Raw Food Explained: Life Science
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4. Dairy Products
4.1 Milk
All mammals take their mother’s milk during infancy. After they are weaned, they are sustained by other foods—most humans, however, have been convinced that cow’s milk is an ideal food for humans and should be used all through adult life. Recently, some medical men have been swinging away from this view, and blaming milk for a growing number of problems in children and adults.
There should be a transition period, during which a child eats other foods as well as nursing, but the time comes when milk is no longer needed. The use of dairy products by human adults is unique in the animal kingdom—man is the only animal that is never weaned—except, of course, for domesticated animals, who lap up saucers of milk.
The milk of each species is well adapted for the young of that species. Unpasteurized raw cow’s milk is an ideal food for calves; it contains a growth factor intended for the maturing of a calf, but which causes excessive height in young humans, and complicated problems in adult humans, such as excess secretion of mucus, excess secretion of urine, constipation, diarrhea, bowel impaction, nausea, gas and discomfort, m increased blood pressure, edema, and numerous digestive and respiratory problems.
4.2 Milk for the Human Infant
Human milk is far superior to any other milk as food for the human infant. The chemical composition of cow’s milk is different from that of human milk in many other important respects. Cow’s milk is specifically adapted to the blood and chemical composition of the calf’s body.
The rapid body growth and small brain of a calf require different nutritional elements than the human, whose body grows and matures slowly, who lives several times as long, and whose brain is the most rapidly growing and best-developed of all species.
Human milk contains lecithin, and an abundance of the amino acid taurine, both important to brain development. Cow’s milk is deficient in both of these elements.
The milk of the nursing mother changes with the changing needs of the growing infant. Human milk is much lower in total protein than is cow’s milk, and is sweeter and higher in carbohydrates. The types and amounts of fats, vitamins and minerals also are radically different.
In the preparation of the infant’s formula, the cow’s milk is usually diluted with water and sweetened to lower the excessive protein and provide supplementary carbohydrates.
The protein content of human milk is about one-third as much as in cow’s milk, and is mostly albumin—while the protein in cow’s milk is mostly casein, which forms large, tough, dense, difficult-to-digest curds which are adapted to the four-stomach bovine digestive apparatus. Mother’s milk forms very small, soft curds which are easily digested by the infant.
The following comparisons are listed in Composition of Foods, Agriculture Handbook No. 8:
Human Milk U.S. Sample (100 grams) |
Fluid Whole Cow’s Milk (Pasteurized and Raw—3.7 per cent Fat) (100 grams) |
|
Protein | 1.1 grams | 9.5 grams |
Carbohydrate | 3.5 grams | 4.9 grams |
Human milk contains much more (than any other milk) of the two amino acids, cystine and tryptophan, characteristics which render it superior for the human infant. Cow’s milk is deficient in iodine, iron, phosphorus and manganese. The minerals in mother’s milk are adequate for infants, but inadequate for adults.
Milk is splendid as the sole food for mammals during the period of their most rapid growth. A baby will ordinarily double his or her birth weight in 180 days with no other food.
Of course, mother’s milk can be impaired by the diet of the mother. Many cases of colic (gas and constipation) in babies are “miraculously” cured when the mother stops eating eggs, meat and other animal foods.
If a mother does not have enough breast milk, she should give the child what she has and supplement it. The question is—with what? This question is of even greater importance, if it is not possible to nurse the infant at all.
It cannot be too strongly emphasized that the infant should, even at very great cost, be nursed during the initial period, for as long as possible. Breast milk contains hormones needed by the infant, and contains white blood cells which protect against infections, intestinal disorders and respiratory diseases; and this protection extends into later life. The yellowish, watery fluid (colostrum) secreted from the breast during the first few days of nursing has an especially vital protective role.
Bottle-fed babies are much more susceptible to allergies. They contract the so-called “contagious” diseases more than twice as often, and enlarged tonsils and adenoids are much more common among them.
Repeated evidence from Europe during the wars in 1871, 1914 and 1917, revealed that when no cow’s milk was available, and the infants had to be breast-fed, the infant death rate dropped.
The nursing period of mammals varies according to the rate of their growth and maturity. Human growth is slowest and the nursing period should be longest. A baby should be nursed for at least nine months, and, if possible, up to two years, or even longer. Of course, the mother must eat correctly, exercise, and rest adequately. Green salads are of prime importance for the production of a good milk supply, and the nursing mother will need more protein. She should also slightly increase her consumption of distilled water to maintain her liquid requirement. Fresh, juicy, uncooked fruits will also provide additional liquid.
