I thought it was O-T-H dairy cows and steer fat (to give it flavor)
Hey Qadgop, you forgot kumiss. What are you going to hoist on the steppes with the boys after slaughtering a few thousand people and building a pyramid from there skulls, if you don’t have a draught of nice, refreshing, fermented mare’s milk 
?
http://www.kombu.de/kumiss.htm
- Tamerlane
I’ve always drunk a lot of milk. I’ve always been in good health. While it doesn’t prove anything, I’m not going to stop without a damn good reason. Plus, what the hell alse would I have with Oreos?
All good things in moderation.
Like most things, I’m sure drinking tons and tons of whole milk all the time isn’t exactly that great. However, 1% and skim are a GREAT source of calcium-something we women especially don’t get enough of-osteoporosis anyone? (Did I spell that right?)
And I don’t care WHAT PETA said, milk is probably better for you than beer or even soda pop-all that sugar isn’t good for you. Nor are a lot of fruit juices-most of them are nothing more than sugar as well.
So I’m sure a glass or two of milk isn’t going to kill you-unless you have milk allergies or you are lactose intolerant.
Just keep a BALANCED diet-something I know I don’t do-too much junk food-but I like my veggies, some fruits, and 1% milk with sweet stuff.
There have been a suspicious number of anti-milk questions within the past few months by brand new posters. One wonders if these people aren’t shills for PETA. In fact, some of PETA’s key phrases are used in the subject line.
Is that you, Bruce Friedrich?
Milk? What milk? There is a huge difference between drinking whole milk and skim milk. Huge. While I cannot think any reason why skim milk would be bad to the average joe, large amounts of whole milk mean more fat intake than you really want. Whole milk is high in fat.
evilhanz: no, it’s not anyone from peta, though I’m not sure how I could convince you otherwise? I’ve just always been conscious of my health and I admittedly love drinking milk, just wanted to get the facts on whether it’s good or not. I chose the subject line because I thought it would be catchy 
Well, then stick with skim or 1% milk-just don’t GUZZLE it down every hour!
I find that a glass of ice cold milk tastes best after something really rich and sweet. Like, say, a slice of cake, or candy, or chocolate. It just REALLY tastes heavenly. IN fact, that’s the best part of eating sweets-that gulp of icey chilled milk right after.
Guinastasia: Drooooool, that really does hit the spot…
This is actually an interesting topic for me, because earlier this year I developed a dairy intolerance. I think its lactose related because I’m fine with butter, and apparently butter has no lactose (which seems odd to me but anyway…). I’ve not eaten cheese or milk or other dairy products for about 6 months, and I’ve been much better. I tested it out last week on a pizza, piled with delicious melted mozarella cheese. Sure enough, my stomach started churning within 30 minutes, and I had a night of interrupted sleep because of the repeated conversations I had with the Great Porcelain God.
I miss ice cream like you wouldn’t believe.
Anyway, I have noticed that in the interim period of 6 months since I gave up milk that my teeth have become more sensitive and a little translucent. That may however not be because I’m not getting the level of calcium that I was, but also or alternatively because I’m now living in a city without flouride in the water.
This will probably be a hijack, but I like milk.
My grandparents were dairy farmers in Wisconsin until about 7 years ago. They had to quit partially due to their loss of labor (read: all my aunts and uncles had grown up and moved away) and the milk pricing system. For those of you who don’t know, the milk pricing system of the US is based on a Depression-era policy that uses the distance from Eau Claire, Wisconsin as the determinant. Thus, the furthur from WI, the higher the price. This was designed to encourage people in more marginal climates to produce milk, ensuring young 'uns everywhere could get some (since refrigeration and transportaion costs were high). It still encourages people in marginal climates (such as Arizona, California, and Florida) to produce milk, and is working to drive small dairy farmers in the Midwest out of business. It’s difficult to get it changed, because the states best suited to milk production have small populations and therefore little political power.
I will now stand off my soapbox now. I love milk. I suppose it helps that I’m descended from extremely lactose-tolerant ancestors. I realize I’m priviledged–I’ve milked a cow by hand. I’ve drawn gallons of only day-old milk out of a bulk tank. It was so fresh and cold–the only time I’ve ever liked whole milk. The average time a gallon sits in my fridge is 4 or 5 days. On a hot day, a tall glass of cold, cold milk hits the spot. What better beverage to consume with cookies, peanut butter, chocolate, or cereal?
According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, dairy products are the leading source of saturated fat in the American diet. And according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, consumption of saturated fat raises your blood cholesterol level more than anything else, and the best way to reduce the risk of adult heart disease is to follow a low-saturated fat, low-cholesterol eating pattern. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States for all genders, races and ages, according to www.intelihealth.com. So despite what your parents may have told you, it appears that milk and other dairy products are not very healthy; eating too much could increase your overall mortality risk, unless you’re drinking skim milk and eating fat-free dairy products. Remember, one cup of whole milk has as much saturated fat as 5 strips of bacon, and one cup of the supposedly low-fat 2% milk has as much saturated fat as 3 strips of bacon.
