Saturday, May 10, 2008

Milk?

So now that Braxton is eating whatever Jeff and I eat I have been doing a lot of research about what we eat and what that food is doing to our bodies. I only want to feed Jeff and Braxton the best and I feel like we are really healthy eaters but the more I learn the more I realize that there is a lot more to what we are eating then we think and it is having a huge affect on the health of our society.
Milk is my latest topic of interest. I am big on breastfeeding and I nursed Braxton until he was almsot 18 months old at which point I gave him goats milk because I found it to me more similar to breastmilk and it contains more nutrients than cows milk. He really liked the milk and transitioned smoothly. Then I slowly started alternating organic cows milk and goats milk because he was getting older and I thought his stomache was probably ready for cows milk.
Recently I read something that really caught me off guard but made complete sense. I will paraphrase but it was something like, humans are the only species who drink another species' milk. It was so interesting to me and so eye opening. Why do we drink cows milk? Because the government tells us too?
Needless to say I have always personally drank soy milk, along with cows milk, and I have just recently introduced it to Jeff and Braxton who both love it and Braxton actually prefers it now over the cows milk. I have learned that it is much easier for all of our bodies to digest and contains equal, if not more, of most nutrients that cows milk claims to have. Plus it has less sugar than cows milk and no added hormones. Another bonus is that soy milk has a longer shelf life, as it doesn't have to be refrigerated until after it's opened, so it has allowed me to add milk to my growing food storage supply.
So, just some informationt that I found to be really interesting and thought I would share. Don't get me wrong I am not going to deprive my family of whipping cream or ice cream or any yummy treats that are dairy but I just have more of an idea now of what it's really doing and maybe moderating the amount of animal byproducts we consume is something to consider?

3 comments:

Zak said...

Please be careful with internet info, Species specific hormones will be found in any species milk (humans included) lactation is a hormone response. The hormones you think are so bad in cow milk come from an increased supply of a naturally occurring hormone which is known as recombinant BOVINE growth hormone (rBST) emphasis on Bovine. The odds of negative effects on humans from this hormone are about as high as a human giving birth to a goldfish just too much variation in our makeup. Lactose is a naturally occurring sugar much easier to digest than table sugar.
All are welcome to there opinions and our family's lively hood is milk we believe it is very good for you and is very healthy. I am allergic to Peanuts and Soy but we still believe it is good for others. GOT MILK?

Sarahbelle said...

I am always so impressed by your dedication to healthy eating. I am trying to eat more organic, but over here we don't have that many options. Does Jeff remember how fantastic the fruit in Japan is? I will miss it when we finally do move.

Johnny and Eirian said...

I have been intolerant to milk for a long time, it just doesn't make me feel good at all..and it's great you've been doing research to give your family the healthiest options possible! Vanilla Soy milk is my favorite on cereal- beats Lactaid anyday :)