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8 Reasons You Should Stop Drinking Milk Now

post #1 of 76
4/9/12 at 6:44pm
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http://www.alternet.org/story/143022...ow?page=entire

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What could be more American than a glass of milk? Cow's milk, that is. In light of this common perception, the time is long overdue to add the milk mustache to that ever-growing list of American myths. Human beings are not designed to drink any milk except human milk (only during infancy, of course). As you'll see below, consuming dairy products -- milk, cheese, yogurt, sour cream, ice cream, etc. -- is not green and it's not healthy.

Need motivation to give up dairy? Here's some excellent reasons to quit the cow juice

Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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post #2 of 76
4/9/12 at 6:48pm
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It contains, for example, three times more protein and seven times more mineral content

Quote:
8. Milk makes you fat.

Excellent arguments.

Not.
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post #3 of 76
4/9/12 at 6:51pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Envy View Post

Excellent arguments.

Not.

That's not a rebuttal! You have to explain why you think that. I lost 15 pounds when I stopped eating dairy so.... Counter point?

Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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post #4 of 76
4/9/12 at 6:53pm
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Originally Posted by Werewolf Girl View Post

That's not a rebuttal! You have to explain why you think that. I lost 15 pounds when I stopped eating dairy so.... Counter point?

Milk makes you no more more fat than any other product with the same amount of calories.
Especially when you talk low-fat milk.
Nutrition is quite good too.

I could see it being more effective to cut out things like cheese and such for weight loss.

I'd rather say that soda is the more prevalent liquid to cause obesity in the US rather than milk anyhow.
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post #5 of 76
4/9/12 at 9:58pm
Cow milk is full of hormones that enable a 70 pound calf to reach 2000 pounds in two years, if I recall those figures correctly. I would say cow milk has a special capacity to put weight on people above and beyond its calorie content, due to its natural growth hormone content.
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post #6 of 76
4/9/12 at 10:17pm
Is this or isn't this the vegan forum? I don't really want to come in here and read lame ovo-lacto excuses for consuming the milk of an animal that lived a horrible life.
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post #7 of 76
4/9/12 at 10:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SomebodyElse View Post

Cow milk is full of hormones that enable a 70 pound calf to reach 2000 pounds in two years, if I recall those figures correctly. I would say cow milk has a special capacity to put weight on people above and beyond its calorie content, due to its natural growth hormone content.

Is that why I'm 4 pant sizes bigger than my sister who drinks cow milk? I don't consider milk a health food at all, but making an absolute statement that milk makes you fat is pretty much BS. It would be like saying "Being vegan makes you skinny." Everyone here knows that's not true.
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post #8 of 76
4/9/12 at 11:11pm
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Originally Posted by danakscully64 View Post

Is that why I'm 4 pant sizes bigger than my sister who drinks cow milk? I don't consider milk a health food at all, but making an absolute statement that milk makes you fat is pretty much BS. It would be like saying "Being vegan makes you skinny." Everyone here knows that's not true.

I have no idea why you are bigger than your sister. Cow milk is still full of sufficient growth hormone to turn a fifty pound calf into a two thousand pound adult in two years. Doesn't sound like diet food to me. But then I am not the one who absolutely stated that it makes all people fat. I am just suggesting that if it does, this is probably why.
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post #9 of 76
4/9/12 at 11:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SomebodyElse View Post

I have no idea why you are bigger than your sister. Cow milk is still full of sufficient growth hormone to turn a fifty pound calf into a two thousand pound adult in two years. Doesn't sound like diet food to me. But then I am not the one who absolutely stated that it makes all people fat. I am just suggesting that if it does, this is probably why.

I agree with that.
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post #10 of 76
4/10/12 at 1:44am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sequoia View Post

Is this or isn't this the vegan forum? I don't really want to come in here and read lame ovo-lacto excuses for consuming the milk of an animal that lived a horrible life.