“And according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, consumption of saturated fat raises your blood cholesterol level more than anything else…”
Let’s not be misleading. The total fat is the key thing. A teaspoon of half and half is not going to make your cholesterol skyrocket whereas a quart of polyunsaturated vegetable oil will. And for how many adult Americans is milkfat their major source of saturated fat? I’d start cutting down on the french fries, pork rinds, BigMacs, etc. before I worried about a cold glass of milk or a wedge of brie.
“And according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute… the best way to reduce the risk of adult heart disease is to follow a low-saturated fat, low-cholesterol eating pattern.”
Oh, really. What about not smoking, losing weight, exercising, treating hypertension, treating diabetes, etc.
“Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States for all genders, races and ages, according to http://www.intelihealth.com.”
Wow. Thanks for your post. I had no idea that heart disease was the leading cause of death for ALL AGES. I had the impression it favored the middle-aged and elderly.
“So despite what your parents may have told you, it appears that milk and other dairy products are not very healthy…”
Gosh. What can I say?
“eating too much [dairy products] could increase your overall mortality risk”
How about bratwurst. I like bratwurst, can I eat as many of them as I like without increasing my ovearll mortality risk?
According to the American Heart Association, the kind of fat does matter:
That’s funny, I don’t recall stating that dairy products were the only unhealthy foods. “Let’s not be misleading.”
Too Much.
What does too much really mean?
It means excess. It means over the recommended intake. It means you are putting yourself at risk of injury/illness/discomfort.
Too much of anything is bad for you - that’s what ‘too much’ means!
What about the hormone argument? I mean I think we can all agree that milk, cheese, and ice cream all have some fat content that should be monitored, as with all foods, but I seem to recall that much of the anti-milk arguments come from the (alleged) overuse of growth hormone in milk cows. Supposedly the hormone gets in the milk, and milk drinkers start accumulating the hormone, which can have ill effects over the long term.
Is this true? That’s the only think about milk that would concern me. I KNOW brie has fat; anyone who thiks brie is health food is an idiot.
When I first saw the subject to this thread, I thought it was talking about Martin Luther King. Damn fonts…
Anyway, back to your rather large debate-like activity…
Casdave, i don’t know if i buy the argument that i must keep drinking milk because it keeps people employed. If we phased it out, farmers would eventually find income elsewhere, like perhaps rice, which can be made into a “milk” that is quite delicious.
Since you brought up the livestock industry… one good argument i’ve heard against the beef industry is that each pound of beef requires 1000 gallons of water to produce. In some areas, clean water is so scarce that people are asked not to flush, bathe, etc. Meanwhile nearby factory farms are pumping out Happy Meals by the millions…
Qadgop, milk gives me pretty bad stomach trouble and it turns on the phlegm in my nose and throat. I don’t why you would doubt it can increase phlegm - phlegm is just the body’s way of clearing out infection and other foreign junk.
Am i spelling phlegm right?
By the way, i can drink raw milk just fine. It’s processed milk and cheese that causes trouble. My stomach can tell the difference blindfolded.
Btw, here’s a fascinating theory for you thinkers about how “Excessive Calcium Causes Osteoporosis”: http://www.4.waisays.com/
Anyone have any thoughts on it (other than: “Milk goes with my cookies so I’m going to keep drinking it”) ?
And no, i’m not from PETA. I’m eating an ostrich burger right now.
I think that Karellen has the idea here.
The main controversy here is in regards to BGH (bovine growth hormone) and rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone).
BGH is a naturally occuring growth hormone in cows.
rBGH is a synthetic growth hormone produced by the Monsanto Corporation that increases milk production in cows by 10% when it is injected into dairy cows.
So what we are dealing with here is genetically-engineered food products with no mandates on labeling. The FDA has its test on rats that can be found here. A search on the FDAs site had four results each have good information regarding the subject. I have read that the FDA is currently siding with Mansanto and not allowing anyone from marketing “rBGH Free” labeling of milk porducts. Sorry no cites on that one… but I’ll be digging.
The other concerns over milk production are about its use of anitbiotics on dairy cows. Cows can develop Mastitis which is an inflammation of the teat or udder and it generally results in infection. Antibiotics are commonly used to treat mastitis and are frequently misused which is refered to at the bottom of this article. The antibiotics end up in the dairy cows milk production and then transfered to the milk drinker. Overuse of antibiotics have lead to immunity in certain cases and is a concern in this situation.
Did I mention that the level of drainage (pus) from infected teats is actually measured in milk volume?