By Dr. Carol Randaci
Clean up your diet for the coming year by eliminating dairy products.
When Santa comes around this year, let’s surprise him with a healthy snack. Milk and cookies are still on the menu, but let’s skip the cow or goat milk and replace it with one of the many plant milks: oat, hemp, macadamia, hazel nut, pistachio, walnut, flax, cashew, soy, almond or coconut.
Animal milk is a biological fluid used to nurture a baby into an adult of the same species. When the baby is grown and able to find food for itself, the gene for the mother’s milk is turned off; it isn’t needed any more.
One of the many myths in old, outdated nutrition circles is that dairy consumption is needed for bone health. Not much is further from the truth. In one study, 70,000 women were followed for 18 years to track how milk helped with bone health—and the research found there was no protective effect of dairy for fracture risks or bone loss. In another population study, “Milk Intake and Risk of Mortality and Fractures in Women and Men,” researchers following more than 100,000 men and women in Sweden for about 20 years found significantly higher rates of bone and hip fractures, heart disease, cancer, and premature death in general for women who drank more milk. Three glasses per day was associated with nearly twice the risk of dying early. Men with higher milk consumption were also recorded as having a higher risk of premature death.
Moreover, findings of a 2015 meta-analysis found men with high intakes of dairy products did appear to increase total prostate cancer risk. Dairy consumption may also play a role in increased risk of asthma, Parkinson’s disease, and elevated blood pressure, among other health concerns such as recurring canker sores, gastrointestinal problems and phlegm problems. The galactose in milk may explain why milk consumption is associated with significantly higher risk of hip fractures, cancer, and premature death.
Cows’ milk contains two main types of protein, whey and casein. Over 80 percent of the total protein in milk is from casein, which gives milk its white color. Casein proteins are soluble in milk but form insoluble curds once they reach the human stomach, making it hard for digestive enzymes to break them apart. Slower digestion also is associated with delayed release of the protein’s amino acids into the bloodstream. Casein can be in different forms in milk, and beta-casein is the second most common form. Cow’s milk is the usual cause of milk allergy, but milk from sheep, goats, buffalo and other mammals also can cause a reaction.
Beta-casein itself has many variants, and among the most common are the A1 beta-casein and A2 beta-casein variants. The amount of each variant present depends on the breed of cow. Some cows such as Red, Holstein-Friesian and Ayrshire produce high levels of the A1 variant of beta-casein, whereas Guernsey and Jersey produce the A2 variant of beta-casein. The A1 variant of beta-casein has been shown to be digested and release the bioactive peptide beta-casomorphin 7 (BCM-7)4. Casomorphins act like opiates in the body and can target opiate receptors in the brain. Some people feel “addicted” to dairy, such as cheese, because of casomorphins.
Casomorphins also have been shown to directly raise histamine, which is involved in the inflammatory response to allergens. The A1 variant of beta-casein also is involved in several conditions and has been linked to:
• Increased mucus production associated with respiratory conditions such as asthma.
• Increased risk of developing insulin-dependent diabetes.
• Oxidative damage of LDL cholesterol, which is a factor in the development of arterial plaques.
• Coronary heart disease.
• Increase in sleep apnea and a link to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
• Autism spectrum disorders.
• Low levels of neurotoxic chemicals in cheese may explain the connection between dairy product consumption and Parkinson’s disease.
Time to Get Healthy!
Want to clean up your diet, then along with meat, dairy is one of the first things you want to eliminate, according to nutritional research scientists and nutrition-based doctors of the Cleveland Clinic. All animal-based foods contain sex steroid hormones, such as estrogen, and these hormones—which are naturally found in cow’s milk—may play a role in the various associations identified between dairy products and hormone-related conditions, including acne, diminished male reproductive potential, cancer, obesity, heart disease, dementia and premature puberty. The hormone content may explain why women who drink milk appear to have five times the rate of twin births compared with women who do not drink milk.
When it comes to cancer, leading experts have expressed concern that the hormones in dairy and other growth factors could potentially stimulate the growth of hormone-sensitive tumors. Casein, for example, may be one of the leading causes of cancer according to Dr. T. Colin Campbell’s bestseller, The China Study, which states that “casein is a known carcinogen.” Experimental evidence also suggests that dairy may promote the conversion of precancerous lesions or mutated cells into invasive cancers in vitro—and 32 studies show that even low fat milk still increase possible cancer risks.
The recommended daily intake (RDI) of calcium is 1,000 mg per day for most adults, while women over 50 and everyone over 70 should get 1,200 mg per day, while children aged 4–18 are advised to consume 1,300 mg. Many plant-based milks will fortify with extra calcium and vitamin D, while some will also add nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin B12, and the omega-3 fatty acid DHA. How can you get 1,000 mg of calcium per day with a plant-based diets? Let’s begin with breakfast. Here’s a recipe used as an example of how easy it is to get 1000 mg in one meal:
Breakfast Bowl
1 cup oats —> 150 mg
1 cup almond milk —> 472 mg
1/4 cup chopped almonds —> 97 mg 3 dried figs —> 54 mg
1 tbsp ground flax —> 12 mg
1 tbsp blackstrap molasses —>179 mg 3 Brazil nuts chopped —> 22 mg
7 walnuts chopped —> 27 mg
10 pecans, chopped —> 10 mg 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds —> 15 mg
In one breakfast bowl, you can get 1,038 mg of calcium! See how easy it is. Then there’s the beans and seeds, greens and nuts, fruit and the veggies, and non-GMO tofu and grains you can eat during the day that also have plenty of calcium. Plus, none of these foods destroy your bones or clog your arteries. Remember along with the above analysis of calcium you also benefit from protein, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, potassium, copper, B vitamins, trace minerals and fiber.
So this year let’s give Santa a healthy treat and send him on his way to live long and prosper as dairy free. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Dr. Carol Wentz Randaci is the director of the Vegan Culinary Institute in Sarasota, FL, a board certified Oriental Medicine Doctor and Acupuncture Physician, Energy Therapist, Naturopath and Hopeful Human. Dr. Carol has trained with alternative medicine’s finest physicians and has practiced Raja Yoga meditation under the guidance of Ram Chanrda, Babuji Maharaja for 36 years. You can reach Dr. Carol at AiZen Healing Center by emailing aizenhealing@gmail.com or calling 941.284.8894.