Probably the most dangerous food you can have – milk

Before we begin discussing about milk, let’s go into a bit of personal history.

Since childhood I have been a stickler for milk. As a small boy I used to cut open milk pouches, drink some of the milk, replace it with equal amount of water and reseal the pouch carefully with a candle flame. And all the while my mom used to wonder why the milk comes so diluted even though it is in a pouch.

As a college going kid in 1994, out of a pocket money of Rs 10, a princely amount of Rs 2.50 was reserved for a bottle of cows milk by Aarey Dairy in a glass bottle. It was unsweetened but pasteurised milk.

Years later, even though I stopped drinking that glass of milk, any milk product was an addiction. In 2022 when blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol and uric acid levels rose, I did some research and decided that one of the items that goes out of my diet is milk and dairy.

Two years later I experimented resuming milk consumption in the form of a milk ice cream. One month and all sorts of problems came upon me again. So that is a confirmation of sorts. Now lets begin with the article.

What’s the exact problem with milk?

Lord Krishna as a child used to steal makhan. That butter. Come to recent times, one of the most prolific cricketer of the country stated that he drinks a few litres of milk daily. The problem is whom do we believe and which is better, butter or milk.

Why does a cow produce milk? Simple answer, it is for the baby calf. So for a limited period, the cow produces milk and then after the calf grows up, the milk drinking stops.

How does a cow produce milk? By eating fresh green grass. Cows are pure vegetarians and they only prefer to eat grass. So what you get it a highly organic and nutrition rich milk which has more than a hundred beneficial ingredients.

Did ancient India drink milk? NO. Milk was almost always converted to desi ghee. The vedas have a procedure mentioned on how to convert milk. A long and tediously manual process but what you get in the end is all the best part of the milk without the damage.

Now let’s talk about the damage part.

Understanding inflammation

Inflammation is the response by your body to any external injury. Here are a few examples.

If you are sitting with a wrong posture for hours in an uncomfortable chair, some part of your back will start paining. That pain effect is caused by inflammation.

It is common knowledge that excess amount of sugar in the blood acts like a sand paper inside the arteries. This causes a tear in the inner walls. To heal this tear, cholesterol is send as a band aid or cementing agent. This tear healing process is called inflammation of the arteries.

If you had a sedentary lifestyle for a long time and suddenly go for some intense exercise, your muscles and joints will experience pain. That is inflammation working to heal the muscle and bone tear.

Knee pain experienced by elders is due to inflammation.

Is milk today really milk?

Do you really see cows and buffaloes freely grazing grass on fertile lands? The demand for milk and dairy products has shot up so much that we now have factories where rows of cows are tied like a machines where from one end cattle feed is pushed inside and from the other end milk is extracted. Cattle feed is mostly high calorie carbs which is targeted towards maximum milk yield. A number of hormonal injections and medicines are pushed into the cows so that they are always producing milk. Putting the animal under so much stress changes the composition of milk.

What you finally get is a factory product which is highly acidic and a concentrated dose of carbs but it still tastes and feels like milk.

Does milk cause inflammation?

There are mixed results in studies. With no conclusive study, it is now depending upon person to person. It is all about your ability to digest the milk or dairy product and break it down.

Acid Reflux – While doctors and nutritionists generally agree that high fat milk might cause acid reflux, no one is talking about the carb content in milk and that can also trigger acid reflux.

Bloating – If you are not able to digest milk, it will cause bloating. If a pure milk ice cream is causing you lot of gas release, you are not able to digest milk. As age progresses, your ability to digest milk also diminishes. Lactose intolerance is the primary reason for bloating. It takes around 48 hours for the bloat to dissipate. If you continue to consume milk or dairy on the daily basis the bloating will become semi permanent and you may take a long time to lose it.

Hair loss – Milk does provide nutrition for overall body growth. But too much of fat in the milk increases testosterone levels in the body. That is the leading cause of hair loss. Testosterone does increase muscle mass, increases strength and higher sex drive, too much of testosterone also results in mood swings, weight gain and balding.

Joint Pain – Milk contains the protein casein which is the cause of inflammation of joints. It also leads to joint pain. That is the reason why elderly people should look for nutrition elsewhere. As age advances, if milk consumption is leading to digestion problems and joint pain, it is a good idea to drop milk from your diet.

Weight Gain – Milk form a grass fed cow is a powerful dosage of carbs, protein and nutrition. It is most ideal for a growing body like that of a child below the age of 18. It is also suitable for a govt program to provide meals and nutrition to children whose parents cannot afford to provide. So unless you have some plan to put all that energy and nutrition to use, there is simply no point in drinking all that milk just because it is healthy. People who are having weight issues should first identify the one of more specific items in their diet which is promoting weight gain, if it is milk, just drop it.

Discomfort, lack of sleep and lots of unsolved problems – So here is the scenario. You are having a glass of milk, first thing in the morning and a couple of more chai during the day. The problem as mentioned earlier hits you during the later part of the day. Digestive problems, bloating, heaviness and extra dosage of nutrition leaves you with a lot of discomfort. Digestion is a long process. It takes a lot of energy and effort to digest food. Heavier the food, longer it will take to digest and more energy will be spend from your body to do the process. People generally agree that dinner has to be finished four hours after sunset. Melatonin hormone is released in the body at that time putting you to sleep. There are several factors which can interfere the function of melatonin. Bright lights for starters, LCD screen light, caffeine, nicotine and bad news blocks melatonin. But this is not the end, insufficient sleep means less rest to the brain. The primary function of the brain is to think options and solving problems. Anything that interferes with the brain will leave you with a lot of unsolved problems. If your stomach is full of undigested food, melatonin will never be able to put your body to sleep. The first wave of deep sleep hits your body at 11 pm. That is the time you should be in your bed and fast asleep.

Conclusion

Milk is a gift of nature. Ancient India was a land of milk and honey which is why it was a target of invaders. Milk in the most purest form was converted to desi ghee which provided nutrition for all. However the milk what we see today in the market is a factory product.

Dairy products also include fermented ones like cheese, curd and butter. The bacteria introduced in milk eats up the dangerous milk sugars and protein casein.