. It is, for the human body, an inflammatory agent that leads (among others) to heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, cancer, auto-immune diseases, depression.

Admittedly, raw milk is less adultareated than commercial milk. But unfortunately, raw milk is not a healthy alternative. Even if the source is stellar regarding cleanliness, cow's milk was never intended for human consumption and has the same inflammatory effects (only milder) has commercial milk. 

Alexa Fleckenstein M.D., physician, author.

I quit dairy and glutton at the beginning of Sept. 2009 and hadnt gotten around to trying a "reintroduction" for either by the end of November.  The only change I noticed was that my PMS symptoms went away.  I am 43 years old and I was getting fibroids in my breasts about a week before my period started each month.  I thought that maybe the flax seed oil I started taking had something to do with this. 

In late November I went to somebody's house for dinner. The dinner was glutton free as our friends new about the diet.  For dessert though there was an option of ice cream or whipped cream to put on top of the glutton free pie.  I decided to have BOTH.  That night one of my breasts started aching so badly that it woke me up from a deep sleep. (I had gone three cycles with NO PMS symptoms) With it being the holidays and going to friends and families houses, I ate a little dairy and glutton over the holidays and my PMS came back.  I haven't had any dairy since Christmas and I just started my period yesterday (Jan 13th) with no PMS symptoms.  The other thing I was experiencing with my PMS was leg cramps.  THey went away too, but came back during the month I had diary and glutton. 

I googled "estrogen in dairy" shortly after this experience and didn't find much. I finally did find a Harvard blog where a medical student from India stated that milk in the US has a lot more estrogen in it than it does in other countries because we milk pregnant cows. She stated that there could be a link between this estrogen and both prostrate cancer in men and breast cancer in both sexes and uterine cancer in women. Nobody seems to be talking about this though!

linilsson

I had chronic bronchitis as a kid.  I even developed a calcium deficiency, that the Dr. said was caused by drinking too much milk.  Plus I had horrible allergies.

In my 20's I found out that milk could aggrivate asthma and allergies, something I didn't know as a kid.  I stopped drinking milk and poof! No more chronic bronchitis!  My allergies also reduced, but not eliminated since I have pollen allergies too.

Now the only dairy product I consume is organic sugar/fat-free yogurt which doesn't seem to trigger the same reaction as milk.  I don't consume any other milk/dairy products.  I'm a vegetarian and would be vegan except for the occassional yogurt.  I dropped my A1C which was climbing up as I got older, and have excellent bone density for my age despite not drinking any milk since I was in my early 20s. (I'm almost 50 now).

More poeple need to realize milk is for cows, not people.  Thanks for your informative article.

Thank you so much Dr Hyman, for posting this article.  It's a shame that credible information about people's health is difficult to attain because of special interest groups.  However, I'm a bit confused as to why Dr Hyman recommends infant formula.  Not only does formula contain vegetable oils and corn syrup, I've also read that the hydrolized protein is a hidden source of MSG.  And if milk is safe for babies, why couldn't babies be fed raw, organic milk?  Does anyone have any input regarding this?

Brandi

Health problems are not caused by the food pyramid or milk consumption.  Health problems are largely due to the fact that most of the food grown today lacks the nutrition it once contained.  This is due to the fact that our soils have been depleted of real nutrients because of the use of chemicals in farming.  People can eat as many or few servings of whatever food group they want and the are still going to be fat and still going to be hungry because the food is not nourishing them.  Pasteurized milk is not milk at all and I would dare say it is not even food.  Rather it is a dead white liquid substance that will indeed cause irritation and sickness.  Raw, whole, organic milk from cows on pasture that eat grass is a completely different substance and one that has nutritional value, health benefits and is certainly not bad for human beings.  

