To Your Health
June, 2010 (Vol. 04, Issue 06) |
|
|
Problems With Milk
While casein is most certainly a concern, it's not the sole problem with milk. A large study led by Catherine S.
Berkey of Harvard Medical School and Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston revealed that consumption of milk may be contributing to the growing problem of childhood obesity. And Dr. Robert Kradjian, chief of breast surgery at Seton Medical Center in northern California, reviewed archives of medical and scientific journals and found that milk is not the "perfect food" it is reported to be. He found that many common childhood disorders were, if not induced, certainly aggravated by an increased intake of dairy products, including but not limited to allergies, ear and tonsil infections, bed-wetting, asthma, intestinal bleeding (lesions), colic and childhood diabetes.
The American Academy of Pediatrics advises parents not to give children dairy milk before their first birthday; Dr. Frank Oski, former chief of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University Hospital and the author of Don't Drink Your Milk, believes milk should never be given to children. Since milk has been associated with iron deficiency anemia, occult gastrointestinal bleeding and various manifestations of food allergies, he believes it prudent to recommend children avoid milk and its potential health problems altogether.
Other Dairy Products
These problems with milk most certainly carry over into all dairy products, including butter, cheese, ice cream, yogurt, etc., and in reality are compounded by the process of producing these food items. For example, the process of making cheese removes the water, lactose and whey proteins, resulting in the casein being concentrated, increasing the effect of the peptides being released during digestion.
Fortunately, these days it's increasingly possible to substitute when necessary. When a recipe calls for 1 cup of milk, try replacing it with 1 cup of soy, rice or coconut milk or 1 cup of water mixed with 1 egg yolk. If a recipe calls for a cup of yogurt, consider the following substitutions: 1 cup of soy yogurt or soy sour cream, 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce or 1 cup of pureed fruit.
The Bottom Line
Considering the rapid increase in the number of children who are sensitive to dairy products, and more specifically casein, you might want to try an elimination trial period: remove these products from the family diet for 30 days and then slowly add one product back at a time, judging reactions, until you complete the dairy list. Monitor for any of the following possible reactionary signs in yourself or your children: irritability; acting out; mucus; redness or itchiness around the eyes, mouth or anus; craving other foods; unusually picky eating; upset stomach; bowel disruption; etc. It should be noted that children sensitive to casein are often allergic to gluten, so you may choose to perform the elimination diet for dairy and gluten at the same time.
Consuming diary products is a matter of choice, of course, but with the potential for allergic reactions, the high fat content and the problems with casein, it's good to know that there are other choices. Talk to your doctor for more information.
