Monday, October 10, 2005

Milk Mysteries

Ok, what is the big deal with all the mystery surrounding the truth on milk? Especially as I consider what to start Emily on in the near future. Here is what I find:

- Don't drink regular milk, it contains lots of harmful hormones and pesticides.
- Organic milk is a scam - don't buy into it.
- The argument that milk contains HARMFUL hormones and pesticides is false. After all, it is FDA approved.
- Our daughters are maturing at an earlier age - stay away from non-organic milk.
- Give soy milk.
- Don't give soy milk - lots of allergies.
- Don't drink cow's milk period.
- Milk is a necessary part of a healthy diet.
- Remove all dairy from your diet and you will feel better.

It is all going to come down to me deciding what is best for us. But, does anyone have any factual info?

Signed,
A Frustrated Milk Drinker

5 comments:

Megan said...

Monica,

Let me know if you find some hard, fast factual information. I have my own personal theories, but they aren't based on research, but rather, the personal experience of others.

The thing I most try to avoid is growth hormones. Now, I simply can't avoid this in beef (we just can't pay $5 or $6 a pound for ground beef). But I console myself with the fact that we don't eat beef every day, nor when we do do we eat it several times a day.

With milk it's a different game. My *girls* drink a lot of milk every day and so I'm more apt to be concerned about hormones in that.

Do what seems right to you. I know there are plenty of families with girls who did not mature too early and never gave any consideration to their milk at all.

I'm just not willing to take that chance...

Monica Wilkinson said...

Megan,
Thanks for the input - I recently switched to organic milk (meaning hormone free). Not too long after that, and for a few months now - my hormones have been all wacky. While I have NO proof - I can't help but wonder if it is from not drinking all the hormones in the milk. Which, is a HUGE indication to me that I should steer clear of that! Also, I should err on the side of caution with Emily too which is my gut feeling.

I haven't gotten into buying the hormone free meat either as we don't eat a lot of beef and mostly chicken.

Anyway, I just don't think I can bring myself to let her drink something that I know has all kinds of extras in it.

We'll see - I'm planning to ask the Pediatrician for an extra opinion...

Monica

Gamajoba! said...

Monica,
Jordan here. Saw your site through Amy's.

Greg & I have been completely organic for a few years now. I would suggest finding a Whole Foods or other Natural market in your area and attending a "healthy home" type informational seminar. Really it comes down to what works good for your family. (i.e. Greg doesnt like the whole wheat pasta cause its too overpowering for him, so I do corn pasta for him; he needs calcium, so we do Stoneyfield farm milk & yogurt, while I drink Silk soy milk & cream.) But I would have to say that it does WONDERS to go natural. And yes, your body is probably adjusting to the food and could be why your hormones are feeling all over the place.

But, if you're faithful and stay consistent with the food,slowly add more natural products, and eat in moderation, you'll be amazed at how your hormones regulate!

If you want to know more, feel free to email me. I have some websites that we've found very helpful with all sorts of recipies too for pretty much anything you'd want to make, but with organic measurements.

Hope this gives you some help. :) I understand how confusing and overwhelming the whole process of switching over is!
Have a great day!
Jordan

Cecilia said...

I'm just a guest, following links from my new read: Half Pint House. We go with organic milk to avoid the hormones, and hopefully pesticides, herbicides, etc. We try to follow as "clean" a diet as possible, but aren't "all" organic yet. We also have heard that the "ultra-pastuerized" milk won't make yogurt. i.e. support life (gross generalization i know), but we have found Nature Valley comes ultra and just regular pastuerized, so we go with the non-ultra. what we really want to do is find raw milk. and also, ramblin! we drink very little, because we have also read that the calcium from milk is not readily usable by our bodies, dark greens are better!

just what you wanted, more variables! :-)

E Living said...

I know this post is WAY old...but, hey, some help is better than no help. My husband has done a good bit of research in this, and said that almond milk is the way to go. No other mammal in the animal kingdom drinks milk after they stop drinking their mother's milk. We are not animals and are not compared the same, but there is something to look at in that fact. Also, when milk is pasteurized/heated, it changes the calcium into something we cannot absorb. Soy milk contains more hormones than regular cow milk. Almond milk does not contain any of that. So, almond milk is what we are going with. Hope this might shed a little light for any late-comers to your blog! :)