Milk: The Grand Finale

Hey!

I hope that you have learned a little bit about milk from the previous postings. I am now going to switch gears and begin talking about how the body can react to it. I'm sure you are all very familiar with the term "lactose intolerance," but you are probably not as familiar with the words "cross-reactivity" and "casein." I am going to talk about what they are, how they can effect you, what the symptoms related to them are, and what products you can and cannot have. Last, but not least, we will talk about why a gluten-free and dairy-free combination diet is the solution for a lot of people who are gluten intolerant but have unresolved issues.

Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest lactose- a type of sugar found in milk and other dairy products. This happens when the small intestine doesn't produce enough of the enzyme lactase. Premature babies can have this problem because they are not fully developed, but newborn babies are usually not affected. Most children do not show symptoms until they are around 3 years old. Genetics, race, etc can cause variations in the age, but be aware of your child's reaction to dairy products around this age to catch lactose intolerance early. It is estimated that 30 million Americans have some amount of lactose intolerance by the age of 20. The symptoms of lactose intolerance include:

• Abdominal bloating
• Abdominal cramps
• Diarrhea
• Gas 
• Nausea

It depends on your level of lactase (enzyme) deficiency to determine if you need to reduce or completely eliminate dairy from your diet. There are tests available that will be helpful in this decision.

Next up is casein. Casein is a protein found in bovine (cow) milk and is also found in many other things as a binding agent. According to wisegeek.com, "Casein can be found in two main types: edible and technical. Edible casein is widely used in both medicine and food, both for nutritional value and as a binder. Technical casein is used in an enormous range of products, including paints, cosmetics, and many types of adhesives. A not-insubstantial number of people have a casein allergy and may find themselves experiencing negative reactions both to casein-containing food products and to products such as nail polish that contain casein." People who react to casein will more than likely be able to enjoy goat and sheep dairy products with no problems unlike those with lactose intolerance. 


So how does dairy have anything to do with gluten? Well people who have been diagnosed with Celiac Disease or Gluten Sensitivity in general are often times put on a dairy-free diet. For gluten intolerant people, gluten and dairy go hand in hand. Here's why... People with Celiac or Gluten Sensitivity have gut damage that doesn't allow them to properly digest proteins in their food (lactose and more). Do you remember when I told you about "Leaky Gut Syndrome?" - This is the main reason. 


More than likely, you are not lactose intolerant, but you can't rule it out completely. Celiac Disease has been found to cause lactase (enzyme) deficiencies. However, in most cases, when the gut has been allowed to properly heal, the problems associated with malabsorption decrease. Most people are able to reintroduce dairy products back into their diets after 6-12 months. For some it's more like 24-36 months. 


Another issue gluten intolerant people face is "cross-reactivity." Cross-reactivity is when, after a period of time, your body starts to see other proteins, such as casein, as an "invader" just as it once thought gluten was an invader in your body. This is quite a phenomenon and in a later post, I will talk more about it and the other foods your anti-bodies begin to confuse for gluten. According to Primo Health, "Studies show that about 50% of gluten sensitive patients also have a problem with a protein called casein." As you can see, that's a large group of people so a dairy-free diet is something that needs serious consideration for those who are gluten intolerant. Who else benefits from a gluten-free/casein or dairy-free diet? People with Autism and ADHD. I will also address this at a later date, but I wanted to mention it now. 


So where do you go from here? What can you eat? Well since I have been gluten-free for about 7 months, going dairy-free was somewhat easy for me. I know that not everyone is as well disciplined as I am and I definitely will not deny that both of these diets can be very challenging. Unfortunately, if you want to reap the full benefit and regain health or determine if one of these two (or both) are the root of your problems, you must strive for perfection. No cheating allowed! Obviously no milk, cheese, yogurt, etc along with no gluten. And if you're going completely dairy-free, that means no goat or sheep products either. Those are considered dairy too! It's a little easier if you are going casein-free because remember that's cow's milk only. 


Here are a list of great alternatives for a dairy-free diet: (listed in order of personal preference)

• Coconut Milk/Yogurt
• Almond Milk/Yogurt
• Rice Milk
• Soy Milk/Yogurt/Cheese (it has it's own risks and watch for casein in it as well!)

