Yesterday we discussed how all the fantastic calcium milk contains is used by the body to adjust the pH of the body to be more alkaline, due to the acidic nature of milk. Today I would like to discuss the hormone affects of milk.
Let’s look at why we have milk. Milk is made by mommy cows to feed baby cows. The baby cows need fat, nutrients, and hormones to grow to be big strong cows. But what effect does drinking milk have on humans?
The hormone IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor 1) is a hormone that cows produce in their milk to help the calves grow. By drinking milk, humans also are taking in more IGF-1. IGF-1 causes cells to grow. It has been shown to be THE MOST POWERFUL cancer growing agent in cancers of the breast, prostate, lung, and colon. Higher IGF-1 levels also correlate to premature aging in the human.
In children, IGF-1 levels are leading to premature puberty, breast development before the age of 10, and menses starting shortly thereafter. Breast cancer organizations state that premature puberty increases the risk of breast cancer later in life. My assumption is because these girls have high IGF-1 levels for life.
You may have heard that cows are injected with rBGH (growth hormone) in order to increase milk production. This milk has even higher levels of IGF-1, and I recently read that cows injected with this hormone have a much shorter life span. So, what happens to humans when they increase their IGF-1 to unnatural levels?
It frustrates me that pediatricians recognize that girls are developing at a younger age, and aren’t addressing the cause. Do they not know? Do they not want to tell people not to drink milk because they aren’t aware of other calcium sources? I’m not sure, but it is frustrating.
Milk also contains estrogens and adrogens, and cows treated with hormones have an even higher amount in them. These lead to higher estrogen and testosterone levels in humans. These hormones can wreak havoc on our bodies in various ways. One I have seen first hand is acne. I have had acne since about the fourth grade, and I remember being teased about it. I have had acne up until until I stopped drinking milk.
Occasionally, I get a pimple due to my own hormone shifts, but not all the time like I used to. My husband also had moderate adult acne, and being from Wisconsin, loves his dairy. He wasn’t too keen on giving up dairy, but once he stopped consuming it daily, his acne has disappeared. You can actually tell by his face if he has had ice cream or cheese, because he develops pimples the next day. It is amazing when you see the correlation! (Cheese and ice cream are just concentrated milk, so you are receiving a more potent dose of hormones with each bite.)
Tomorrow I will discuss good sources of calcium and milk alternatives.
Have you given up milk? Why? Do you still drink milk? Why? Please weigh in!
Sources:
http://www.breastcancerfund.org/clear-science/timing-of-exposure/childhood-and-adolescence/
http://drmcdougall.com/misc/2007nl/mar/dairy.htm
http://www.health101.org/art_Milk_and_Girls.htm
I gave up dairy for these exact reasons. It started as something I did do clear up my face, but my hormones are so sensitive that it’s worth it to me to avoid it all the time. I “cheat” by eating bites of dairy (those 2 bites of pumpkin cheesecake last night were amazing!), and once in a while I’ll eat pizza with real cheese when my monthly hormones are at a low point. But, agreed – We do not need milk in our diets.
Thanks for your insight, Sara! Yes, I savor my little tastes of dairy, too.