Thursday, March 17, 2011

ewww... Milk

Is it normal to dislike the taste of milk?  Is it normal to have a reaction to anything with milk in it?  The answer may surprise you... YES!  Yup, it is true.  Here are some facts we don't really think about...

1. Humans are the only species that continue to drink "milk" once weaned.
2. We do NOT need milk products to get our daily requirements of calcium and vitamin D.
3. It is ABNORMAL to be able to eat and drink milk products.
4. Babies classified as "colicky" may be lactose intolerant.
5. Most all people that are born lactose intolerant - are lactose tolerant during their formative growing stages (10 - 23) and then revert back to lactose intolerance.
6. Many cases of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) are actually Lactose Intolerance.

I am lactose intolerant - and didn't know it until I had my second daughter.  All during my pregnancy I had issues - and for a while I thought I was dying my discomfort and pain were so great.  I didn't know until my daughter was born (she is also lactose intolerant) and I was searching for answers to her colic that I found we were both lactose intolerant.  Lactose Intolerance wasn't formally designated / recognized until mid to late 1960s - up until then babies were just said to be colicky.  My mom retells the stories of me crying constantly - and as a child I HATED milk... it has always tasted sour to me and is gross. 

How do I know if I am lactose intolerant?  There are many symptoms - upset stomach, heart burn, belching, stinky gas, stomach cramps, and diarrhea.  And they appear in that order depending on how intolerant you are and how much you have consumed.   The easy way to quickly determine your tolerance is to drink an 8 oz glass of milk.  If you are lactose intolerant you will know within 20 minutes.  It will also give you a pretty good idea of HOW intolerant you are.  The faster you go through that list of symptoms - and how long they last - will tell you very quickly how intolerant your body is. 

If you are 100%, you are not even able to eat things with whey or powdered milk in them.  For a while I was 100% intolerant - I couldn't even eat pre-packaged tortillas because they had whey in them.  For me soft processed cheeses (velveeta), milk and ice cream were the worst. 

So, what IS lactose intolerance?  As a creature grows from breast milk to normal foods, they lose the ability to break down lactase, which is a complex sugar.  As a result, that creature becomes lactose intolerant - and the taste of milk and milk products changes - becomes distasteful.  Obviously, that is a simplified definition - but one you should easily be able to grasp.

We are told by all the dairy companies, and doctors that we NEED milk.  This couldn't be further from the truth.  Again, we are back to marketing... does milk provide you with calcium and vitamin D? yes.  Is it the only way to get those nutrients? no.  Mother's breast milk provides a lot more than those two nutrients - but they are very necessary to an infant due to the rapid growth that they go through in that first year.  Once we are weaned - our bodies aren't growing any where near the speed of that first year and don't need the amount of nutrients found in breast milk. 

Foods that replace your need of calcium in milk include sesame seeds, spinach, rhubarb, collard greens, molasses, bok choy, broccoli, swiss chard, kale, brazil nuts, celery, almonds, papaya, flax seeds, and oranges - to name a few. 

Recommended reading: http://pediatrics.about.com/od/calcium/a/06_calcium_food.htm

Foods / other things that replace your need of vitamin D in milk include fish (omega 3), orange juice, soya, mushrooms, spinach, potatoes, eggs and most importantly SUNSHINE!

Recommended reading: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=110

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