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milk

Common “Healthy” Food Spikes Your Risk of Prostate Cancer

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dairy and prostate cancer
CLIPAREA.com/Dollar Photo Club

Before I mention the food, let me ask this question: Should a food group heavily recommended by schools and public health groups increase your risk of cancer?

Let’s look at some of the other foods that are recommended by nutritionists and public health organizations.  Broccoli.  Never in any study I have ever read has broccoli been shown to increase the risk of anything.  Even when laden with pesticides, this superfood is inherently protective enough to overcome the chemicals.

Pomegranates?  Never any bad press.  Nuts (so long as they are coated in added oils)?  Nope–all good news.  Beans?  Vegetables in general?  Apples?  No, no and none.

I feel very strongly that, if those of us with knowledge on nutrition are making recommendations, there really shouldn’t be any controversy behind it.  And yet there is one food group that has been held on a pedestal for so long that practically the entire industrialized world believes it is essential for good health.  So much so that when a patient comes in and the subject of bone health comes up, he or she is almost embarrassed to tell me that this food group is not normally on the menu.

Of course I’m talking about dairy products.

That wonderful health food that has managed to make it into every public health recommendation for the past 30 years.  The food group whose industry advocates (this or that state Dairy Council) have managed to worm their way into public health groups so they can further the agenda of dairy as a health food.  The food group that is promoted almost daily in radio and TV commercials to an unsuspecting public who believes the marketing geared towards building stronger bones, teeth and muscles.

Just in case you’re one of those people out there who have been brainwashed by the industry into believing that milk from a lactating cow is good for your health and need a little more convincing, feel free to check out my eBook on the Misconception of Dairy as a Health Food by clicking here.

For the rest of you, I’d just like to add this particular study to the list of evidence that dairy is really not a food for non-nursing non-bovine humans to partake in.  This study was a large review of 32 different studies looking specifically at the links between dairy intake and prostate cancer.  Here’s what they found:

  • Overall dairy intake increased the risk of prostate cancer by 7% for each 400 grams per day (just under 2 glasses)
  • Milk intake upped prostate cancer risk by 3% for every 200 grams per day (less than a glass)
  • Low-fat milk increased the risk more than full milk at 6% for each 200 grams per day.
  • Cheese increased the risk by 9% for every 50 grams per day (just under 2 slices).

While these numbers are not terribly high, it should absolutely raise the question about whether or not we should be recommending that our children have 3 servings a day or a food group that is very, very solidly associated with prostate cancer risk (among other concerns).  Should any public health recommendation when it comes to diet and exercise, have a downside, when there are so many other viable alternatives that help build strong bones, teeth and muscles (none of which, BTW, have been shown to be benefited by dairy intake)?

Even IF dairy were not consistently shown to increase prostate cancer risk, can we really justify feeding our children calories as a liquid?  Do the math–even 2% milk (which, you’ll note from this study, actually increased the risk MORE than low fat milk), at about 100 calories per glass, 3 glasses per day is an extra 109,500 calories PER YEAR.  And we wonder why we have a childhood obesity epidemic.

 

3 Servings of Dairy per Day for Good Health? Or Death?

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At times I question my anti-dairy stance because every public health recommendation includes 3 servings of dairy.   This is NOT one of those times.

I would challenge you to find a public health recommendation from a government agency that does not include 3 servings a day of milk, cheese or yogurt.  Schools teach it like it’s gospel.  And you can’t go a day without hearing some ad on TV or the radio that portrays dairy as the ultimate health food designed to build strong muscles teeth and bones.

Even the National and local “Healthy Kids” groups designed to combat the childhood obesity epidemic pays homage to the 3 servings per day mantra.

Personally, I just can’t get past the reality of what we are doing by drinking milk.  While you may be drinking it out of a cup, it’s essentially breastfeeding from a cow by proxy.

Let that image sneak through your brain for a moment.

Nursing is great for the early periods of mammalian development (i.e. for humans 6 months up to 2 years), but beyond that it serves no purpose.

Here’s another thought to consider.  Just how does that cow continually produce milk?  Think of human females—milk production is tied to pregnancy and delivery and does not continue for years and years after that time frame.

In order to achieve this near-continually milk production in dairy cows farmers have to impregnate cows as soon as the milk dries up after birth, far sooner than they would in nature.

Regular readers of the Rantings will know that none of this information is new.  I even have an eBook on the evils of dairy that can be purchased by clicking here.