I hope this has been helpful, especially for those who are gluten-free, but have seemed to "hit a bump in the road" or maybe haven't fully been relieved of symptoms with gluten-free by itself. If you're still having problems go dairy (or at least casein) free, if that doesn't help, stay tuned for my cross-reactivity blog! 


Besos,


Courtney 

Milk: Part 2

Hello!

We are going to learn about the use of growth hormones and antibiotics in dairy production. I think I may have mentioned this in a previous posting, but I feel the need to reiterate just how big of a deal this really is! The main controversy with dairy and hormone usage comes with recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), but I want to add that while this is important, it’s also important that you realize there are about 20 FDA approved synthetic growth hormones used everyday in conventional livestock production. I am just going to tell you about rBGH for now so please educate yourselves on the others.  One thing to note: this hormone does have an interchangeable name. It will either be labeled as recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) or recombinant Bovine Somatotrophine.

Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone was introduced in 1993 to enhance weight gain and milk production in cattle. This sounds like such a great thing, and in theory it is. With the help of this hormone, milk production can be increased up to 15%. So what’s the harm in speeding up this natural occurring process? How does it affect the cattle? How does it affect humans?

Let’s learn a little bit about it. Robyn O’Brien states in her book The Unhealthy Truth, “Although the product is made in a lab, it’s designed to mimic a hormone that’s naturally produced in a cow’s pituitary glands. It’s injected into cows every two weeks to boost their hormonal activity, causing them to produce an additional 10 to 15 percent more milk, or about one extra gallon each day.” So what’s the big deal? Well the hormone does more than just increasing milk production. It can be harmful to the cows. The label on the hormone that is provided by the manufacturer (Monsanto) lists these as side-effects: “Painful udder infections (mastitis); increased body temperature; an increase in digestive disorders; infertility; increases in cystic ovaries and disorders of the uterus; and decreases in gestation length and birth weight of calves.” These are just some of the things that can happen as a result of the growth hormone, this isn’t the full list. Some of you may think that it’s sad or you say to yourself, “poor cow,” but you move on because it is just an animal. Well if you fall into one of these two groups, or even if you don’t, let me begin to share with you something that affects the consumer aka YOU!

Well as stated above, one of the side effects is mastitis or an udder infection. Administering this hormone brings an 80% increase in the rate of this type of infection. What isn’t told is that this infection can take hold in one of two ways. On the inside, which isn’t visible with the naked eye, or on the outside, which is clearly visible. When a farmer notices that one of his cows has an infection (on the outside) he will begin to treat the infection with antibiotics.

That’s a great thing, right? 

He got rid of the risk, right? 

Before the farmer notices the infection it’s already there. And remember, the infection can occur on the inside of the udders too. So here comes the gross part. This type of infection is accompanied by a little substance called…. Puss. The first time I read this I wanted to throw up. Absolutely disgusting. So as the cow is being “milked” the udder puss comes out right along with it and is mixed in with the milk. So how many people want to drink a big ole glass of milk right now? Probably not many.

One last thing I want to cover before I wrap it up is antibiotic use. There are about 82 possible antibiotics that can be used throughout this whole process, but they usually only test for 4 of them. Eating and drinking antibiotics is no better than taking them on a regular basis. You and I both know that you shouldn’t overuse antibiotics so why should we eat and drink them everyday? Ingesting antibiotics all of the time reduces the amount of good bacteria you have available in your gut that aids with the digestive process. Another issue that is beginning to arise is antibiotic resistance. This is occurring in humans and also just general resistance with bacteria and infection (E Coli). 80% or more of the antibiotics produced in this country are given to animals. What do the majority of people in this country eat? Animals. This is an unnecessary use of antibiotics and it’s just an attempt to bandage our terribly wounded agricultural system. It’s not beneficial to the animals and it’s not beneficial to humans. Enough is enough. The abuse of antibiotics needs to come to an end.