When the mother does not have sufficient milk, or when it becomes impossible for the mother to continue nursing, what is the best substitute? The old-fashioned “wet nurse” idea was the best—a substitute nursing mother.
Many vegans and Hygienists maintain that adequate infant nutrition can be maintained on vegetable milks, such as soya, sesame, and nut or seed milks. These vegetable milks are also sometimes used when a baby is “allergic” to, or unable to digest or utilize animal milk.
However, it may be necessary to use animal milk for some babies. Dr. Alec Burton says that, if human milk is not obtainable, infants should have the milk of another animal, because they must have galactose, which is found in combination with glucose in milk sugar, and just does not exist in the plant kingdom. In this case, goat’s milk is sometimes used, since it forms a smaller curd than cow’s milk, and is therefore easier to digest, and does not have the excess growth factor. Also, it is somewhat easier to obtain goat’s milk that is not pasteurized, from a goat that has not been fed drugs and antibiotics. Goat’s milk is, of course, subject to some of the same objections as cow’s milk.
It has been pointed out that practically no breast-fed infants die of “sudden infant death syndrome.” Authors Geoffrey Marks and William K. Beatty note that telling evidence has been accumulated implicating a deficiency of selenium or Vitamin E in this syndrome. Human milk contains up to six times as much selenium and twice as much Vitamin E as does cow’s milk, which contains even less when diluted for infant feeding. Marks and Beatty caution that this cannot be remedied by supplementation, because the tiny tract amounts of selenium required (or safe) leave no room for experimentation. (The Precious Metals of Medicine, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1975)
In 1979, the nutrition committees of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Pediatric Society issued a joint report, strongly favoring breastfeeding. They said that there are some things in Nature that simply cannot be duplicated, and gave the following reasons:
- The fats obtained from human milk are more easily absorbed by the human infant than those found in cow’s milk.
- The cholesterol in mother’s milk serves a valuable purpose in the development of the infant.
- The protein in mother’s milk is a near-perfect source for infants—much better than cow’s milk.
- Infants are able to absorb about 50% more iron from mother’s milk than from cow’s milk. Infants on cow’s milk for extended periods are at risk for iron deficiency, whereas full-term breast-fed infants receive sufficient iron from mother’s milk until their birth weight has tripled.
- Mother’s milk also provides important protective factors not available from any formula. Two substances, lactoferrin and transferrin, prevent potentially harmful bacteria from growing in the intestinal tract. In addition, the infant is provided with important immunities by a fluid (colostrom) secreted by the breast during the first few days following birth. Finally, breast milk contains lysozymes, enzymes that attack and break down harmful bacteria, as well as a substance known as the “bifidus factor,” which promotes the growth of protective bacteria in the infant’s body.
Pertinent to the subject of errors and abuses in the feeding of infants is an article by Rep. Morgan F. Murphy (D-III.) “Formulas Harm Third World Infants,” (Clearwater Sun, p. 9A, 10/2/79): “About two million babies in the world’s developing nations are suffering from what pediatricians call ‘bottle baby disease.’ It’s largely the result of an aggressive marketing campaign waged by infant formula manufacturers who want to increase sales in Third World countries.
“As a result, many mothers have needlessly given up breastfeeding to feed their babies an infant formula that is often diluted or contaminated, causing malnutrition, intestinal infection, pneumonia, dehydration—and sometimes death.”
The article explains that, since birth rates in the Western World have been declining, the manufacturers decided to expand into new markets. Drug companies, eager to increase profits through diversification, have acquired infant-formula companies. The companies found they could take advantage of increases in population in developing nations.
They promote their product through radio, newspapers, magazine and billboard advertisements, distribution of free samples, and offering gifts or money to health professionals to induce them to promote infant formula. These Third World countries now spend more than six hundred million dollars a year on infant formula, about twice what the U.S. spends.
This has produced serious problems. The formula is very costly for those with low incomes, causing mothers to dilute the formula to make it last longer. Result: malnutrition. Because of lack of refrigeration and other conveniences and knowledge, the formula often becomes contaminated and the child gets sick or dies.
The aggressive and misleading promotion of the product causes many women to believe that breastfeeding is less than adequate. “Cruelly, in the time it takes to use up the free samples, a woman’s secretion of milk may have become difficult or stopped altogether.”
The article concludes: “The promotion of infant formula raises doubts in nursing mothers, whose anxiety then inhibits the flow of their milk. In point of fact, as noted by the organization Clergy and Laity Concerned, a mother’s milk is free, always available, sterile, the right temperature and contains all the nutrition a child needs in the first four to six months of life.”