So what does my current Rant have to do with this particular article?  It is because this article does not beat around the bush.  In it, researchers in Sweden (a country that, just like the US, have a very high consumption of dairy) looked at 61,433 women and 45,339 men to look at how dairy consumption related to the risk of death or fracture.  Arguably, death was considered the more serious outcome…

Specifically, an initial questionnaire looking at dairy intake was done in women as young as 39 and men as young as 45 years of age.  They were followed up on an average of 20.1 years later.  Here’s what they found:

  • The women who followed the recommendations of three or more glasses of milk a day were 93% more likely to have died compared with women who drank less than one glass a day
  • Basically, for every glass of milk the women drank, they were 15% more likely to die (the men were 3% more likely, which was not considered significant).
  • For every glass of milk in women there was a 9% increased risk of a hip fracture (no association was found in males).
  • When the researchers looked at a smaller sample size in the group, they also found an increase in inflammation (interleukin 6) and 8-iso-PGF2α (a marker of oxidative stress).

Even looking at this large study through rose-colored glasses, you have to admit that, at its BEST, dairy did nothing good for your health.

Looking at it through the lens of hundreds of studies that found associations between animal proteins and fracture as well as dairy intake and several types of cancer, you have to admit that the concept of dairy as a health food is a wee bit glim.

This article, for some strange reason, did not get picked up by the popular press.  Until articles like this get brought to the publics’ eyes, our society will continue to be deluded by millions of dollars in advertising and buying government influence by the dairy industry.

 

Milk–It Does a Body Good…Except for Prostate Cancer Survival

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This may come as a shocker to those who know me.  I’m no fan of dairy.  Despite the involvement in seemingly every public health recommendation there is, the research on dairy is just not supportive.  Actually, the research is less than supportive.  In same cases it is downright scary.

As I have mentioned before, I would like to understand the mindset of the first human to look at a filled-to-bursting cow’s udder and thought…”I’ve GOT to try some of that!!”  It’s easy to drink out of a carton, but stop for a minute next time and think where it comes from and what it was designed for.

Overall, though, dairy has been linked to ovarian cancer in several studies (these can be read by clicking here) as well as many other chronic diseases (type 1 diabetes, reflux, weight gain in kids).  But cancer seems to be somewhat of a recurring theme.  This might be because dairy is designed to support the rapid growth of cells.  This is great in a newborn, but not such a good idea as we age.

This particular study continues to add to this theme.

Researchers evaluated the data within the Physician’s Health Study on the relationship between prostate cancer and dairy consumption.  Here’s what they found:

  1. The intake of >2.5 servings / day of dairy products was associated with 12% increased risk of prostate cancer.
  2. Skim/low-fat milk intake was associated with an elevated risk of low-grade, early stage, and screen-detected cancers (that’s the good news!).
  3. Whole milk intake was associated with a 49% increased risk of fatal prostate cancer a > 1 serving per day.
  4. Worse, whole milk intake led to a 217% higher risk of progression to death once someone was already diagnosed (Tweet this).

So much for dairy being good for us, huh?

At one point is society going to stop believing the propaganda of the dairy council and stop poisoning our kids and yourself?

Does Healthy Food for Kids Include Milk for Toddlers & Teens?

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Every public health recommendation pushes dairy as a healthy food for kids. Milk for toddlers is almost a requirement. But is this true or extreme misguidance?

Food pyramids.  School lunches.  The CDC.  The commercials pushing dairy as the solution to every woe facing children today.  Someone who was strongly against dairy much be absolutely crazy.

Or maybe just well educated.

First, we need to address a few things.  First, I’d really like to know the first upright mammal that looked at a cow’s udder and thought to him or herself, “I’ve GOT to try some of that!!”  Most of us remain very distanced from the collection of milk and it’s easy to forget where it comes from when you’re drinking it out of a plastic jug or cardboard carton.

Second, many patients, with a look of horror when I tell them that milk is not a healthy food for kids and adults, ask how they are going to get their calcium to protect bones if they don’t drink milk??  I then ask if cows actually drink milk for their calcium.  Pretty much ends the conversation there (the answer is NO–cows don’t drink milk).

Lastly, we all need to refresh our minds on what mammalian milk is designed to do.  It is designed to take a newborn to a more self sufficient mammal.  It doesn’t matter whether we are talking about humans, cows, sheep or dogs, the goal of mother’s milk is the same.  And no other mammal uses milk for toddlers, teens or adults.

One of the needs of a rapidly growing newborn is glucose.  The brand new cells of the little growing creature need lots and lots of glucose to support all of the metabolic activity going on.  And how do these cells get the sugar they need?  From insulin, of course.  Mammalian milk is well known to stimulate the release of insulin so that the sugar can make it into the cell where it is so desperately needed.

More insulin.  Great idea for a newborn.  NOT a good idea as we get older.  As a matter of fact, the prediabetic state is already having problems with too much insulin because insulin is not working the way it is supposed to.  Forcing the body to release even more is probably not a great idea.