Now that I have given you this information, let me tell you how you can avoid this all together. Buy organic dairy products. Let me just say that this goes beyond milk. This means anything that is made out of milk such as cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc. Who wants to substitute chocolate syrup on their ice cream sundae for some udder puss? Come. On. Organic dairy producers do not use hormones or antibiotics and is the safest bet for you and your family. What if you can’t get organic or maybe you can’t afford to spare an extra dollar or two on each gallon? You can still get milk that is rBGH or rBST free even though it’s not organic. Wal-Mart only carries hormone free milk, and many other brands have it too. Unfortunately we have our labeling system backwards in this country, but look for that hormone free or organic label next time you’re at the grocery store on ALL dairy products. It’s one more step you can take towards a healthier life. Oh I almost forgot... Milk from the U.S. is banned in Europe. Can anyone guess why? 

Besos,

Courtney 

Dairy: Part 1

Hey everyone!

Sorry I have been MIA for a while. I have been dealing with a few things and needed some time away to gather my thoughts. I began having some problems after we moved to Houston. I couldn’t figure out what was going on and I knew there had been some changes made to my supplements so I started by looking there. After trying different things, one of the two issues resolved. So then I started doing some research. I knew that people with a gluten intolerance can also face issues with dairy products so I tried dairy free for a few days and voila!... My issues were gone. Now I have to admit that this wasn’t an easy decision and not one that I wanted to make at all. I thoroughly enjoyed dairy products. Not milk, but yogurt and cheese. They were my “go-to” foods. I loved yogurt the most. Frozen or regular, no matter what flavor, I just loved it. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to have it for a while. I don’t think it will have to be a permanent change, but one that I will have to adhere to for about 6-12 months (according to my research). I had an absolute breakdown and cried about the thought of having to give it up. Hadn’t I already been through enough? Why was this happening? Couldn’t I just get a break? Well after coming to terms with it and finding some pretty great alternatives, I do what I do best. I began researching to figure out what the link between gluten and dairy is and why it affects people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. I also began to look at just how nutritious dairy products are and if it’s different in other countries ( I already knew the answer to this one).  Because my research is pretty extensive, I am going to do a “series” on milk. I would rather give you smaller amounts of information at a time rather than overwhelming your eyes with a novel on my blog.

Let’s begin.

Part 1:

I have been reading for some time now that there is a theory that “raw milk” is better for you and that it can help to heal or improve the health of people with certain illnesses. It is claimed that our pasteurized milk loses nutritional value once it endures the heat that occurs during the pasteurization process. My first thought was that this makes sense. We all know that eating cooked vegetables isn’t as nutritious as eating them raw. The heat “ruins” most of the nutritional value. I think that this is true for milk as well, although others will say differently.

According to the Organic Valley website, there are two accepted methods of pasteurization in the United States. “The first, traditional pasteurization, heats the milk to at least 165°F for 15 seconds. This is commonly referred to as "High Temperature, Short Time," or HTST pasteurization. Heating the milk removes 99.9% of the bacteria in the milk, which gives HTST milk a printed shelf life of 16 - 21 days from the date it was packaged.” The other is ultra pasteurization. “Ultra pasteurization, the most widely used pasteurization process for milk in Europe and throughout the world, is a more recently developed process. The ultra pasteurization process is often referred to as “Ultra High Temperature,” or UHT pasteurization. The UHT process heats the milk to 280° F for only two seconds, and eliminates a larger percentage of bacteria than HTST pasteurization. When coupled with sterile packaging, ultra pasteurized milk has a shelf life of 70 days from the date of processing. UHT is gaining popularity in the United States and Canada.”

So what is the reason for pasteurization? Well milk is considered sterile while inside the utters of the cow, but once it leaves, aka the cow is “milked,” there are microorganisms such as bacteria that can infect the milk. Pasteurization takes care of any of the risks associated with possible contamination by heating up the milk and killing off anything that could be potentially harmful for human consumption. These risks are all viable with raw milk so it is outlawed in most states in the U.S. Although the nutritional value may be compromised, pasteurization creates a safe drink that so many love. Because I have never enjoyed drinking milk, I am not particularly interested in which form is better because they both have pros and cons associated with them.  Here is a chart for those who might be interested:

After looking at this chart, decide what is best for you and your family. I will be talking about something that is a little closer to my heart in the next part of my series on milk-- growth hormones. Stay tuned for more information, and in the mean time, make the switch to organic milk if it's your drink of choice. That's one of the best decisions you will ever make. 

Besos,

Courtney