March 3, 2015 Wiggy Saunders

Some Sad News for Many of My Readers

I’m Sorry To Tell You This

I’ve got to be completely honest.

I love being a doctor. Ever since I was a little kid, I dreamed of growing up and learning medicine so I could help people live better lives.

But, with being a doctor, I’ve found myself in some pretty sad and uncomfortable situations.

It’s not always what I thought it would be.

One of the saddest parts of my job (I’m being serious) here is telling people what they can’t eat. The looks I get when I tell people to kick the pizza and put down the hamburger are sad enough to break anyone’s heart. It’s not the most fun thing in the world to tell someone to give up what they love.

And, speaking of hearts, it’s with a heavy heart that I’m writing to tell you today that you need to stop eating dairy.

I’ll wait while you recover.

If this wasn’t so serious, I’d actually find myself laughing, because, believe me, growing up in the Midwest at one point in time, at least 88% of my body was milk and cheese.

But, now I can’t recommend anyone eat dairy of any kind because of the disastrous effects dairy has on our bodies.

Look, I’m not saying it’s an easy thing to do. Giving up sharp cheddar or saying good-bye to sour cream. But, it’s something you really should do if you want to live a longer, fuller, more enjoyable life.

Below I’m going to list a few reasons why you should avoid dairy as well as some methods to “get around,” going dairy-free forever.

Dairy’s Harmful Effects

:: Most dairy is loaded with hormones. Your body was never meant to ingest hormones that are administered to cows to help them create more milk. When you consume dairy, those hormones are present in the milk and they can disrupt your body’s hormone levels in a major way.

Though people will say you can use organic milk and avoid the effects on your hormones, that’s not really true. Even the very nature of milk can disrupt your body’s hormone levels. Through and through, cows milk, whether organic or not, will take a toll on your bodies hormone levels.

:: Dairy carries toxins and pesticides. Similar to the issue of hormones are the chemicals that are swirling around in your glass of milk. Many cows are fed a diet (that’s not natural for them) that consists of genetically modified crops like soy, wheat, and corn.

Other times, farmers will put animal waste in the cow’s feed, and even worse are the levels of pesticides and antibiotics found in their milk. Pesticides are usually left on the food they eat and is transferred through the milk-making process, and the same is true of antibiotics.

:: Dairy is acid forming. Your body thrives best when it has a blood PH of 7.365. Dairy can turn your body more acidic. This creates a host of problems but one of the most fascinating is dairy actually causes your bones to grow more brittle.

As dairy is often touted as one of the best ways to grow strong bones, it comes as a shock to many that dairy actually hurts them. When you body becomes more acidic, alkaline calcium stored in the bones is then drawn away from the bodies to balance acidity levels. Proof that dairy can actually hurt your bones.

:: Pasteurization of dairy hurts the body. Because of the manufacturer’s desire to kill off bacteria, dairy is pasteurized before it is sold. That’s not necessarily a good thing, because in the process of pasteurization, many of the nutrients in dairy are destroyed.

Protein, vitamins, and healthy enzymes all die when they’re submitted to the pasteurization process. Not only is that a problem for your body, it also makes the milk much harder to digest and is problematic for you digestive system as a whole, as many of the enzymes required for digestion of all food are harmed.

:: Dairy forms excessive mucous. This can have a variety of negative affects on the body. The biggest way excess mucous affects health is in respiratory performance. Studies show when dairy is removed from the diet, participants see an improvement in hay fever as well as season allergies among other respiratory conditions.

:: Dairy was never meant for human consumption. This one’s a biggie. Nowhere in the animal world does an animal continue to ingest milk after its infancy. Likewise, no animals consumes another animal’s milk. For some reason, humans have been led to believe they can and should do both. This alone should convince you that you shouldn’t need dairy.

:: Dairy is sugar. And sugar is bad. Any food product you consume that has adverse affects on your blood sugar should be avoided at all costs. Dairy is particularly problematic, as it sends insulin levels through the roof after it’s consumed.

Part of the reason there are so many cases of Type 2 Diabetes is because of the reliance on dairy as a food staple in America. If Americans didn’t have dairy in their diet, they wouldn’t see the huge spikes in insulin levels that wreak havoc on their health.

:: Dairy has been linked to many disease and conditions: Arthritis, Parkinson’s Disease, several different types of cancer, Cataracts, Asthma, Acne, Heart Disease and so much more.

:: Dairy causes digestive distress. Many of the digestive problems seen in my office owe to the problem our bodies have with digesting milk proteins. Casein protein is particularly hard to digest for us, and our body will attack the protein as opposed to synthesizing it into be what we need. This means, every time your body comes into contact with dairy proteins, it actually fights the protein since it can’t assimilate it for its own needs.

The Good News About Dairy

Ok, so this is where I’m going to give you a little room to fudge.

I’m going to stick to my guns and say “No Dairy,” forever. But, if you think that’s too hard then you’re in luck, because there are some pretty awesome substitutes.

If you’re a milk drinker then coconut or almond milk are great alternatives. I highly recommend coconut milk because the fats inside of coconut milk are some of the best fats available for your body.

And, if you’re a cheese head there are some wonderful alternatives out there.

There are nut cheeses that are pretty tasty and mimic the flavor and composition of dairy. You can also enjoy goat cheese and sheep cheese if you wish.

And look, as a physician, I realize that sometimes you might find yourself in a situation where not eating dairy isn’t an option. Do your best to avoid it as often as you can, and living a little means you can “cheat,” if you must.

And there you have it. Sad news with a happy ending.