Why should we avoid milk??

I was reading an article on this site that said to avoid milk....? As long as its skim, what's wrong with a little added calcium to our diet? Confused, please explain!

I too have questions about why the article said to avoid it.  Was it because of milk allergies, or an objection to the way milk is produced?  I've heard many arguments for and against.  Some people object to the bovine growth hormones used in large scale milk production.  Some are battling for the ethical treatment of animals.

Nutritionally I don't see any reason to avoid it. 

Well I drink way too much milk in my opinion, and I still have lost weight. Who knows? It has calcium! ;) haha Im not much of a nutritionist..

i had one doctor (one time...) lecture me on the evils of dairy..for like an hour.....nothing political either.....just that milk is bad...

*shakes head* what a wacko

I think some people say it's because we're the only ones that drinks another animal's milk and also the only ones who drink milk after childhood. I think it's to do with the hormones in it too. As long as milk goes down well with your body, I don't think it's a problem though :\

Milk sucks

Because it makes you fat and gassy, causes acne and gives you mucus and pus... or so PETA claims.

Because it's designed for the nutritional needs of a baby cow. Are you a baby cow?

Avoiding dairy has nothing to do with weight loss. I was personally disgusted by that 'milk sucks' website, mostly because it attacked children. For hundreds of years people have been eating dairy. Children, up to the age of 18, need at least 3 servings of dairy a day to be healthy, and as long as it's skim/low fat there is absolutely nothing wrong with drinking it.

Original Post by swimchick_123:

Avoiding dairy has nothing to do with weight loss. I was personally disgusted by that 'milk sucks' website, mostly because it attacked children. For hundreds of years people have been eating dairy. Children, up to the age of 18, need at least 3 servings of dairy a day to be healthy, and as long as it's skim/low fat there is absolutely nothing wrong with drinking it.

Calcium is important for children and adults, not milk. The dairy companies are the ones who pay for the research that supports milk consumption. 

Recent studies have shown that drinking milk actually helps you lose weight.  I'm not sure how or why.  I also just read an article on how you should drink milk after weight training because it somehow helps your muscles. 

Original Post by deb70:

Recent studies have shown that drinking milk actually helps you lose weight.  I'm not sure how or why.  I also just read an article on how you should drink milk after weight training because it somehow helps your muscles. 

 Some theories are that calcium specifically from dairy helps break down fat content, or causes our body to absorb less fat from the food that we eat. However, why dairy seems to help with weight loss is still pretty unknown, but some studies have shown that those with high-dairy content in their diets who ate the same amount of calories as those on low-dairy diets lost more weight.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20040416/dairy -foods-fat-weight-loss

Original Post by giggle_puppy:

God i hope the vegetarian sect on this forum catch this thread... it will be a good'un

 Tehe...I also like your name...lol

So what are some alternatives to milk?  Is organic milk any better?  I really didn't care for SILK or soy milk when I tried it

there's a book called "milk:  the deadly poison"  that provides much detail about the health and environmental (and moral) hazards of drinking milk.  so while some studies show that it's beneficial for weight loss, there are plenty of people who have studies that show it's detrimental to overall health.  i am no longer vegan, but some of the studies are quite profound.

as for calcium, vegans get much of their calcium from calcium-fortified foods, seaweed, greens.  veg resource group lists some options; vegan society lists similar options.  john russel's vegetarian website has a really extensive list.

Original Post by swimchick_123:

Avoiding dairy has nothing to do with weight loss. I was personally disgusted by that 'milk sucks' website, mostly because it attacked children. For hundreds of years people have been eating dairy. Children, up to the age of 18, need at least 3 servings of dairy a day to be healthy, and as long as it's skim/low fat there is absolutely nothing wrong with drinking it.

people haven't been drinking pasteurized milk for hundreds of years though I think we can all at least agree that most of the benefits of milk are removed or diminished when it is processed in that way, and the dairy industry has forced us to believe that milk is necessary for health when really its not billions of people dont have 3 servings of dairy a day, and by your logic all the people with dairy allergies and lactose intolerance cant be healthy with out milk which is crazy.

wow, a lot of heated arguments on both sides, but thanks!

Original Post by evemarie:

I think some people say it's because we're the only ones that drinks another animal's milk and also the only ones who drink milk after childhood. I think it's to do with the hormones in it too. As long as milk goes down well with your body, I don't think it's a problem though :\

We're the only ones who do a lot of things... if other animals had the brains to find other food sources, such as milk from another animal, I'm sure they would drink it too. It's not uncommon for other animals to drink it when available, look at cats.