There are many other dietary contributors to poor health.  All non-organic food, any kind of refined sweetener (especially corn syrup), preservatives, artificial colors, chemicals of all kinds.  I recently read an article in the NY Times about ammonia in hamburger meat.  It seems someone found a use for slaughterhouse trimmings by grinding them up and injecting them with ammonia to kill salmonella and e.coli and then mixing it with real ground beef.  This mix of real hamburger and ammoniated by-product is served in many fast-food restaurants and many public school lunch programs.  The company even lobbied the USDA to classify the ammonia as a processing agent instead of an ingredient, even though it is measurable in the food.

It is safe to assume that anything processed is bad for you.  That rules out 80% of the food in your grocery store shelves - anything in a box, bag or frozen.  The other 20%, is likely non-organic meat, dairy and produce... or it's pasteurized - so you can rule that out as well.

I was a vegetarian for 12 years, 3 of which I was VEGAN.  It was the most unhealthy I have ever been, even though all the vegetarian food I ate was organic.

Now I grow all of my own food.  It can be done.  I drink raw milk that I milk by hand out of my organic, pastured, grass-fed cows.  I used to be "lactose intolerant", but I wasn't really... I was intolerant to pasteurized milk.  Raw milk digests just fine and I drink over a half gallon of raw milk a day.  I eat meat from animals I raised and butchered myself and I eat this meat RAW!  It is very digestible this way.  I eat vegetables from my soil, in which I am working on restoring the nutrients.  I like my vegetables raw and naturally fermented/cultured.  I also culture my milk occasionally with kefir grains or other cultures.  Cultured food helps restore the digestive system and then when nutritional food is consumed, the digestive system can assimilate and make use of the nutrients.

 
I think this article was way off the mark.  I would much rather read about how to go about healing your digestive system and find nutritious food directly from local farmers...  And you could have written more than 2 sentences about how a person should choose raw, organic dairy and fermented  products.  Most people reading this article will take your advice on avoiding milk (pasteurized) but not your advice about choosing raw, organic milk and fermented products and that is a shame. 

If people don't feel they can grow their own food, in itself a really sad statement, they should buy directly from an organic farmer.  If they can't find an organic farmer, they should find a store (food coop, natural foods market) that sells organic food.  The key is to eat whole, natural, organic, raw nutrient-dense foods devoid of chemicals.  Milk is a fine food if it is real milk.

mumov5,

My youngest son has recovered from autism on the Gluten Free/Casein Free (also soy, corn ,preservative free)diet plus supplements,chelation and sensory integration exercises.

For those who don't know...gluten/casein are the proteins in grains (wheat, rye, barley, spelt, maybe oats etc) and milk. My family is NOT lactose intolerant (ie the sugar in milk is OK for us).

Once I started that special diet, I found it was easier for us all to simply go organic and me to cook from scratch.No dairy.

My eldest daughter has mostly recovered from Chronic Fatigue on the full GAPS diet (no dairy,grains, sugar,white carbs etc).

My second daughter found the headaches, stomach pains, post nasal drip she had suffered all her life disappeared once she quit dairy (and now eats predominantly fresh fruit and veg.).She had thought it was normal(ie "everyone had" ) to have stomach pains every morning about an hour after breakfast (milk and cereal).

My youngest daughter always got "foggy brain"if she ate dairy . One memorable occasion ,she was unable to sit a University exam after accidentally eating processed food (with "hidden" dairy) .Actually, on that occasion, she saw a Dr to obtain a Dr's certificate, but he refused to believe her reaction was "allergic" so she returned home in tears.I knew the exam subject was one she liked and had tried hard to sudy for (but was too "foggy") so I advised her to seek a certificate on the basis of "migraine" as a western Dr would "understand" that typical allergic reaction better.

 I took her to another (24hour)medical practice, but first we stopped to get a more "recent" dairy reaction.................she had a Haagen Daz icecream and a cup of milk cappuccino.................as I sat opposite I watched her skin turn deathly pale, blotches appear on her cheeks, her ears turn red and grey shadows under her eyes deepened to an angry green/grey (like hail storm clouds)  .....all in the space of 15 minutes! The new Dr issued the certificate with no questions!

