Part 2 - Milk and your health + 3-day dairy-free diet
Friday, February 5th 2010 @ 12:36 PM
Whether or not milk & dairy consumption is actually healthy long-term, is hot debate across the medical and nutrition communities. There’s been an increasing and steady stream of research highlighting some ill effects of milk consumption. The British Women's Heart and Health Study examined 4,286 British women ranging in age from 60 to 79 for links to Metabolic Syndrome.
Metabolic syndrome is defined as having Type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes (insulin-resistance & high fasting glucose), and, in addition, at least 2 of the following: high triglycerides (blood fats) or low HDL, obesity, or hypertension. Women who avoided milk were half as likely to have metabolic syndrome. The non-milk drinkers benefited from lower insulin levels, lower triglyceride levels, lower BMI and higher levels of healthy HDL cholesterol.
Regards milk and weight gain, another study followed children, aged 9-14 for 3 years, from 1996-1999. Those children consuming more than 3 servings of milk a daymore likely to have become overweight than those who drank less. However the authors concluded that it was the extra calories that led to the weight gain, and not milk, or milk fat per say (Berkey et al 2005 Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Med; 159:543-550). This study showed that milk as a food, is a good (but often excess) energy source for children, and overweight children may benefit from limiting dairy to 1-2 servings a day. were approximately 35%
One of the authors of the 2nd study, Dr Walter Willet is the second-most-cited scientist in all of clinical medicine. He is head of nutrition at Harvard's School of Public Health, and also an outspoken critic of dairy as a necessary food. He published research in 1997, in the American Journal of Public Health, challenging the popular assumption that dairy products decrease the risk of osteoporosis. Willett and his colleagues at Harvard analysed dietary information from nearly 80,000 women, ages 30 to 55, over a 12-year period. They found no evidence that women who consumed 1-3 servings daily (US & UK recommended amounts) of milk or other calcium-rich foods such as cheese and yogurt reduced their risk of hip fractures. They also found that those women consuming more than 3 servings had no additional protection against bone fractures. Three servings of dairy contain about 1000mg of calcium, which is the "standard" recommended amount for women. So what's the take-home message of Willet and most experts? Calcium is essential to building strong bones, but there's absolutely no guarantee that getting it from dairy will prevent osteoporosis later in life. Taking calcium and vitamin D may be worthwhile, as well as consuming calcium-rich plant foods such as broccoli, tofu processed with calcium salts, sesame seeds and kale are all wise alternatives. This "Chiill Tofu Stir-fry" is a great way to use tofu.
Dr Mark Hyman, MD, a practising medical doctor in America, advises most of his patients to give up dairy. “Based on the research and my experience practicing medicine, I typically advise most of my patients to avoid dairy products completely. I like ice cream just as much as the next person, but as a scientist, I have to look honestly at what we know”. He has some good advise on dealing with dairy…
- If you want healthy bones, get plenty of exercise and supplement with 2,000 IU of vitamin D daily - don't rely on dairy.
- Get your calcium from dark green leafy vegetables, sesame tahini, sea vegetables, and sardines or salmon with the bones.
- Try giving up all forms of dairy - that means milk, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, and ice cream for two weeks and see if you feel better. You should notice improvements with your sinuses, post-nasal drip, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, energy, and weight. Then start eating dairy again and see how you feel. If you feel worse, you should try to give it up permanently.
- If you can tolerate dairy, then try as best you can to use only raw, organic dairy products, and preferably fermented products like unsweetened yogurt and kefir, occasionally.
- If you have to feed your child formula from milk, don't worry. The milk in infant formula is hydrolysed or broken down and easier to digest (although it can still cause allergies). Once your child is a year old, switch him or her to real food and almond milk (not soya).
Remember that dairy is not crucial for good health, and it is certainly not crucial in order to get sufficient calcium into the diet. If you have any of the following annoying health problems on a persistent basis, you may well respond positively to a dairy-free diet…
* Bloating, wind and gas
* Digestive complaints (IBS) or abdominal pain or cramping
* Constipation and/or diarrhoea
* Sinus congestion, catarrh or post-nasal drip
* Ear aches and persistent ear infections (neti pot washing or nasal rinsing in warm salt water works wonders here too!)
