 Is
the white stuff the right stuff?
To most of us, milk is the best, nutritious food we can give to our
children but a new report by the Vegetarian and Vegan Foundation (VVF)
is calling for health warnings to be placed on dairy products amidst claims
that they cause cancer, diabetes and numerous other diseases.
The VVF suggest that humans are unnatural because they are the only species
out of 4,500 who continue to drink milk after weaning. However, many would
argue that we are also the only species with opposable thumbs and, for
the most part, the most evolved species on the planet.
We think it's important that you know enough to make your own mind up
so read on to hear all the different views.
White Lies, the Vegan and Vegetarian view
You may or may not have heard about the White Lies Report, launched by
the Vegan and Vegetarian Society, which investigates the links between
the consumption of cow's milk and dairy products and health.
According to the VVF the report describes the evidence linking a diverse
range of health problems and diseases to dairy including some of the UK's
biggest killers such as;
- Heart disease
- Diabetes
- Breast cancer and prostate cancer
- Osteoporosis
- Eczema
- Asthma
- Crohn's disease
- Colic
- Constipation
Heather Mills McCartney, one of the Patrons of VVF, launched the campaign
encouraging people to stop consuming dairy products. She says, "Dairy
is far from being a wonder food but is, in fact, a contributor to many
major diseases which horrifies me - especially when I see how many unwitting
mothers are feeding their children cows' milk formula.
"When I lost part of my leg and the residual limb wouldn't heal, switching
to a raw vegan diet worked what seemed like a miracle for me. I am now
totally vegan and enjoy a variety of alternative meat and milk substitutes."
Of course, you may be one of the many parents with the attitude that you
grew up drinking milk and you're doing just fine. However, the report
has an answer for just such claims.
It is supported by doctors with more letters after their names than the
Royal Mail sorting office, and the VVF hope this endorsement will make
you, along with everyone else, sit up and listen.
Professor T. Colin Campbell PhD is a nutritionist who has carried out
research into the effect of diet on health in China and is supporting
the report. In his Foreword to the White Lies Report he says, "It is not
that these various dairy effects are independently proven to be true beyond
doubt, any more than tobacco use is independently proven to cause lung
cancer and heart disease. Rather, it is the weight and breadth of the
evidence, along with its biological plausibility." Professor Jane Plant
CBE (DSc), author of Your Life in Your Hands, adds "Cow's milk is a perfect
food for a rapidly growing calf but that doesn't mean it is good for human
babies - or adults! If you want to improve your health by making just
one change to your diet, I recommend you eliminate all dairy from the
diet." Finally, the author of the report, Dr Justine Butler, claims that
the milk we drink has up to 400 million pus cells per litre and the VVF
have released adverts emblazoned with the slogan "Up to 100 million pus
cells in every glass." Obviously the thought alone is enough to put you
off but can this be true or is it just clever campaigning? As parents,
should you be worried and demand your child doesn't drink free school
milk, like the VVF suggest? The Dairy Council don't think so!
The Right stuff, the dairy view
Dr Judith Bryant, Director of the Dairy Council, says that it is not
actually pus as we know it.
"What some anti-dairy groups call 'pus' is in fact a vital part of the
cow's ability to stay healthy," she says.
"These 'somatic cells' are mainly white blood cells and while we don't
want too many of them in milk, there is also a level below which we don't
want them to fall in order to keep cows in good health."
In fact, the number of these cells has fallen dramatically since the
1970s and the current UK average of under 200,000 cells per millilitre
of milk may sound high, but is in fact an infinitesimally small part of
the milk. It is less than half the EU-permitted standard, which itself
is very low by world comparison, and is reduced to a fraction of this
level by treatment at the dairy. Of course, the Dairy Council are keen
to promote the benefits of milk and if after reading the White Lies Report
you are in doubt about what they are, these are the facts.
- Dairy products provide protein, carbohydrate, fat, B group vitamins
(particularly riboflavin, and vitamin B12), calcium, phosphorus, magnesium,
iodine, and potassium, to name but a few.
- The National Diet and Nutrition Survey shows that milk and milk products
are the primary calcium source in the UK diet.