My eldest son was addicted to the opiates from gluten and casein. In high school he lived on wheat/milk cereal breakfast, cheese sandwiches (lunch), pizza for dinner!His moods swung, he whined if he couldn't get his "hit" of those foods on time.His school peers called him "stoner" because he looked high all the time.(droopy eyelids etc).Once he changed to organic fruit and veg, meat (mostly Thai stir fries) the differences were dramatic!

His chronic diarrhea disappeared, his 1 day off school a fortnight (ill health) ceased, his ability to concentrate rose remarkably. He had much more energy.After a year off dairy he wondered  if it would be OK to eat a bowl of pumpkin soup and a buttered bread roll at a university ball.

It wasn't! he was so ill after that amount of dairy he couldn't eat the main course and his "brain fog" didn't clear till Tuesday (4 days later).Now, 4 years later ,he can cope much better with accidental doses but still sticks to his GF/CF diet over 99% of the time. 

My neice's son (aged 4 )has already had tonsils and adenoids out and has chronic middle ear infections (like all my children when young). I can NOT convince her it's the dairy because she is fooled by the dairy marketing lies. After all, doctors back those lies up. My sister-in-law (my neice's mum) is also allergic to milk but "doesn't want to know" about her grandson...SO frustrating .

I read Colin T Campbell's Book ,"The China Study" years ago about how the phosphates in milk actually CAUSE osteoporosis by stripping calcium out of bones to neutralise their acidic effect.

Since I have never liked milk, I have happily ceased all dairy and noted that I no longer suffer bad breath, blocked ears (especially on flights), indigestion etc etc. I no longer believe milk is food for anyone except baby cattle.

Three commenters understand the vast difference between raw milk, butter, cream and cheese from grass-fed cows, sheep and goats, and pasteurized dairy products found in most food markets.

It's surprising that Dr. Hyman does not, given the fact that he lives in the heart of the Berkshire County, Massachusetts. As one other poster suggested, he ought to read Sally Fallon's "Nourishing Traditions", or go to her website www.westonaprice.org. Living in Columbia County NY, as I do, which is just west of Berkshire County, I have access to biodynamic farms and their extraodinary dairy products.

Enid

Hi

I was lactose intolerant when I was 20 , I did a diet without dairy products for 3 years and felt much better, then reintroduce dairy and I am not feeling so well since then n . At this moment I try Lactose free milk and yoghurt. Are they good for health? Does anyone know something about it? I will try the raw organic milk or maybe just almond milk.

Best Regards

Vanessa

Hi

I was lactose intolerant when I was 20 , I did a diet without dairy products for 3 years and felt much better, then reintroduce dairy and I am not feeling so well since then n . At this moment I try Lactose free milk and yoghurt. Are they good for health? Does anyone know something about it? I will try the raw organic milk or maybe just almond milk.

Best Regards

Vanessa

Dr Hyman's advice reflects unbiased science as much as possible.  His voice joins numerous other responsible health advocates. 

But I am getting very tired of hearing about the obscene manipulations of the FDA by the food industry as if they are inevitable.  The FDA is paid for by the public and is supposed to work for the public. 

What Dr. Hyman should do is tell the public exactly how to lodge it's compliants of the FDA over its fraudulant activities. 

I've become very concerned with healthy living lately, therefore I try to cook meals that are as healthy as possible, given our current living conditions, environmental factors which one can't avoid unless changing the place where he lives. Regarding the post-nasal drip and dairy consumption, indeed, I've noticed a tight connection between the two. Your articles is very interesting and it made me want to find out more about such issues.

healthy eating recipes

I completely agree with all that you said about the dairy industry, the USDA pyramid, and think Dr. Willett's research is valid and important.  I also agree that if you're going to use dairy, raw, organic dairy is the way to go.  The only thing I would add is that we need to be careful about one-size-fits-all philosophies.  Small amounts of dairy can be very supportive for some people in some situations, and in traditional healing modalities such as Ayurveda, milk has significant medicinal properties.  In the US we certainly overuse and abuse dairy (and our dairy cows), and thus the explosion of dairy-related problems.  In general I think it can be fine and really satisfying for many people when obtained from a healthy source and used as a small condiment, but certainly is better avoided by others, or just used medicinally.  