* Persistent throat infections or tonsillitis
* Asthma or eczema, and other skin problems, e.g. rosacea, psoriasis – dairy-free may or may not help, but certainly worth trying a dairy-free diet!
* Hayfever and other allergies
If you want to try going dairy-free, we have a 3-day taster menu to help you get started. Often a trial period of 2-4 weeks of eliminating all milk and dairy is enough to experience any change, if there is to be any change. If you start consuming milk/dairy again and feel worse, or old niggling symptoms return, it is worth considering a permanent shift, to a dairy-free diet.
Your dairy-free taster menu…
DAY 1
Breakfast
High protein muesli soaked in almond milk – mix together 2 dessertspoons of rolled oats, 1 dessertspoon each of pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds and 10 whole almonds. Whizz in a food processor and soak for ½ hr (or overnight) in almond milk.
Mid-morning snack…
1 banana and 100g fresh raspberries
Lunch…
Quinoa and egg salad – Boil 50g (dry grain) of quinoa in water, reduce the heat and cook until tender. Mix with 100g of chopped cherry tomatoes, a handful of watercress, chopped cucumber and 2 sliced boiled eggs.
Mid-afternoon snack…
1 handful of walnuts (1oz)
Dinner
Garlic chicken and mixed vegetable stir-fry – Slice width ways one skinless chicken breast. Fry pieces in 2 tsp of olive oil with ½ clove of crushed garlic for 3-4 minutes. Add 1 whole sliced courgette, 1 thinly sliced carrot and ½ tray of green beans. Stir in a splash of soy sauce and a little water and allow the veg to steam until cooked. Serve with a small (100g) cooked portion of wholegrain rice.
For a high-calcium, delicious Asian-style vegan dish, try "Chilli tofu stir-fry"
DAY 2
Breakfast
A large bowl of fresh fruit salad with mixed seeds and fresh lime – Chop 1 apple, 1 pear and 1 peach into a bowl. Squeeze the juice of ½ lime over the fruit and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of mixed pumpkin and sesame seeds. Put the remaining ½ lime in the fridge.
Mid-morning snack…
A bowl of chunky vegetable soup, or 300ml (½ carton) fresh carton soup, or ½ can of organic vegetable and bean based-soup. Serve hot or cold. N.B. When buying soups, make sure that you check labels for milk, or cream, and wheat flour if you avoid wheat too.
Lunch…
Tuna fish, avocado and tomato rye bread sandwich. Mash together the flesh of ½ ripe avocado, and one drained can of tuna. Add 1 chopped tomato, and season with some sea salt and black pepper. Simply spread the mixture over a slice of rye bread and top with another slice. Cut diagonally, and enjoy with a leafy green salad.
Mid-afternoon snack…
A small handful of mixed almonds and raisins
Dinner
Grilled “lime” salmon steak with wild rice – season an 8oz salmon steak with freshly ground black pepper. Thinly slice the remaining ½ lime used at breakfast and place the slices on top of the salmon. Grill for 10 minutes until the fish is cooked through. Serve with 100g steamed mange tout peas, 100g baby corn, 100g carrots, and a 200g cooked portion of wild rice.
DAY 3
Breakfast
Oatbran and blueberry porridge - cook 60g oatbran in water, and toward the end of cooking, add 100g fresh or frozen blueberries or raspberries, stir for 1-2 minutes and serve. Top with a tablespoon of sunflower seeds.
Mid-morning snack…
1 peach or nectarine
Lunch…
Sardines with a butterbean salad - Mix together 50g mixed salad leaves, 150g cherry tomatoes - halved, 100g cucumber – sliced and cubed, and ½ large tin of organic butterbeans. Dress with a drizzle of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a handful of fresh coriander. Top with contents of a 120g tin of sardines. Put in a container if necessary and take to work.
Mid-afternoon snack…
A large handful of mixed pumpkin seeds and raisins
Dinner
Grilled cod fillet with 3 vegetables. Brush a large cod fillet with a little olive oil and season with black pepper. Place the fish under a hot grill for approx 10 minutes, or until cooked through. Meanwhile boil 200g new potatoes, and steam 1 whole sliced courgette, 100g of baby carrots, 100g baby corn, and a handful of fresh coriander. Serve the fish alongside the vegetables and potatoes.
Further voices on Dairy…
Dr John McDougall - www.drmcdougall.com
