Got Milk? Do You Have A Stomach Ache?

I was thinking how long it's been since I had heartburn, stomach aches or indigestion. It's virtually nonexistent since I gave up dairy (and all animal products). But I wanted to focus on dairy for this article.

I've seen many videos showing the benefits of giving up dairy... the most popular seems to be how it clears the skin, gets rid of eczema, etc. I haven't gotten any acne of any kind since giving up dairy, so there must be something to it.

There are a lot of misconceptions about dairy that have caused confusion for years. The most popular myth was that dairy milk is a good source of calcium. It may have calcium, but according to Dr. Greger, the countries that consume the most dairy products also have the highest rate of hip fractures. Milk is highly acidic and actually does more harm than good. Plus, you can get calcium from spinach, beans and kale among many other plant foods.

Another misconception is that you can get hormone free milk. How is this possible? It isn't... just think about where milk comes from; it's full of hormones. Dairy milk is for baby cows so they can grow to 300 pounds in a matter of months. Human milk is properly formulated for humans, dairy milk is not.

After giving up dairy, it was hard to ignore the many videos out there that show the abuse the cows go through, as the calves are taken from their mothers, sometimes within hours. Many of the baby calves are slaughtered for veal. The babies are taken away as this is the only way they can take the milk from the mother cow. I never gave this much thought when I consumed dairy.

So whether you want to feel better physically or feel better about the way cows are treated, or want to avoid the extra hormones and pus from the dairy, why not try some of the many varieties of plant based milks out there? Or even try to make some of your own milk with the many recipes out there for plant based milks.