Jen

 I agree with RawMilkFamer, Pasteurized factory farmed milk is junk food - pure and simple. Raw milk from grass-fed animals is a superfood. But in many states it is illegal to even buy it. The dairy industry is hurting farmers. But if farmers can sell real milk off their farms they can become economically viable again. If we are a free country, why can't we choose to buy a real food product? One answer is that the corporations would lose profit margin and they have a stranglehold on our government. 

We need to wake up  to the horrific health, geopolitical and environmental problems caused by the factory farming of our animal products. With twelve BILLION dollars of annual subsidies for corn and soy growers, our government props up the factory farming of eggs, chicken, beef, dairy and pork. We deplete our soils of all natural nurtients, spread petroleum products on the land, pollute our air and waterways and destroy the nutrients in our food. Farm animals live in cruel concentration camps. Their nutrient rich manure no longer replenishes the soil. Our food is laced with antibiotics that breed super germs like ecoli and disarm one of most effective medical tool: the growth  hormones  infertility and premature puberty and who knows what else. Family farmers have lost their farms and farming is no longer a viable profession. The only beneficiaries to this system are large corporations like Cargill, Smithfield and Monsanto. 

This system is corrupt to the max and outrageous. We have to rise up as a people and make a CHANGE. 

Please boycott all factory farming products and support real farmers and real food. 

I want to add my support for raw milk product consumption to this list.  Although my family doesn't have enough land or the skills to raise our own cows, we are fortunate to live near enough to a trusted supplier to be able to have this incredible product in our diet.  Most of the issues associated with milk mentioned in this article do not apply to raw milk, only pasteurized milk, as is the case with most whole foods vs. processed foods.

I would like to respond to these two points in the article in particular:

"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!)"

Prior to 10,000 years ago, we also did not cultivate fruits, vegetables, and grains, nor consume the meat from domesticated animals, so one could equally argue that we should eat only what we can find naturally in the wild, and indeed, some do argue that.  At least that idea is consistent, but it's not consistent to say not to drink milk because it is evolutionarily "new", but yet to allow other products that are, too.

"If you don't believe that, 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."

While some people will have specific enzyme deficiencies throughout life, most of our bodies will produce whatever enzymes are required to metabolize whatever we are eating regularly.  That is why when you stop eating a whole class of foods for a while, you will feel very ill when you re-introduce them.  If you introduce slowly and consistently, your body will usually respond with the necessary enzymes.

Beth Spicer

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I'm a statistician who analyzes medical research data in the investigation of obesity, autoimmune conditions, weight loss tablets, insomnia, and other chronic issues.

dynarena

Although I usually find information from Dr. Hyman very beneficial, I have to disagree with this position.  Pastuerized milk IS much of the problem but REAL Milk from healthy cows is different.  I believe real food - the kind that our ancestors have eaten from the beginning of time is where to look for health.  That includes meat, real fat, fresh vegetables, eggs, etc.  and I don't buy the "milk is for calves - no other mammals drink milk" baloney.  Humans do lots of things that no other mammals do.  The truth is that because of farming - including milk  - our ancestors were able to survive and thrive in hard times.  They learned to preserve milk with cultures like kefir, making cheese etc and those important advances allowed people to progress towards bigger things than just gathering food non-stop every day to survive.  Our bodies are able to process whole real foods.  Good luck to all of you on your journey towards health and knowledge.  It is confusing.  Simple, whole real foods - a good place to start.