Is milk good for you? Research published in Pediatrics magazine shows that dairy products do not build strong bones and prevent osteoporosis to the degree that we once thought. While calcium is healthful for your bones, exercise is far more helpful in building bone density. Reducing your intake of sodium and animal proteins is also of greater benefit to your bones than milk.

The problem caused by consuming too many dairy products is that the saturated fat and cholesterol are known to increase the risk of heart disease. Prostate, breast and ovarian cancers have been linked to a compound found in cow’s milk, IGF-I. Numerous clinical studies have shown a direct link between prostate cancers and high levels of IGF-I. The Iowa Women’s Health Study found that women who consume more than one glass of milk per day have a 73% higher risk of ovarian cancer than women who drank less.

The typical person needs only 600mg of calcium a day. Much of this is found in other foods that you eat such as soybeans, oranges and spinach.

Many drink milk for the Vitamin D. Only five to fifteen minutes of partial exposure to sunlight meets the body’s requirement for this vitamin.

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Unless you are buying organic daily products, contaminants like drugs, pesticides and bovine growth hormone (rBGH) riddle dairy products. Once consumed, pesticides do not easily leave your body easily and settle in your fat cells. The cumulative affect of these toxins in your body can harm your immune, reproductive and central nervous systems.

The American Academy of Pediatrics reminds mothers not to give children under one whole milk as this increases a child’s risk to Type 1 diabetes and lead to other health issues as they grow.

For an alternative to cow’s milk, consider raw almond milk. When consuming milk, always go organic.

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