Seriously

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Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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post #11 of 76
4/10/12 at 2:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sequoia View Post

Is this or isn't this the vegan forum? I don't really want to come in here and read lame ovo-lacto excuses for consuming the milk of an animal that lived a horrible life.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Werewolf Girl View Post

Seriously

One tends to get counter-arguments when weak arguments are presented.

Not that I drink milk to begin with though.
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post #12 of 76
4/10/12 at 2:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Werewolf Girl View Post

That's not a rebuttal! You have to explain why you think that. I lost 15 pounds when I stopped eating dairy so.... Counter point?


I didn't, and a lot of people didn't. If you replace the cow's milk with something that has roughly the same caloric content or more which most soy or rice milks do as compared to lower fat milks, then you're simply not going to lose any weight simply by swapping one for the other. That's what I did and I lost no weight as a result.

This is more stupid "shock science" the likes of which McDouchebag and his cronies use to try to promote veg*nism with "the health argument", but which is ultimately hyperbole and not founded on nutritional science.
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post #13 of 76
4/10/12 at 2:20am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Envy View Post

One tends to get counter-arguments when weak arguments are presented.

Not that I drink milk to begin with though.

This argument is coming from research done by the Harvard School of Public Health, you can see more info on how they came to their conclusions here: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritio...ory/index.html

And again, I personally lost a bunch of weight when I cut dairy out of my diet. Plus I'm less bloated and gross feeling in general. Milk is loaded with saturated fat and hormones as SomebodyElse pointed out, it's not exactly surprising that cutting it out of your diet makes it easier to maintain a healthy weight.

Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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post #14 of 76
4/10/12 at 2:23am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Josh James xVx View Post

I didn't, and a lot of people didn't. If you replace the cow's milk with something that has roughly the same caloric content or more which most soy or rice milks do as compared to lower fat milks, then you're simply not going to lose any weight simply by swapping one for the other. That's what I did and I lost no weight as a result.

This is more stupid "shock science" the likes of which McDouchebag and his cronies use to try to promote veg*nism with "the health argument", but which is ultimately hyperbole and not founded on nutritional science.

Um, but the point is to NOT replace it with something equally bad for you if you're trying to lose weight

If weight loss isn't a concern then by all means you can replace dairy with loads of other fatty things and even gain weight on a vegan diet. But if you cut out dairy and instead start eating a plant based diet that is lower in calories and saturated fat that's a different story entirely.

Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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post #15 of 76
4/10/12 at 2:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Werewolf Girl View Post

This argument is coming from research done by the Harvard School of Public Health, you can see more info on how they came to their conclusions here: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritio...ory/index.html

And again, I personally lost a bunch of weight when I cut dairy out of my diet. Plus I'm less bloated and gross feeling in general. Milk is loaded with saturated fat and hormones as SomebodyElse pointed out, it's not exactly surprising that cutting it out of your diet makes it easier to maintain a healthy weight.

In the case of low-fat milk, then no.
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post #16 of 76
4/10/12 at 2:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Werewolf Girl View Post

Um, but the point is to NOT replace it with something equally bad for you if you're trying to lose weight

If weight loss isn't a concern then by all means you can replace dairy with loads of other fatty things and even gain weight on a vegan diet. But if you cut out dairy and instead start eating a plant based diet that is lower in calories and saturated fat that's a different story entirely.

I gave it up for ethical reasons. It obviously wasn't my goal to lose weight.

The above article makes it sound like milk is some sort of supervillain food that makes you obese. I strongly disagree. When I was much thinner in high school I still drank milk.
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post #17 of 76
4/10/12 at 2:34am
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Originally Posted by Envy View Post

In the case of low-fat milk, then no.

Low fat milk still has saturated fat in it, just a bit less than whole. Skim milk doesn't, but it is still full of unnecessary sugar and calories, plus all the other health problems that have already been mentioned. It's not surprising that Harvard practically removed dairy from their healthy eating guide.

Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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post #18 of 76
4/10/12 at 2:37am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Josh James xVx View Post

I gave it up for ethical reasons. It obviously wasn't my goal to lose weight.

