The Unintended Consequences of Drinking Inorganic Milk

Ever since I can remember, I’ve never really ever *liked* milk. I can remember adults telling me to finish my milk when I was a child, and I can remember when the GOT MILK? ads targeted the nerd population. Now years later, I still don’t really drink milk, and live under my childhood milk and cereal commandment: If there is no cereal, I shall have no milk. And now, well I pretty much think the same thing only modified: If there is no gluten-free cereal, I shall have no [organic] milk. Picky, I know. I’m a work in progress. Holistic Health after all, is an ongoing process.

So what’s so special about organic milk, besides the higher price? Well first, I’ll start with the convenience factor. Ignoring the price, organic milk lasts SO much longer. Next time you’re in the milk section at the grocery store, take a look at the expiration dates on the organic milk: yep, about a month into the future. Amazing. Shelf life for organic milk, is pretty awesome, especially if you don’t drink milk all the time (like some people *ahem* me) and there’s no worrying about it going bad right away.

But the big difference between organic and inorganic milk, is that the organic milk is completely free of the hormones and antibiotics that are often given to cows in the United States (the EU actually doesn’t allow hormones in milk, nor do they allow U.S. milk into the EU either). The worst of these hormones is rBGH or recombinant bovine growth hormone. This is the chemical that is given to cows to extend the length of time during which they can produce milk by up to 8 to 12 weeks. During this extended time period, the cow is stressed, since producing milk occurs at the cost of the cow’s own tissues and health, and the cow becomes more at risk mastitis (inflammation of the breast tissue) which can impact the milk. But besides just having a negative impact on the cow, rBGH actually has a negative impact on humans too.

As it turns out, cow DNA and human DNA are quite similar, only two strands apart, as Walter Bishop notes when he requests a cow for his lab in the first part of this clip from the Fringe Pilot:

 This is worrisome, as rBGH causes an increase in a growth hormone called IGF-1 in milk. A chemical which is identical in both humans and cows (sounds like frogs and dinosaurs in Jurassic Park doesn’t it? And we all how that turned out...). This similarity causes human bodies to identify IGF-1 in cow's milk as their own when ingested. Increased levels of IGF-1 can be associated weight gain, as well as several types of cancers. Those may not be beer bellies that many a person may sport, but milk bellies. The debate that surrounds these issues is often touchy and is still ongoing. If you’d like to read more from the anti-milk side, Robert Cohen has a book titled Milk: The Deadly Poison, which goes into much more detail. Particularly with regards to the milk bellies, which actually sounds like a condition Walter Bishop himself would have discovered. And my opinion? I’m not an anti-milk extremist myself, but I do prefer organic milk, and I eye regular hormone infused milk with suspicion; I won’t drink it.

So, if you’re a big milk drinker, or you have kids who drink lots of milk, play it safe and buy organic milk. Because unfortunately, in the reality we live in, chemicals don’t usually grant super hero powers (no matter how much we want them too), but often cause ailments or cancers of some sort instead. And instinct would suggest that chemical free is usually best.

But, if you already do drink organic milk, here’s a challenge for you: Go Goat (organic, of course). Its the most commonly drank milk on the planet, and much better for you, despite its distinct taste. 

I may not drink much milk, but when I do, it’s organic, and it’s goat. And there’s usually cereal involved :).