The incidence of diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions, particularly in developed countries. Poor diet and obesity are major contributors. Diabetes is a terrible disease that affects every aspect of daily living. It is caused by the body's inability to control blood sugar levels. This is medically referred to as 'insulin resistance'.
According to a 2007 study by the University of Cardiff in the UK, drinking a pint of milk a day may protect men against diabetes and heart disease. But upon closer examination of the research, the study has turned out to be flawed and without merit.
Jon Barron (of The Baseline of Health Foundation) analyzed the data from the study and his comments are summarized in the five points below:
1. The study was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. It looked at how insulin resistance was affected by dairy milk consumption. A total 2,375 men were tracked between the ages of 45 and 59 over a 20-year period to see whether eating dairy products reduces the risk of insulin resistance. According to the study, the more milk they consumed, the lower the risk.
2. In fact, although the study tracked a decreased risk of insulin resistance with increased dairy consumption, it found little actual correlation between dairy consumption and the incidence of diabetes itself. There were only 7 more cases of diabetes among the lowest consumers of dairy versus the highest. The incidence of heart disease was not tracked.
3. Unfortunately, people who had diabetes at the start of the study were not included in the results. We therefore don't know if their condition improved or deteriorated as a result of milk consumption. Such information would have been significant in determining the overall health value of dairy milk in relation to insulin resistance.
4. Furthermore, the study only references the amount of milk and dairy products people were consuming, nothing else. If they're drinking more milk, they're drinking less of something else. Conversely, if they're drinking less milk, they're drinking more of something else. If that something else is soda pop, sugared energy drinks or coffee with sugar, that can be a major factor in the onset of insulin resistance.
5. It seems that the so-called health benefits attributed to milk in the study may have nothing to do with milk at all. They may instead be a reflection of a better diet. It is likely that the men drinking milk were consuming less sugary foods, but the study doesn't tell us either way. Clearly, without the data, the study is meaningless and misleading.
An examination of the numerous studies into diabetes (too many to mention here) clearly show that milk consumption contributes to a higher incidence of diabetes. There are virtually no studies to counter this.
In the book 'Nurturing Traditions' (1999), the author Sally Fallon makes the following comment:
'There is some evidence that pasteurization alters milk lactase (a form of sugar), making it more readily absorbable. This and the fact that pasteurized milk puts an unnecessary strain on the pancreas to produce digestive enzymes, may explain why milk consumption has been linked to diabetes'.
Other research confirms this. Lactose undergoes condensation and molecular changes as a result of heat treatment. Lactose in milk converts to glucose and galactose in the bloodstream. Over time, the constant drip feed of glucose into the bloodstream (from daily milk consumption) can create insulin resistance.
The risk of diabetes is even greater for organic milk consumers. This is so because most organic milk (over 80 percent) is sold as UHT milk. In the USA virtually all organic milk is UHT! The ultra high pasteurization temperature of UHT is double that of regular milk. This means that organic UHT milk is more likely to overburden the bloodstream with glucose, increasing the risk of diabetes.
See below for details of a new book 'Organic Milk Myth' which explains this in more detail with supporting evidence.
Research clearly shows that dioxins cause many serious diseases such as a kidney disease, birth defects, premature death, and a whole range of cancers.
Unfortunately, dioxins are just about everywhere in nature because they get carried by weather patterns, rain, ocean currents, and wind to all parts of the globe. Dioxins settle on pastures, and on plants and grains that form part of the food chain for animals and humans.
There is no escaping dioxins however carefully you choose and prepare your food. Dioxins are found in equal measure in both organic and non-organic food. Dioxins do not come from pesticides or fertilizers - they come from the environment at large and even from the water supply.
Our bodies can usually cope with a low level of dioxins. Some get flushed out instead of being absorbed into the body to cause illness. We can reduce the amount of dioxins we get by avoiding foods high in dioxins.
So which food is highest in dioxins? Dairy milk is known to have a higher amount of dioxins than any other human food or drink, weight for weight. All female mammals produce milk for feeding to their young, including humans. Dioxins consumed by the mother get concentrated in her breast milk. This happens because all nutrients (including dioxins) get concentrated in the milk as a way of providing good nourishment to the baby.
This means human babies get concentrated dioxins from their mother's milk. Mercifully, a baby stops breastfeeding after a few months so the level of dioxins received by the baby drops off. Also, human milk has a lower concentration of dioxins compared to dairy milk.
But for a milk consumer it's a different story. Over time, the daily consumption of dairy milk results in a dangerous build up of dioxins in the body, causing below-par health, serious disease, and premature death.
There are plenty of studies (too numerous to list here) showing that dairy milk has the highest concentration of dioxins compared to any other staple food product.
'Dioxins penetrate the environment via air, water and soil and are then incorporated in food chains. The major source of human exposure to dioxins (90%) is consumption of .dairy products.' (Prof. Rocz Panstw, Zakl Hig, 1999, 50:3).
'The primary source of dioxins is food, especially .dairy products.' (Chemosphere, 1998 Oct, 37:9).
'The lipophilic nature of dioxins.may result in relatively high concentrations of dioxin contamination in dairy products.' (Journal of Animal Science, 1998 Jan, 76:1).
'Cows' milk is ideal for assessing levels because these compounds adhere to fat and are transferred to and eliminated in the milk of the lactating animal.' (Linda Fitzpatrick, Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment, 2005).
All types of dairy milk contain dioxins in varying amounts, including organic milk. But over eighty percent of organic milk sold in the world is UHT milk (Long Life milk). In the Americas and most of Europe just about all organic milk is UHT milk.
You get far more dioxins with UHT milk than you do with regular pasteurized milk because more dioxins gets digested instead of being flushed out of the body. This occurs because the micronized fat globules in UHT milk are much smaller. As a result, significantly more dioxins from organic UHT milk get into the bloodstream. See below to find out more.
Russell Eaton has sinced written about articles on various topics from Health, Acne Treatment and Network Marketing. explodes the myth that organic milk is better for health by clearly showing that organic milk is, in fact, much worse for health compared to reg. Russell Eaton's top article generates over 2400 views. to your Favourites.