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Berkeley Wellness Alerts
July 23, 2010 | Comments: 4
Got (Nondairy) Milk?
Cow’s milk is a good source of protein, calcium, potassium, and vitamin D. But if you are lactose intolerant or just don’t like regular milk, there are other “milks” you can try.
Nondairy beverages—made from soy, nuts, rice, even oats and hemp—are not nutritionally equivalent to milk. Each has something to offer, though.
Soy milk: Made by soaking, crushing, cooking, and straining soybeans, some soy milks provide as much protein as cow’s milk, often some fiber (dairy milk has none), a range of nutrients (including B vitamins and potassium), and isoflavones (potentially healthful plant compounds).
Nut milk: Often made from ground almonds or hazelnuts, nut milks have little protein, but are relatively low in calories and provide vitamin E, manganese, magnesium, copper, and other nutrients from nuts.
Rice milk: Consisting mostly of carbohydrates, rice milk is low in protein and fat (some have added vegetable oil). Though usually made from brown rice, the “milk” has no fiber and is thin in consistency. Rice milk is naturally sweeter than other nondairy beverages and least likely to cause allergies.
Oat milk: Made from oat groats (oats that have been cleaned, toasted, and hulled), oat milk contains about half the protein of cow’s milk. Oat bran may be added as a source of fiber. It’s slightly sweet with a thin consistency, similar to skim or 1% milk.
Hemp milk: From the seeds of the industrial hemp plant (varieties of Cannabis sativa grown for food and textile uses), hemp milk supplies protein, omega-3 fats similar to those in flaxseeds, and other healthful unsaturated fats. Unlike the Cannabis plant that produces marijuana, foods made from hemp contain only trace amounts, if any, of the psychoactive compound.
Keep in mind:
• If you drink nondairy beverages in place of cow’s milk, look for ones with added calcium and vitamin D. Many are also fortified with vitamin B12 (an advantage for vegans who don’t get much B12 in their diets) and other nutrients.
• Most nondairy beverages are sweetened with sugar (such as evaporated cane juice, rice syrup, or barley malt), which increases calories. Chocolate and other flavored beverages have even more added sugar than “plain” or “original” ones—as much as five teaspoons a cup—and up to 170 calories. Unsweetened versions have as few as 35 calories a cup.
• Though the unsaturated fat in these beverages is heart-healthy, nonfat versions have fewer calories.
• Nondairy beverages, including soy milk, are not a replacement for infant formula.
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Cow's milk is a good source of puss, growth hormones and glue. The milk from a cow was never intended for human use and has the wrong composition for our species. Mankind is the only being on earth that insists on suckling the teat of another animal. If you are suffering, try taking about six weeks off from any and all dairy products to see if abstinence alleviates your symptoms.
The best choice for a milk substitute is hemp nuts. They are easy to convert into a milk like substance by adding 3 teaspoons in a blender with about 8 ounces of H2O. Many commercial brands are watered down and give very little kick for the buck.
Do you want to know more? See "The Famous Milk Letter" at http://notmilk.com/ and http://www.innvista.com/health/foods/hemp/default.htm if you want "The Rest Of The Story."
Posted by: GlyCop | July 24, 2010 12:33 PM
The Wellness Letter does not agree with GlyCop's attack on milk and dairy products. See http://www.wellnessletter.com/html/wl/2010/wlFeatured0510.html Still, there are many nondairy alternatives, as we say above, for those who don't like cow's milk. We will discuss hormones in milk in detail in an upcoming issue. -- The Editors
Posted by: Michael Goldman | July 24, 2010 3:09 PM
What part do you not agree with? Who is right? Why the confusion? Where best to get our answers? Can we trust milk industry spokesmen? Can you trust any industry spokesmen? Are nutritionists up to date or are they simply repeating what their professors learned years ago?
WHAT IS MILK?
Nursing is provided by nature only for the very youngest of mammals. Of course, it is not possible for animals living in a natural state to continue with the drinking of milk after weaning. Milk is a maternal lactating secretion, a short term nutrient for new-borns. Nothing more, nothing less. Milk is not just milk. The milk of every species of mammal is unique and specifically tailored to the requirements of that animal. For example, cows' milk is very much richer in protein than human milk. Three to four times as much. It has five to seven times the mineral content. However, it is markedly deficient in essential fatty acids when compared to human mothers' milk. Mothers' milk has six to ten times as much of the essential fatty acids, especially linoleic acid. (Incidentally, skimmed cow's milk has no linoleic acid). It simply is not designed for humans.
Any lactating mammal excretes toxins through her milk. This includes antibiotics, pesticides, chemicals and hormones. Also, all cows' milk contains blood! The inspectors are simply asked to keep it under certain limits. You may be horrified to learn that the USDA allows milk to contain from one to one and a half million white blood cells per milliliter. (That's only 1/30 of an ounce). If you don't already know this, I'm sorry to tell you that another way to describe white cells where they don't belong would be to call them pus cells.
Got Milk?
Posted by: GlyCop | July 24, 2010 4:07 PM
P.S. Please excuse (or, correct) my misspelling of "pus" in the first post... and thank you for starting what will inevitably become a colorful debate if it continues. As your reference states in the Featured Article on May 2010: The Milk Debate Keeps Churning, "the arguments about milk are highly politicized."
The facts are not politicized enough and there are vast differences between individuals, their mothers and the milk that each mother produces. There are even differences in the bacterial content of milk, from one mother to another. Perhaps in the future, we will have a much greater understanding that will benefit human-kind. Until then, I truly support your timely article and commend you for giving people an alternative to Cow's milk.
Posted by: GlyCop | July 24, 2010 4:57 PM