Now that you have some background, we can move on to this particular study.  A group of overweight adolescents (12-15 years old) were studied for 12 weeks on diet that included 1 liter of either skim milk, a drink containing casein, a drink containing whey or water.  Casein and whey are the principle proteins found in milk.

They looked at whether these milk drinks caused the pancreas to work harder to release more insulin (the term is insulinotropic) and whether they contributed to weight gain.  The results?

  1. BMI scores adjusted for age increased with skim milk, casein and whey groups. (Tweet this)
  2. C peptide release (a marker of insulin release by the pancreas) went up in the casein and whey groups.

This is not good news, but not truly unexpected if you understand what mammalian milk was designed to do.  When we give milk for toddlers up through our adult years, you are trying to stimulate rapid growth.  That is what it is SUPPOSED to do.  This, of course, is not such a good idea if you’re already overweight.

With this in mind, do you think we should still promote dairy and milk products as healthy food for kids?

Weight Loss Programs: The No Dairy Diet Gains Steam

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Successful weight loss programs are elusive for many. Advertising messages tell us that dairy is a part of weight loss programs, but is this real or hype?

Regular readers of the Rantings know that I am no fan of dairy products and I believe that it is one of the greatest marketing success stories of all time.  The milk mustache.  Milk it does a body good.  Dairy builds strong bones, teeth and muscle.

Muscle?  Seriously?  Exactly what part of milk helps build muscle?  So much for truth in advertising.  What I would really like to know is, who was the first poor sap to look at a cow’s udder and decide that drinking what comes out is a good idea.  And why a cow?  Pigs are mammals, too.  Why not milk them for profit?

But I digress from the topic.

Despite the weak evidence of success and plentiful evidence of harm (as an example, there is consistent evidence that dairy consumption increases the risk of ovarian cancer, contributes to teenage acne and is a common factor in heartburn / reflux), dairy has made it to just about every public health recommendation in the United States.  Add a little sugar, some fake chocolate, call it chocolate milk and you’ll even make it a requirement for school lunches.

Through all of this, the dairy industry has somehow positioned dairy as a part of weight loss programs, despite weak evidence at best.  Before you click the “X” at the top of your browser because you think I’m nuts and your fundamental conditioning by repeated marketing messages nearly from birth wins out, consider a few little tidbits:

  1. True, dairy may contribute to weight loss, if you consider 3 lbs in 6 months “loss.”
  2. On the flip side, dairy intake has been linked to prediabetes.
  3. Dairy has been linked to weight gain in kids, likely because we should never, ever drink our calories.

So, overall, the data is not all that supportive of using dairy products to support weight gain.  Just in case you don’t believe me, however, this particular article looks across 29 studies to see what the studies are finding about dairy as part of weight loss programs:

  • Overall, consumption of dairy products did not result in a significant reduction in weight.
  • However, when used in a short term trial (less than a year) or in calorie-restricted weight loss programs, dairy products did help.
  • In trials where calories were not restricted or studies looking at the effect on weight loss past one year, milk had the opposite effect.

Basically, there is no evidence to suggest that dairy helps with long term weight loss and may actually contribute to weight gain.  The only time it may help is for short term weight loss in an energy-restricted diet.

At least to me, the no dairy diet approach is starting to sound a little better.

How have you begun to cut dairy out of your diet?

HIGH DAIRY INTAKES BY WOMAN PER DAY MAY CAUSE OVARIAN CANCER – (11-21-04)

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Milk and lactose intakes and ovarian cancer risk

Women who drank more than 4 servings of dairy per day had a twofold increased risk for one type of ovarian cancer. For those of us against dairy this just further supports our position. As an aside, do you ever wonder why some articles never make it to the mainstream press?

Milk and lactose intakes and ovarian cancer risk in the Swedish Mammography Cohort — Larsson et al. 80 (5): 1353 — American..

Read entire article here

FORMULA LINKED TO TYPE 1 DIABETES?

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For regular readers of the Rantings, it will come as no surprise that I am not a fan of dairy.  I fully realize that this flies in the face of pretty much every public health recommendation in the US.  However, the research is not favorable to dairy.

Particularly disturbing, dairy consumption has been linked to Type 1 diabetes in infants and children.

This particular study looks at the same issue from a different angle.  They looked at infants who were determined to be at increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes (based on their HLA type).  The autoantibodies to their own beta cells of the pancreas were compared when put on regular cow’s milk formula vs a bovine insulin free formula.  Researchers found that the numbers of infants containing at least one autoantibody dropped from 6.3% down to 2.6% in the bovine insulin free formula.  That’s 61% drop.

As if there wasn’t enough evidence to raise concern over the fact that “milk: it does a body good” is not quite as accurate as the marketing people at the dairy council would have us believe.  Consider this next time you think cow’s milk formula is a good option or you think you need to teach your toddler to drink milk.