4.3 Modern Methods of Milk Production
Present-day methods of producing milk involve the threat of milk from unhealthy animals, poor sanitation, poor methods of pasteurizing and handling bulk supplies, and drugs, including hormones and antibiotics, in practically all dairy products.
A cow normally would secrete enough milk to nurse her calf, about two hundred pounds of milk a year. Today she is allowed to nurse her calf for only three days, and has been developed into a milk machine, becoming pregnant often enough (a calf every year) to continue the secretion of milk, and fed and maintained for maximum milk production—up to 15,000 pounds of milk per year.
An Associated Press Report (printed in A.C. Press January 1, 1978) cites an article in the farm magazine, Wallace’s Farmer, to the effect that dairy cows are now becoming “flabby, heart-disease prone” due to the unnatural living conditions on dairy farms; “confined to inactive lives of eating, drinking, resting, being milked, and producing one calf a year.”
Researchers of the United States Dairy Association have come up with a “jogging program” consisting of a mechanical exerciser that keeps the animals walking at a controlled pace, while moving tailgates push the cows around a fenced ring. Some of the cows cooperate, some don’t. (Ahimsa, Oct/Dec. 1977)
I am not sure whether the predominating factor in the preceding paragraph is its “humor,” its pathos, or its asininity. Would it be too simple to just turn the cows out to pasture, letting them walk back and forth from the barn to the pasture, and letting them walk, run, jog, play, or just be— and relieve them of at least part of their confinement and slavery—and improve their health, in the process?
Overfeeding of cows on rich fare to constantly produce unnaturally large quantities of milk, forced long periods of milking, and the other circumstances of their slavery, are a drain on the organism. The cows become weakened and diseased, and they are then given massive doses of antibiotics, some of which can be found in the milk.
Dr. Alec Burton (Dr. Shelton’s Hygienic Review, July 1974, p. 253) says that milk has become more of an excretion of the cow than a secretion, that many drugs, including antibiotics, are present in the milk, and that practically all milk today contains traces of penicillin.
Milk also contains concentrations of pollutants from the environment, such as DDT and radioactive Strontium 90.
“University of Wisconsin researchers Philip Bushnell and Hector De Luca have found that the lactose in milk facilitates the absorption of lead, which is, of course, toxic. Increased lactose consumption led to increased lead absorption and more lead in tissues studied.” (Vegetarian Living, published by The Vegetarian Association of America)
Vegetarian Living also notes, “Researchers at the Wellcome Research Laboratories in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, have found two to five hundred nanograms of morphine in milk they tested. Pedro Cuatrecasas and Eli Hazum made the findings, based on immunological, pharmacological, biological and chemical test series.”
4.4 Pasteurized Milk
Whatever virtues raw milk may possess are seriously damaged by pasteurization. Heating the milk makes it even more difficult to digest and causes chemical and physical changes that destroy much of whatever nutritional value would have been available in the raw milk. The casein is coagulated and toughened, the vitamin and mineral components are spoiled and made unavailable to the body, and the lactic acid bacilli (beneficial intestinal flora) are destroyed.
In addition to pasteurization, milk is subjected to other processes, all of which impair its value; It is homogenized (so that the cream cannot be separated from the milk), sterilized and otherwise treated to render it “safe.” Even though it is illegal, milk is regularly adulterated, and the adulteration is never put on the label. This is a violation of the Pure Food and Drug Act, but the dairy industry remains free of persecution. (Dr. Shelton, Volume II, The Hygienic System, p. 174)
Dr. Shelton says, “One of the most common adulterations put into milk are the so-called ‘alkalinizers.’ These are used most during the summer months to mask the taste of the milk produced by the growth of the bacilli in it. This enables the milk industry to sell old milk as ‘fresh milk’.”
4.5 Raw Milk From Healthy Cows (?)
Unpasteurized milk is illegal in most states. Certified raw milk is available in some states. Dr. Shelton says (Volume II, p. 174), “Certified milk, produced by cows kept in sunless barns and fed on dry goods, is an especially inadequate food.”
Raw milk from Farmer Brown’s cow, Betsy, who grazes on an unsprayed pasture, and where immaculate standards of cleanliness are maintained, is probably the best obtainable.
But many people (children and adults) experience quick reactions when any milk is consumed. Excess secretion of mucus is quickly initiated, causing frequent colds, tonsillitis, bronchitis and asthma. Milk has also been a factor in the development of coronary artery disease. These and other problems (such as constipation, diarrhea, tetany) are inherent in the liberal use of the milk itself (even raw milk) and many people who use only small amounts of milk still suffer respiratory and other problems, which often, miraculously disappear when milk is eliminate in the diet.