- Whole milk is only 3.9 per cent fat, while semi-skimmed and skimmed
milks are 1.7 per cent and 0.3 per cent fat respectively. Recent research
suggests that people who eat dairy (milk and/or yogurt) as part of a
calorie controlled diet actually lose more fat, in particularly abdominal
fat, in comparison to people with lower or no dairy intakes
- Milk contains potassium, magnesium and calcium. All of these nutrients
are scientifically linked to lowering blood pressure. Evidence from
The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) trials show that
eating three portions of low-fat dairy products with five servings of
fruit and vegetables as part of a low salt diet has greater blood pressure
lowering effects than fruit and vegetables alone.
- Cancer is a complicated disease and both genetic and environmental
factors are important in its development. However, research into the
effect of milk on cancer development has failed to substantiate a role
for milk or dairy in increasing cancer risk.
- The Norwegian Women and Cancer Study which studied 48,000 women, found
people who drank more milk during their childhood and lifetime to have
a staggering 50 per cent reduced risk of developing breast cancer in
comparison to women who do not drink milk.
- The dental protective properties of milk are mainly due to the presence
of calcium and phosphorus. These minerals are believed to prevent mineral
loss from tooth enamel and promote remineralisation of the teeth. Milk
proteins are known to adhere efficiently to the surface of enamel and
may therefore also protect against mineral loss.
Dr Bryant adds that it is important that we know this, to address inaccurate
information and ensure that we do not remove nutritious foods from our
children's diets.
"Milk is a nutrient-dense food which plays an important role in the UK
diet," she says. "As with most foods, there are misconceptions surrounding
its consumption."
The British Nutrition Foundation, the Dietician view
The British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) says that dairy products should
be eaten in moderation and as part of a healthy diet. They recommend that
we all should eat 2-3 portions a day, opting for low or reduced fat where
appropriate. If you're not sure what size a 'serving' is then the BNF
say following should help.
- A 200ml glass of milk
- A small pot (150g) of yoghurt/fromage frais
- A 30g (matchbox size) chunk of cheese
However, the BNF are critical of the White Lies report. Nutritionist
Rebecca Foster says, "Anti-milk campaigns using scare tactics can lead
to consumer confusion.
"Milk and dairy products provide a number of essential nutrients, including
protein, calcium, zinc and magnesium, vitamin B12 and riboflavin. "Although
they can be high in saturated fat, the consensus of scientific evidence
is that they can be eaten in moderation as part of a healthy balanced
diet and are not dangerous to health."
Heather Mills McCartney has written to Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt
asking the Department of Health to stop subsidising milk for primary schools.
In her letter she says parents should be advised to replace cow's milk
formula for babies with soya milk formula.
However, the BNF say special care needs to be taken if you are planning
to feed your baby soya-based milk substitute products. "Most infant formulas
are made from cows' milk that has been modified to make the protein, fat
and carbohydrate similar to that of human milk," they say. "Soya formulas
are based on soya and it is recommended that they are only used following
medical advice."
Dietitian Isobel Skypala says that in her department, she is now seeing
a greater incidence of soya allergies, possibly triggered by an increased
exposure to this milk alternative.
In conclusion, the British Nutrition Foundation state that people who
are worried about milk need to remember that the human race has evolved
and adapted over countless years.
We have become dependent as a society on milk for the calcium, protein
and various other micro-nutrients beneficial to our health and we need
to be very aware of the consequences should we stop drinking milk.
A Child's Advocate, the Health Visitor view
Deborah Steele is a Health Visitor and Senior Lecturer in Public Health
and agrees that we need to be careful about cutting dairy from our diets.
She says, "It is always good to think about our children's diet, they
are our future and we want them to grow up strong and healthy, therefore
new research that helps parents to consider healthy options is always
welcome. "However, research that is one sided and used to promote the
agenda of a particular organisation is, in my opinion, unhelpful." She
says that parents should be aware that this research has been heavily
promoted by an organisation with another agenda, one of promoting vegetarianism.