The above article makes it sound like milk is some sort of supervillain food that makes you obese. I strongly disagree. When I was much thinner in high school I still drank milk.

They made the statement "Milk makes you fat" and then went on to explain that statement, they obviously didn't mean you drink one glass and turn into the Stay Puft Marshmallow man

Sure, you can be thin and still consume dairy, but it's a lot easier to maintain a healthy weight without all the extra crap.

Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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post #19 of 76
4/10/12 at 6:56am
I always feel like I can't contribute to these type of topics because I became vegan for ethical reasons only.
Then once I was vegan for a while and researched a little more I got into the "ew" factor of animal products and how gross they are for the body.
In this case...calories are calories. So no I don't think milk makes you fat at all....it's how much you consume, but it's gross and cruel.
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post #20 of 76
4/10/12 at 7:39am
I agree with the environmental/ethical reasons.

I'm pretty sure growth hormones in milk have nothing to do with making people fat. 300 calories is 300 calories, whether it be milk calories, soy milk calories, fruit calories or whatever.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Werewolf Girl View Post

Um, but the point is to NOT replace it with something equally bad for you if you're trying to lose weight

If weight loss isn't a concern then by all means you can replace dairy with loads of other fatty things and even gain weight on a vegan diet.

Fatty food != food that makes you fat. I agree that eating too much saturated fat is probably unhealthy, but not for that reason. You can eat too much saturated fat and not gain weight for example.

Quote:
But if you cut out dairy and instead start eating a plant based diet that is lower in calories and saturated fat that's a different story entirely.

Any diet significantly lower in calories should result in weight loss, regardless of whether it includes dairy.

I didn't lose weight and wasn't trying to lose weight when I gave up dairy, BTW. I gained a bit if anything.

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post #21 of 76
4/10/12 at 8:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Werewolf Girl View Post

http://www.alternet.org/story/143022...ow?page=entire



Need motivation to give up dairy? Here's some excellent reasons to quit the cow juice


How About coconut milk?

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post #22 of 76
4/10/12 at 11:54am
Well I only needed 1 reason. = Came from a cow that made it for her calf. Because of this theft and the popularity of such both mother and child suffer greatly. Milk is animal abuse,rape,murder and its NOT okay.
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post #23 of 76
4/10/12 at 1:16pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cornsail View Post

I agree with the environmental/ethical reasons.

I'm pretty sure growth hormones in milk have nothing to do with making people fat. 300 calories is 300 calories, whether it be milk calories, soy milk calories, fruit calories or whatever.



Fatty food != food that makes you fat. I agree that eating too much saturated fat is probably unhealthy, but not for that reason. You can eat too much saturated fat and not gain weight for example.



Any diet significantly lower in calories should result in weight loss, regardless of whether it includes dairy.

I didn't lose weight and wasn't trying to lose weight when I gave up dairy, BTW. I gained a bit if anything.

I agree it's about consuming less calories if you want to lose weight, that's what the article was saying. Extra calories and fat add up. They didn't suggest that calories from milk are special in any way, they said 300 extra calories a day is a real issue for Americans trying to control their weight.

If you replace the fat and calories from milk with other things then yeah you're not going to lose weight, but then I don't think anyone suggested otherwise.

Anywho, I agree with VeggieMuffin that the most important reason to stop consuming dairy is ethical. Cows milk is meant for baby cows.

Edited to add: Apparently the National Dairy Council promotes milk as a weight loss tool when the reverse has been shown to be true. Check out this study: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...060601348.html

Quote:
For the study, Berkey and her colleagues analyzed data collected from about 12,829 children from all 50 states who were ages 9 to 14 in 1996, when they began participating in the Growing Up Today Study, an ongoing project examining the relationship between diet, exercise and a host of health issues.
The researchers examined the relationship between the children's milk intake between 1996 and 1999 and their weight over a one-year period. Those who drank more than three eight-ounce servings of milk a day gained the most weight, even after the researchers took into consideration factors such as physical activity, other dietary factors and growth. The association held, even though most of the children were drinking low-fat milk.
"That was surprising," Berkey said. "Apparently this applies to any kind of milk."

Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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post #24 of 76
4/10/12 at 1:16pm
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Originally Posted by lynchalbert View Post

How About coconut milk?

That is not cow juice so it sounds yummy to me

Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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post #25 of 76
4/10/12 at 3:10pm
I also lost weight from quitting dairy, especially around my waist.

Milk is very unhealthy for a lot of reasons. Hopefully more science like this will change how people think of milk and dairy products. If only the US govt would pay attention to science...
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post #26 of 76
4/10/12 at 4:29pm
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Originally Posted by Werewolf Girl View Post

I agree it's about consuming less calories if you want to lose weight, that's what the article was saying. Extra calories and fat add up. They didn't suggest that calories from milk are special in any way, they said 300 extra calories a day is a real issue for Americans trying to control their weight.

If you replace the fat and calories from milk with other things then yeah you're not going to lose weight, but then I don't think anyone suggested otherwise.

If you give up tofu from your diet and don't replace those tofu calories with other things then you will lose weight. <-- True, but doesn't support the claim "tofu makes you fat".

Quote:
Anywho, I agree with VeggieMuffin that the most important reason to stop consuming dairy is ethical. Cows milk is meant for baby cows.

That and the cows being forcibly impregnated and having their babies taken away from them repeatedly (often to become veal) while they produce way more milk than they would naturally and risk udder infections and other ailments.

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post #27 of 76
4/10/12 at 5:05pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cornsail View Post

If you give up tofu from your diet and don't replace those tofu calories with other things then you will lose weight. <-- True, but doesn't support the claim "tofu makes you fat".

You would have to eat an INSANE amount of tofu for it to make you fat

Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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post #28 of 76
4/10/12 at 5:53pm
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Originally Posted by Werewolf Girl View Post

You would have to eat an INSANE amount of tofu for it to make you fat

I think you missed my point. My point being that if you remove some type of food from your diet and don't replace it with anything, then obviously you will lose weight--that isn't an argument that said something "makes you fat".

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post #29 of 76
4/10/12 at 6:05pm
As far as weight loss is concerned going vegan does help people but I believe its mainly because its harder to find unhealthy vegan food and aren't as tempted with it as often. your now cutting out all birthday cakes and random cookies your friends make, candy bars that sit next to registers and such. Its easy to stay healthy on a vegan diet unless of course you live insanely close to a vegan bakery or something. Milk is indeed high in fat though so are some other foods. Fact: dairy constipates people. So if your one of those people getting rid of dairy products will help your digestive system and you will eventually end of losing weight for many reasons. Now if you went and found Vegan fakes of everything than no you wouldn't lose as much weight, though you'd still lose some because vegan milk alternatives are generally less calories/fat and such. Going vegan also rids you of fast food stops. This is why it helps people.
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post #30 of 76
4/10/12 at 7:17pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cornsail View Post

I think you missed my point. My point being that if you remove some type of food from your diet and don't replace it with anything, then obviously you will lose weight--that isn't an argument that said something "makes you fat".

I know what you mean, but milk is a lot higher in fat and calories than tofu. You would have to be eating a crazy amount of tofu for cutting it out of your diet to make any difference, and the same isn't true of dairy. Cutting out fatty high calorie foods like cheese and milk is a really easy way to lose weight and improve your health in a variety of ways if you don't just replace it with junk.

Just look at the study I posted above, the children who consumed more than three eight ounce servings of milk a day gained the most weight even when taking other factors into account. That directly contradicts the National Dairy Council's claim that 3 servings of dairy a day will help you lose weight. I didn't take the title "Milk makes you fat" to mean drinking one glass will instantly make you fat, or that anyone who ever consumes dairy will become fat, they made it pretty clear what they meant in the blurb under the title.

Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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Vegans are basically saying, "Hey, animals shouldn't be needlessly harmed." It's amazing how many people that sentiment freaks out. - Vegan.com

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