Many people lack the enzymes lactase and rennin, necessary for the digestion of milk. Some adults who have used milk regularly all their lives may still be able to secrete these enzymes to some extent, and demonstrate no overt reactions when they drink milk (which does not, per se, prove that the milk is an optimal food for that person).
Lactose (milk sugar) comprises about 40% of the calories in breast milk, and about 30% in cow’s milk. Lactase catalyzes the conversion of lactose, a complex carbohydrate, into the simple sugars, glucose and galactose, which can then be utilized by the body. Humans who are deficient in this enzyme have difficulty in utilizing dairy products, especially milk. They may suffer pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and other problems.
This deficiency is very common in Japanese and Chinese people, and also exists in many blacks. Many children of all races have this deficiency, and handle milk poorly.
E.L. Cole, Jr., M.D. (St. Petersburg Independent, May 20, 1974) said, “Since so many children are allergic to milk, and because of the fact that 10% of the white population and 40% of the black population have a lactase deficiency, this raises the question of whether or not it should be eliminated from the school lunch program.”
Neil Solomon, M.D., in a more recent article (Clearwater Sun, June 25, 1981) said that “from 60% to 90% of black adults and members of other ethnic groups are lactose intolerant, compared with 5% to 15% of white adults.” He said that there are relative degrees of lactase deficiency, and the majority of persons are able to tolerate some small amounts of milk without becoming ill.
Rennin is a milk-coagulating (curding) enzyme which is secreted by glands in the stomach, and it is important in the digestive processes of infants because it prevents the too-rapid passage of milk from the stomach.
Rennin tends to diminish at about two years of age, when the baby has a mouth full of teeth, and when the salivary glands of the mouth begin the secretion of the enzyme ptyalin (alpha amylase) which is necessary for starch digestion. Intestinal starch-digesting enzymes also begin secretion at this time. These phenomena appear to signal the time for weaning and feeding solid foods. Rennin usually continues to be secreted in decreasing amounts for the next three or four years, for a transition period from the milk of infancy to solid food.
Dr. Shelton (Dr. Shelton’s Hygienic Review, August 1969, p. 275) says, “Even in early childhood, when there is still a supply of rennin in the stomach, taking flesh, eggs or other protein at the same meal with milk will tend to result in the secretion of a highly acid gastric juice that will destroy or inactivate the rennin and interfere with or retard milk digestion; hence the wisdom of our rule: Take milk alone or let it alone.”
People who lack rennin or lactase may be able to tolerate dairy products which have already been clabbered or coagulated—such as clabber, yogurt, buttermilk or cheese— but have problems when they try to drink milk. Dr. Shelton says that Berg and others have noted that adult organisms handle sour milk more efficiently, the characteristics of the milk having been greatly altered by the ferment of the bacteria. (Dr. Shelton’s Hygienic Review, August 1969, p. 276)
The thymus gland, which also has a function involved in the digestion of dairy products, reaches its maximum development during early childhood, and usually degenerates and becomes vestigial in adults.
The protein and fat of cow’s milk is so constituted that the enzymes of the human digestive tract fail to digest it completely, so that some of the elements are absorbed intact and cause trouble. (Dr. Burton, Dr. Shelton’s Hygienic Review, July 1974, p. 253)
Sylvester Graham, early pioneer in Natural Hygiene, found that physical workers of various kinds—farmers, mechanics, etc., were more vigorous and active and had more endurance if they ate only plant foods and used no milk.
“In the earlier editions of his ‘The Newer Knowledge of Nutrition,’ before he became a highly paid consultant on nutrition to the National Dairy Products Co., Professor E. V. McCollum stressed the fact that milk is not an essential in the diet of man. He pointed out that the inhabitants of southern Asia have no herds and do not drink milk. Their diet is made up of rice, soy beans, sweet potatoes, bamboo sprouts, and other vegetables. According to Professor McCollum, these people are exceptional for the development of their physique and endurance, while their capacity for work is also exceptional. They escape skeletal defects in childhood and have the finest teeth of any people in the world. This is a sharp and favorable contrast with milk-drinking peoples. The professor found it expedient to delete these facts from all editions of his work published subsequent to his becoming consultant to National Dairy.” (Dr. Shelton, Volume II, p. 172)
The claim that milk is a protective food and that it will help bone development and prevent tooth decay has been demonstrated to be a fallacy. We are told that milk is a major source of calcium and if we don’t drink milk, our teeth will fall out and our bones collapse, and most people buy these ideas, hook, line and sinker.