Regarding the concerns surrounding synthetic growth hormones in milk,
she explains, "The EU, along with Canada, Japan and 100 other countries,
has banned this from milk because of its effects on animal, rather than
human, health and welfare. "Even so, the evidence that these substances
cause health problems is inconclusive." Deborah adds, "My personal view
is that we continue to offer our children a balanced diet which includes
cow's milk and diary products. "Obviously breast feeding is healthier
for young babies, but a cow's milk substitute for those who cannot breastfeed
is perfectly acceptable and is what is recommended by the Department of
Health."
More than intolerance, the Allergy view
Allergy UK, formerly the British Allergy Foundation, says that a true
food allergy - where the immune system is involved - only affects between
one and two per cent of the population.
Food intolerances are found in between five and eight per cent of children
in the UK and less than two per cent of adults.
Despite this, according to the British Dietetic Association, 1 in 5 adults
think they have a food allergy and a study that looked at Cow's Milk Allergy
(CMA) found that self diagnosis of allergies to cow's milk was 10 times
those that were clinically proven.
So what is the difference between allergy and intolerance? Quite simply,
an allergy is an extreme and immediate reaction to something, whereas
an intolerance is an umbrella term for a food reaction.
An intolerance to cow's milk is quite common in young children but tends
to disappear as they get older.
The BNF explains 90 per cent of children have outgrown the intolerance
by the time they go to school.
This is because babies rapidly learn to tolerate a range of foods in
the early months of life. When the child has experienced a full range
of foods - usually by the age of three - their body has built up a tolerance
threshold, so intolerances are less common. Scientists are still unsure
how or why this happens but the BNF says this is a normal physiological
response to experiencing different foods. However, Professor Jonathan
Brostoff is a leading authority on allergies and food intolerances, from
King's College, London. He says that 75 per cent of the world's population
- mainly found in India, Africa and China - do not produce the enzyme
needed to break down lactose after the age of 11 or 12, making them milk
intolerant. 'Being milk intolerant is normal,' he says. 'It is only in
Western Europe that we can tolerate milk as adults due to a genetic mutation.'
Isobel Skypala, head of dietetics at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London
adds, "Eliminating a food group from your diet can actually make you more
likely to react to it.
"If you cut it out of your diet, and then you are exposed to it by mistake
suddenly, you are more likely to have an allergic reaction to it than
if you were exposed to it all the time."
Bedside manner, the Medical view
If you thought the controversy could be cleared up by the medical profession
you may be surprised.
- Medical Biochemist, Professor Anthony Campbell from the School of
Medicine says that a wide range of health conditions can be attributed
to lactose intolerance. "Certainly milk contains good things for healthy
living - protein, vitamins, calcium and so on," he says. "But milk also
contains lactose, a unique ingredient that can be harmful."
- Eunyoung Cho at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School
found that people who drank at least one 250 millilitre glass of milk
a day were 15 per cent less likely to get colorectal cancer than people
who drank almost none.
- Jeff Holly, professor of clinical science suggests that milk may not
be as good for us as we think. He suggests that the problem with humans
drinking cow's milk is that it is biologically designed for a very different
function: to boost the growth of small cows at a time in their lives
when they need to grow quickly to become big cows.
- One of the UK's leading allergy specialists, Dr Harry Morrow-Brown,
says the numbers of food intolerances has increased dramatically over
the past 20 years. He believes this is because we now consume milk in
much greater quantities than our grandparents' generation and claims
that our bodies have not learnt to cope with this increase in milk consumption
and this is causing the related rise in intolerances.
- An often-quoted study by a world renowned Harvard nutritional epidemiologist,
Walter Willett, suggested from data on over 78,000 that women who obtained
the most calcium from dairy products appeared to be at twice the risk
of hip fractures. It was later discovered that they were drinking milk
fortified with retinol (vitamin A) which is strongly associated with
increased fracture risk.
Crying over spilt milk…
However you look at it, milk could be good for you or it could be bad
for you. One thing is certain, only you can do what you believe is best
for your child even if you'd rather they were drinking the white stuff
rather than the 'fizzy brown stuff'.
Where to next?
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