Let's Talk About Milk
You do not need milk to survive. You don’t even need it to thrive. You don’t really even need it.
I know - I’m one of those hippie, fad diet, attention seeking health nuts that you hate.
Wrong.
I’ve done my research. I’ve looked into it. I’ve tried both ways.
I grew up on milk. A glass of milk at every dinner. I don’t think it’s going to cause me cancer. I don’t think my mom did anything wrong. But I also don’t think milk is made the same way anymore.
I simply don’t think it’s needed. And here’s why.
We say we need to drink milk because of the calcium, the fat, and the protein. Which is all true - milk does have all those things. But there’s other parts of the label we need to take a peek at. One single cup of cow’s milk has 12 grams of sugar. That’s HALF of our recommended sugar intake each day. And I’m talking about white milk. Chocolate milk, Nesquick and Strawberry varieties have SO much more.
We also think that the calcium is a selling point. While some milk does have 21% of your daily recommended calcium, it’s nothing if it has nowhere to go. So make sure your Vitamin D is up to par - as it helps the calcium actually absorb. And pop in an orange, as the Vitamin C does the same thing. So living on milk alone may fill you up, but it does nothing to help it move.
The protein is a driving force of why people want to drink milk. But you have to make sure you know where your protein is coming from. Were the cow fed well? Were their bodies filled with vitamins and nutrients that enriched the protein? A cup of milk is only 7.7 grams of protein. Other foods that get more than that in a serving include peanut butter, edamame, tuna, greek yogurt, black beans, cottage cheese, and oats.
So take a look at where your milk is coming from. It starts with the feed. If the farmers are using pesticides that get to the cow’s food, then the cow is injected with hormones to grow faster and produce more milk, then they are squeezing that out and bottling it up for you to consume. Sounds yummy, right?
If you are lucky enough to get milk from a healthy source, have enough budget to buy it organically by the gallons, or have an overall balanced that involved proper dairy, then good for you.
That’s not our family.
We also think that the calcium is a selling point. While some milk does have 21% of your daily recommended calcium, it’s nothing if it has nowhere to go. So make sure your Vitamin D is up to par - as it helps the calcium actually absorb. And pop in an orange, as the Vitamin C does the same thing. So living on milk alone may fill you up, but it does nothing to help it move.
The protein is a driving force of why people want to drink milk. But you have to make sure you know where your protein is coming from. Were the cow fed well? Were their bodies filled with vitamins and nutrients that enriched the protein? A cup of milk is only 7.7 grams of protein. Other foods that get more than that in a serving include peanut butter, edamame, tuna, greek yogurt, black beans, cottage cheese, and oats.
So take a look at where your milk is coming from. It starts with the feed. If the farmers are using pesticides that get to the cow’s food, then the cow is injected with hormones to grow faster and produce more milk, then they are squeezing that out and bottling it up for you to consume. Sounds yummy, right?
If you are lucky enough to get milk from a healthy source, have enough budget to buy it organically by the gallons, or have an overall balanced that involved proper dairy, then good for you.
That’s not our family.
In fact, items like peanut butter, avocados, dark leafy greens, and beans provide better nutrition than a glass of milk.
Additionally, we also eat dairy. We eat Okikos Greek Yogurt, cheese, cheese sticks and butter (you forgot it was a dairy, right) - we also eat goat’s milk. So there’s tons of options to get the kids wholesome dairy that isn’t going to overload them with sugar and hormones.
I know I’ve lost most of you with my unpopular opinion. And I will do other posts about substitutions. But for now...
Additionally, we also eat dairy. We eat Okikos Greek Yogurt, cheese, cheese sticks and butter (you forgot it was a dairy, right) - we also eat goat’s milk. So there’s tons of options to get the kids wholesome dairy that isn’t going to overload them with sugar and hormones.
I know I’ve lost most of you with my unpopular opinion. And I will do other posts about substitutions. But for now...
~T
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