4.6 The Truth About Calcium
“The calcium in cow’s milk is of too crude a nature to be easily assimilated by the more delicate, subtle human organism. Frequently, the coarser calcium attracts and absorbs the finer calcium in the human cells, robbing them of what little they had.” (Ian Rose, Faith, Love and Seaweed, quoted in “Feeding Vegan Babies,” Freya Dinshah, Ahimsa, Nov.-Dec. 1974)
This may be one explanation for the fact that tetany (muscle cramps) frequently follows the ingestion of milk. Some years ago, I drank three glasses of “good, raw milk” in one day, and experienced horrible muscle cramps in my hands, feet and legs.
My sister was a milk drinker, drinking several glasses a day all through her life, yet she lost all her teeth when she was in her early fifties. Although she drank pasteurized milk, this result was inherent in the milk itself (even raw), since the coarser calcium of the cow’s milk robs body calcium.
Calcium is abundant in plant foods and a good Hygienic diet provides many times the required amount of calcium, in better form, and more readily utilized by the human organism.
The late Henry C. Sherman, Ph.D., Sc.D., formerly professor of Chemistry, Columbia University (Essentials of Nutrition), said that the dark green leaves are a prime source of calcium, well utilized in nutrition.
“Calcium is not Cowcium,” says Vegetarian Living (published by the Vegetarian Association of America). There are many nonanimal foods in common use among Hygienists, each of which is as rich in calcium as cow’s milk, if not richer. Some of these are sunflower seeds, dried figs, pistachio nuts, Brazil nuts, filberts, almonds, kale and other greens; and the calcium in these plant foods is readily available to the human organism, without stress and threat.
Natural sunlight (Vitamin D) is vital to calcium absorption. Foods high in oxalic acid (such as spinach, chard, beet greens, chocolate, coffee) interfere with the absorption of calcium. Wheat bran (a fragmented food) inhibits the absorption of calcium. Such unnaturally large amounts of fiber can impair the body’s ability to absorb calcium and other important minerals. Natural sources of fiber (with few exceptions, some of which have already been mentioned in earlier lessons) don’t interfere with the assimilation of calcium and other nutrients. (Harland, Barbara and Hecht, Annabel, “Grandma Called It’ Roughage”—FDA Consumers Publication 78-2087, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, July/August 1977)
Be sure to note and differentiate among the various dark green leaves. Dark, leafy green vegetables contain considerable amounts of calcium, but they also contain varying amounts of oxalic acid. During food digestion, oxalic acid combines with calcium and forms an insoluble compound, calcium oxalate, so that the calcium passes out of the body without being absorbed. Those greens which contain large amounts of oxalic acid are therefore poor sources of calcium, since most or all of their calcium is lost to the body. They may even rob the body stores of calcium obtained from other foods. The “good guys” are romaine, buttercrunch and leaf lettuce; kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and collard. These vegetables contain significant amounts of calcium and negligible amounts of oxalic acid. In kale, broccoli and collard, calcium exceeds oxalic acid by a ratio of forty-two to one. Beet greens, spinach and Swiss chard have up to eight times as much oxalic acid as calcium. (Prevention, June 1980, p. 40)
It is worthwhile to take the time and effort to understand the importance of calcium, and its sources. Calcium is needed for proper bone and cartilage formation, for proper blood clotting, for muscle functioning, for hormone activation, for tissue formation. Calcium influences capillary permeability.
Calcium deficiency can cause headaches, heart palpitation, listlessness, sleeplessness, and affects nerve function and thought processes. Adequate calcium supplies can help to keep cholesterol levels in the normal range. Calcium activates numerous enzyme systems and normalizes the contraction and relaxation of the heart. It is essential in the maintenance of the delicate acid-alkaline balance.
During the years of growth, 99% of the available calcium is utilized in the formation of bones and teeth. Subsequently, extra supplies of calcium and other minerals are stored in the bones and drawn upon in emergencies for balancing the body chemistry. A small percentage of the body’s calcium is found in body fluids and tissues.
June M. Wiles, whose research on this subject is summarized in her excellent article, “Good Nutrition,” (Independent Press, September 10, 1975) says, “It is unfortunate that a majority of our medical practitioners, when seeing “too much” calcium in blood studies will take the patient off calcium instead of seeking to find why an excess is present. There is hardly such a thing as “too much,” especially the way we Americans eat.”
She says that it is probable that a deficiency of calcium may exist, because the body is incapable of retaining it. We must understand that other nutrients influence the absorption, utilization and stability of calcium. Calcium will be rejected by the body if Vitamins A, D, C, magnesium, phosphorus and dietary protein are absent or deficient.
