I don't drink milk. Never had a taste for it. But then again, I was never very cool. According to the dairy industry's battle cry: Drink Three! Three glasses of milk every day are essential to maintaining not just my health, but social status as well. Paul Schaeffer, former drummer for Bruce Springstein and the E Street Band, describes milk as a "hip drink, nutrients with a koo koo beat," adding, "chocolate milk, oh yeah." If I would only listen to Paul Schaeffer, I would be well on my way to achieving paranormal social status.
Paul Schaeffer is not alone in his coolness. The dairy industry and the National Osteoporosis Foundation have launched a full on war against malnutrition and you'll be happy to know that The Dixie Chicks, Hanson, and the Backstreet Boys are heading the front line. Celebrity after celebrity sings the praises of milk. Kristi Yamaguchi, Tyra Banks, Pokemon, the Simpsons, Jackie Chan, and Amy Grant (five-time Grammy winner!) all agree that three glasses of milk a day are essential to build strong bones. Gotmilk.com, one of the official websites for this moo age movement is educating the public with such chewy tidbits as, "Did you know that if you have weak bones, even a big sneeze can cause you to break a bone?"
I invite you, reader to join me on my quest to find out what is true and not so true about the necessity of milk in an ordinary (read: not so cool) person's health.
Important Fact: Mayme Grant has never won a Grammy. She is lactose intolerant. In a CNN article from correspondent Eugenia Halsey, Miss Grant (Mayme) was actually quoted saying that "When I drank just plain milk on an empty stomach, it was like I took a poison." Sounds like she's just plain out of luck. Or is she? I wanted to see if I could track down someone with a PhD. to help me understand the facts. Is milk the only answer? Has research provided the world with a suitable substitute?
To obtain the other side of the story, I searched for and found an article by Will Hivley, entitled "Worrying about Milk," published in Discover magazine. It provided the appropriate antidote to all of that glitz and pizzazz - the truth. T. Collin Campbell hates milk. T. Collin Campbell grew up on a dairy farm tending the farms 20 to 30 milk cows. Now 66, a nutritional biochemist at Cornell, and president and CEO of Paracelsian, a company that "promotes holistic health and sells assays to measure dioxinlike chemicals and evaluate herbal products." T. Collin Campbell knows what he is talking about, arguing, in Discover magazine, that the ultimate problem with cow milk is that nature concocts different formulas of mothers milk for different species. Quoth Collin Campbell: "Isn't it strange that we're the only species that suckles from another species? It's unnatural to drink milk."
Many Asian and African adults, even many southern European and South American adults have trouble digesting milk. The culprit is lactose, the main sugar in milk. According to the results of a population survey by a Fredrick J. Simoons it was a genetic anomaly that causes the adult body to continue producing the enzyme that breaks down lactose. Since this gene occurs mostly in people of northern European descent - Vikings. Seemingly, Americans can drink milk all of their lives. Either gotmilk.com doesn't know this, or is confused as to the genetic makeup of Americans. Either way, many of us actually can't drink milk. A few of us don't want to. Where are we supposed to get our calcium, vegetables?
Actually, yes. Soy beans, pinto beans and navy beans are chock full of calcium, as are green foods such as broccoli, kale, collard greens, and brussel sprouts. Not to mention seaweed, figs, almonds, filberts, sesame seeds and calcium supplements.
Another expert to the rescue is Neal Barnard, head of the Washington D.C.-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. A non-profit anti-milk, veggie outfit, for which T. Collin Campbell is a science advisor. The group is hot on the trail of milk. In December 2002, the group filed a lawsuit against both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Health and Human Services. In effect the group is arguing the inability of these governmental departments to effectively handle the dichotomy that occurs when attempting to support the thousands of dairy farmers, and a billion dollar industry, while keeping America healthy and informed.
Let the voice of the people be heard!
"There's nothing against vegetable sources of calcium, but we have to fashion healthful eating around current habits," argues Eileen Kennedy, deputy undersecretary of research, education, and economics at the Department of Agriculture,
If that were truly the voice of the people, then I think it might be best to close up shop with a blurb from quite possibly one of the coolest non-people ever:
"What's my bag? It's milk, baby, yeah, the calcium in low-fat or fat-free milk helps to prevent osteoporosis and keep my bones strong so I can keep my mojo working overtime." --Austin Powers
