Leyla Weighs In: The trouble with dairy

Mother’s milk is necessary to life.  Whether it’s a growing calf, kitten, puppy, or human, colostrum, cholesterol, immunoglobulins and anabolic growth factors like IGF-1 contained in milk are critical to baby’s immune function, growth and development.  

Once baby is weaned at the appropriate time, solid foods are introduced and the job of mother’s milk is pretty much done.  However, we humans continue to drink the milk of other animals like cow, sheep, and goat after we’ve been weaned from breast milk.  Is it necessary?  No.  However, if you do continue to drink cow’s milk, opting for A2 instead of A1 milk is the best bet.  It’s easier to digest and less likely to trigger inflammatory responses like mucus and eczema if you’re prone to them.      

In other cases, continuing to drink milk and eat dairy products (foods made from animal milk like cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc.) can cause problems with digestion such as constipation, congestion-causing phlegm and mucus production, exacerbate swollen tonsils, ear infections, and may contribute to asthma.

All the IGF-1 in milk is very beneficial to babies to help them grow, but what benefit does it confer to adults who are already fully grown and developed?  Could these growth factors fuel something deleterious, like cancer?  This is a controversial topic.  Moreover, the lactose in milk is a simple sugar like glucose and fructose whose consumption is not desirable—especially in the setting of cancer.    

Casein, the protein found in all animal milk, is shown in the scientific literature to contribute to autoimmune conditions such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Grave’s disease, Sjogren’s, scleroderma and myasthenia gravis.   It’s a nutritional gold standard in any autoimmune condition to eliminate casein.      

To your health!

Leyla Muedin, MS, RD, CDN