Ms. Wiles says, “If more physicians would check first for these deficiencies before withdrawing calcium, I dare say the rate of individual recovery would increase 100%.”
A January 1981 Prevention article (p. 65) gives an interesting table of the nutritional value of four types of lettuce:
(100 grams or one serving) | Vit. A. (IU) | Vit.C (mg.) | Calcium (mg.) | Iron (mg.) |
Butterhead lettuce (Boston, Bibb) | 970 | 8 | 35 | 2.0 |
Romaine lettuce | 1,900 | 18 | 68 | 1.4 |
Crisphead lettuce(Iceberg head lettuce) | 330 | 6 | 20 | 0.5 |
Loose-leaf lettuce | 1,900 | 68 | 18 | 1.4 |
They are nearly equal in other vitamins, minerals, protein and carbohydrates.
“Peas and mung beans contain calmodulin, a protein which works with calcium in such vital processes as activating enzymes in the red blood cells, skeletal muscles and the brain, as well as controlling muscle and nerve action, blood clotting, cell mortifying and cell membrane functions.” (Vegetarian Living)
As we have so often emphasized, those who utilize an intelligently planned Hygienic diet, consisting mostly of whole, raw foods, need have no concern about deficiencies of any nutritional elements.
4.7 Don’t Drink Milk
Carrington says, (The Natural Food of Man, p. 170), “Even if an animal is perfectly healthy, the milk partakes of the nature and general character and composition of the animal’s body,” and while this may not be actually diseased, it is doubtless in a more or less depraved condition—as are practically all domesticated animals, particularly the cow—during the confined period of winter. And the milk, being a secretion, naturally takes on the conditions of the body of the animal—as would any other secretion.
Carrington says, “Indeed, Professor L.B. Arnold, an excellent authority on all dairy matters, says, ‘Milk is the scavenger of the cow’s body.'”
Cow’s milk is usually used by adults as a beverage—it is not a beverage, but a food. In its raw state, unpolluted and unprocessed, it is an excellent food for calves.
It is emphatically not recommended for human consumption, especially adult humans.
4.8 A New Use For Milk
David Reuben, M.D. (Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Nutrition, pp. 161-162) says: “Someone in Washington, D.C., once got the bright idea that black African tribesmen would eat better if we sent them some of our powdered skim milk. The Africans gratefully accepted the wonderful powdered skim milk from their American benefactors—they accepted tons of it, in fact. They mixed it with water and tried to drink it. They got sick. They tried to drink it again. They got sicker. They stopped drinking it.
“But they were poor people, accustomed to making the best of a hard existence. The powdered skim milk….did not go to waste….That particular tribe has the whitest mud huts of any tribe anywhere. Each day little black boys dip their brushes in fabulously expensive high-protein skim milk and carefully whitewash the brown mud walls of the family dwelling.”
Vegetarian Living says, “Humans who have not had milk as part of their hereditary diets do not have this inherited ability to deal with such an unnatural diet, and are lactose-intolerant. Most blacks, Jews, Southern Europeans and Orientals, as well as many Latin-Americans, are lactose-intolerant. Powdered milk sent as food aid to Latin America ended up being used to whitewash the houses there.”
4.9 Cream and Butter
Cream is essentially an animal fat, containing very little of the protein and other elements of milk. If consumed in large quantities, it would, in some respects, be even more injurious than milk. But, taken in very limited quantities, as it usually is, it is probably much less harmful than fats from the bodies of slaughtered animals. It is, of course, subject to most of the same objections as milk.
Butter is also an animal fat which is to be preferred to fats from the bodies of animals. Consumed in limited quantities, it is generally not extremely harmful. Again, it is subject to many of the same objections as milk.
Some Hygienists who are not on totally raw food diets use limited amounts of unsalted butter—and a few may also use some cream. Both cream and butter are burdensome to the digestion, and cause an excess secretion of mucus. Use should be sparing—or nil.
4.10 Clabber, Kefir, Buttermilk, Sour Cream, Cheese
These are subject to many of the objections given for milk. As previously indicated, some adults are better able to tolerate “sour milk” which has been coagulated or acted upon by the ferment of bacteria. The question is: Should these fermented foods be used, or should they be considered “spoiled” or “rotten” milk? And is there a difference between naturally soured milk and milk soured by the introduction of a culture?
Raw milk contains natural lactic acid bacteria which, if left alone at room temperature, will grow and sour the milk. It is not always successful, however, since fluctuating temperatures may prevent proper clabbering (resulting in an odoriferous, unpleasant product). Most homemade clabber is made by introducing a culture, and commercial products such as sour cream, buttermilk and cheese are, of course, cultured.
