Many of you by now have noticed that all of the recipes and foods the Granola Moms have talked about do not contain dairy. You might be wondering why. As we mentioned in our first video “Healthy After School Snacks,” we used to put cheese on almost everything. Then we read The China Studyby Dr. T. Colin Campbell and it changed everything we knew about dairy. It really all comes down to casein, which is the animal protein found in dairy products such as milk, butter, cheese, ice cream, yogurt, etc., and possibly in a few soy products and hot dogs seen as caseinate. If you haven’t heard of it, take a trip down the dairy isle in your local health food store. Many products are beginning to be labeled “casein free.” This is mostly due to the fact that casein is receiving a lot of attention because of its connection with autism but we all need to take a closer look beyond that as well.

In The China Study, Dr. T. Colin Campbell reports that after over 32 years of research, he found a connection with this animal protein and cancer development. In fact, Dr. Campbell states in his book, “Our work showed that casein is the most relevant cancer promoter ever discovered.”  (You have to understand that this is a man who was raised on a farm and absolutely loved meat and dairy. He actually started research because he was looking for a way to enhance dairy and meat farmers’ production. He was shocked at his discovery.) The connection with cancer and laboratory animals was so profound, they found they could actually turn cancer off and on by either adding or removing casein protein from their diets. But it is not just cancer. Animal protein is linked to many different diseases, not just cancer such as heart disease, diabetes, auto immune disorders, fibromyalgia and many other more common illnesses such as allergies, arthritis, diabetes and asthma.

So maybe you are a little leery about the dangers of dairy from just one book. Let’s focus on some other  known points as well…

Cow’s milk contains many allergens, herbicides, pesticides, fat, cholesterol and scores of antibiotics.

Granola Mom, Stephanie had a horrible time with asthma and allergies as a child due to milk. “At least 50% of all children in the United States are allergic to milk, many undiagnosed. Dairy products are the leading cause of food allergy, often revealed by constipation, diarrhea, and fatigue. Many cases of asthma and sinus infections are reported to be relieved and even eliminated by cutting out dairy.” -Natural Health, July, 1994, Frank Oski, M.D., Chief of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Medical School. Millions of dollars are spend on advertising dairy each year and where is the majority of this advertising start? You got it – SCHOOLS! We don’t know about you, but there is something wrong with this picture.

Cow’s milk contains large amounts of hormones.

These added hormones explain why girls are developing earlier and starting menstruation sooner. You probably already know this but girls are getting their periods as early as eight years old! Hormones in dairy are also a reason why we are seeing such a rise in breast cancer.  Dr. Ganmaa Davaasambuu, a working scientist for Harvard School of Public Health, states that “Among the routes of human exposure to estrogens, we are mostly concerned about cow’s milk, which contains considerable amounts of female sex hormones. Dairy accounts for 60 percent to 80 percent of estrogens consumed.” Estrogens are the female hormones that are responsible for cell proliferation (or cell growth).  Estrogen dominance (in women and men) is responsible for a whole mountain of diseases and health complications…but that is a whole other topic of discussion.

Osteoporosis

You are probably wondering why we are mentioning osteoporosis. After all, we have always been told to consume more milk to prevent this calcium deficiency in our bones. We are sorry to say, we have all been misinformed. Yes, cow’s milk contains large amounts of calcium…the problem is, we just aren’t absorbing it. Harvard completed a 12 year milk and bone study with over 78,000 nurses known as The Nurse Study. What they found is not only is there an increase, but a significant increase, in bone breaks in the women that consumed their calcium through cow’s milk.

If you don’t drink milk, where are you going to get your vitamins and calcium?

The same place the cows get theirs – plant-based foods! Green leafy vegetables such as kale, spinach, broccoli, collard greens contain large amounts of calcium. Hulled sesame seeds are another little known source. These tiny seeds contains 2,200 mg. of calcium compared with the 280 mg. of calcium in a cup of milk. (Sprinkle them in your dishes and on your salads, wrap them up in your sandwich wraps, add them to your batter in your baked goods and sprinkle them over your steamed veggies!)  While the natural source is the best you can now even get your orange juice fortified with Calcium. You can get your Vitamin D from spending time outside. You only need 15 minutes total in the sun each day. Concerned about the UV or a cloudy day? Look for Vitamin D fortified items as well.

So what do you eat on your cereal is you don’t use cow’s milk? What do you cook with now? There are some great alternatives! You probably already know about soy milk but that taste isn’t for everyone.  Start out by try rice milk or almond milk. You can find soy creamer, soy milk and almond milk in your dairy isle as well as on the shelves in the special diet isle by the gluten free items, which is where you will find the rice milk. You can also purchase dairy free cheeses, ice cream, sour cream and cream “cheese” in health food stores for a nice alternative.

Cut it out!

Cut out dairy from your diet and you will be surprised at the way you feel, as well as they way you look! Things the Granola Moms noticed when they cut out dairy include: more overall energy, balanced hormones, better skin, dark under eye circles disappeared, as well as our clothes fitting MUCH looser. We have recently helped a few other friends and family go dairy free and they are amazed at the difference in their health and appearance! We would love to know about your experiences as well! So please let us know what changes you have noticed after you cut our dairy too by responding in the comment section under this article.