Kefir is a slightly effervescent acidulous beverage of low alcoholic content made chiefly in southern Russia of cow’s milk that is fermented by means of kefir grains. A kefir grain is a small mass resembling a tiny cauliflower, occurring in kefir, containing casein and other milk solids, I together with the yeasts and lactobacilli that cause the characteristic kefir fermentation, and serving as a starter to induce this fermentation when introduced into fresh milk.
Kefir may be said to resemble clabber or yogurt. It is a dairy product, and subject to the same objections as all dairy products, except that it, like other clabbered products, may be better tolerated by adults than milk. It is also subject to the same objections as all fermented products.
Years ago, a friend gave me a kefir starter, and I made it a number of times. I found it somewhat unsatisfactory, since the grains must be lifted from the sour milk and saved for the next batch. The process of removing the grains broke up the custardy consistency into a messy, unappetizing product.
We also did not care much for the taste. I was rather relieved when the starter was lost when we moved to Florida.
When we ate some meals at Dr. Esser’s fasting retreat in 1967, he served clabber, sour cream, butter and cheese (sparingly). The clabber was homemade, using commercial sour cream as a starter; the butter was unsalted; and the cheese was an excellent-tasting ricotta. I don’t know what their practice is now. I have heard Dr. Esser say, at American Natural Hygiene Society Conventions, that he considers cheese to be a useful supplementary source of protein.
Some Hygienists are convinced that limited amounts of cheese should not be ruled out as a supplementary source of protein (where needed or desired); cheese and butter are usually included in the food items available at the American Natural Hygiene Society Conventions, for those who desire these foods.
It is usually recommended that cheese (if used) should be one of the following:
First Choice: Homemade cottage cheese, unsalted, made from unpasteurized milk.
Second Choice: Unsalted cheese, available in health food stores, made from unpasteurized milk, using vegetable rennet.
Third Choice: Ricotta cheese or cottage cheese marked 100% natural and containing no preservatives (we hope it’s true), available in many supermarkets.
Fourth Choice: Unprocessed cheddar or other mild cheeses marked 100% natural, or with labels which do not list any additives (although that does not always guarantee it is free of additives). Read the labels.
The last two groups would presumably all be made of pasteurized milk, and would also contain some salt. Occasionally, unsalted cheeses are available in supermarkets.
4.11 Rennet
This substance, from the stomach of a newborn calf, is used in the processing of most commercial cheese. Sometimes rennet is obtained from the stomach of other newborn animals (e.g. hogs).
Some companies produce rennet less cheeses, which are made with vegetable coagulants. These cheeses are usually available in health food stores. Not all varieties of cheese can be produced with the vegetable coagulants. It is my understanding that it is not possible to produce the large holes in Swiss cheese unless the animal rennet is used.
4.12 Yogurt
I did not include yogurt with the other fermented dairy products because of some special comments that are pertinent to it alone. It is, obviously, also subject to the same objections given for other dairy products (unfermented and fermented), with the same stipulation that adults are better able to tolerate products which have already been coagulated.
Lactobacillus acidophilus bacteria, lactobacillus bifidus bacteria, and coli bacteria are normally present in the digestive tract of humans. They are sometimes called “friendly” or “beneficial” intestinal flora, and are necessary for human symbiosis and the proper absorption and utilization of foods. These natural intestinal flora can be adversely affected (or destroyed) by taking antibiotics.
There has been some evidence that using yogurt cultures for prolonged periods can also adversely
affect the natural intestinal flora, or impair the body’s own ability to foster the development of such natural friendly bacteria. One research team at Johns Hopkins Hospital even discovered a relationship to cataracts.
Nutrition researcher Gordon F. Fraser, B.Sc. (“The Yogurt Scare Is For Real,” Let’s Live Magazine, August 1970) says, “Most commercial yogurts contain harmful bacteria, of other than human origin, called bulgaricus bacillus; these die out in the human intestinal tract, and do a great deal of harm to the system before dying.”
He says that this culture dominates and destroys the beneficial, necessary intestinal flora which help to utilize food particles, keep down pathogenic germs, stimulate peristalsis, detoxify and create a soft, smooth stool. Their main function is to aid in the nourishment of the cells and speed up the utilization of food.
Fraser maintains that negative reactions do not occur if the correct culture is used, provided it is not perverted in some way—by mixing with other cultures, or by the use of artificial additives, flavors, chemicals, etc. He says, “There is available in health food stores the correct and helpful bulgaricus culture which has not been altered by such conditions.” It is a liquid containing a natural live culture of lactobacillus acidophilus, the correct lactobacillus bulgaricus, lactobacillus caucasius, lactic acid and yeast in milk whey, all of which help to maintain a healthy intestinal flora. He says that California’s Aha Dena Certified Dairy and Walker-Gordon Certified Dairy in the Eastern United States use this product.
Does all this sound confusing to you? It certainly should make one uneasy about the regular use of any yogurt. Why risk inhibiting or impairing your natural intestinal flora? Why not, instead, stick to the Hygienic diet of all raw, or mostly raw, foods and have faith in your body’s own ability to develop and foster its own beneficial intestinal flora?
4.13 Whey
Whey is the serum, or watery part, of milk (containing lactose, minerals and lactalbumin) which is separated from the thicker, or more coagulable, part (curd), especially in the process of making cheese.
The late J.I. Rodale (Prevention Magazine) repeatedly maintained that, while dairy products were harmful and “allergenic,” the whey has none of the harmful properties, while retaining the “beneficial” characteristics of contributing to the body’s beneficial intestinal flora. He therefore promoted and endorsed the use of whey tablets as a food supplement.
I tasted the whey which drips out of the clabber in making homemade cottage cheese, and did not find it to my liking. Whey is still subject to many of the objections against other dairy products. In addition, it is fragmented, and used to supply the body the beneficial intestinal flora which a healthy body should synthesize from a normal diet predominating in raw foods.
The regular use of whey as a food supplement may thus serve to inhibit the body’s natural ability to provide these flora by making it unnecessary for the organism to function in this manner. Whey supplements are no more necessary than other supplements.
4.14 Ice Cream
This is the difficult one for many people. Should one take the Alcoholics Anonymous pledge of “not even once” or cater to our human frailty by occasionally indulging in homemade or so-called “natural” products? The best choice, obviously, is to divorce yourself completely from this temptress.
Regular commercial ice cream, with its twenty to thirty additives, is a particularly pernicious product. Some of the so-called “natural” ice creams may not be quite as bad, but, upon reading the labels, I found only one supermarket brand that contains no additives (except sugar and sometimes salt). At least the law now requires listing these additives on the ice cream package—until recently it was not required.
Since the new law was passed, Farm Stores has discontinued advertising “natural” icecream.
Breyer’s is the only supermarket ice cream I have found that actually contains no “additives” for most flavors (except sugar and salt). Their Buttered Almond Ice Cream actually contains only milk, cream, sugar, almonds, butter and salt. I believe I have seen some of their flavors that do not even contain butter or salt—just milk, cream, sugar and natural vanilla, fruit or nuts.
However, from the Hygienic point of view, the sugar is about as bad (or perhaps almost as bad) as the chemical emulsifiers and preservatives. And the milk and cream are subject to the same objections as for all dairy products.
Homemade ice cream may be a little better, because you can choose your own ingredients, such as unpasteurized cream or milk, and dates for sweetening, or even “ice cream” made without dairy products. But it is still a concoction to be avoided. There are some recipes for ice cream in Lesson 27—some using dairy products—and some without the use of dairy products.
Banana “ice cream”—made by freezing bananas and putting them through a Champion juicer (using the homogenizing blank)—is the best “substitute” for ice cream—not as good as eating bananas in their natural state, but not really harmful. It is as thick and “creamy” as ice cream.
If banana “ice cream” (other fruits may also be used) temporarily satisfies your nostalgia or craving for ice cream, it serves a good purpose. Hopefully you will eventually progress to the total elimination of such compromises from your food program.
- 1. Animal Products
- 2. Honey And Royal Jelly
- 3. Eggs
- 4. Dairy Products
- 5. Gelatin
- 6. Fish Liver Oil And Other Animal Food Supplements
- 7. Lard
- 8. None Is Best
- 9. Substitutes For Substitutes
- 10. Reject Animal Products For Optimal Health
- 11. Some Plants Also Should Be Rejected
- 12. Be The Best You Can Be
- 13. Questions & Answers
- Article #1: Milk By Dr. Alec Burton
- Article #2: The Digestion Of Milk
- Article #3: Well, You Wanted To Know! By V. V. Vetrano, B.S., D.C.
- Article #4: I Choose Survival
- Article #5: Excerpts from Compassion: The Ultimate Ethic By Victoria Moran
- Article #6: What Happens To The Calf?
- Article #7: ‘No veal’ campaign protests treatment of milk-fed calves By Michael J. Conlon
- Article #8: Milk Surplus Continues To Grow As Price Climbs Ever Higher By Dan Carmichael
- Article #9: Natural Foods
- Article #10: Plant Products And Effects
Raw Food Explained: Life Science
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