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The UMP Will Try to Deceive You about the Fattening Nature of Dairy Foods
“Independent research confirming dairy’s role in weight reduction is mounting,” said Dr. Greg Miller, senior vice president of nutrition and scientific affairs for the Dairy Checkoff.[29] “This helps to position dairy foods as part of the solution to America’s growing obesity epidemic.” And Miller added, “Informing the public about dairy’s role in the fight against obesity will help increase consumption of milk, cheese and yogurt, among other dairy products.”
Shouldn’t the idea of milk acting as an “antiobesity” food strike you as fundamentally contradictory? – After all, the biologic purpose of cow’s milk is to provide large amounts of energy and nutrients to grow the young animal from 60 to 600 pounds. So how does milk become a weight loss product in the 21st century? This idea began with the observation that underprivileged people, who have poor diets in general, are often obese, and also consume few dairy products.[30] Some experiments that followed showed people and animals on calorie-restricted diets lost a small amount of extra weight when calcium or dairy foods were part of their diet. The “antiobesity” effects of dairy are difficult to explain, but may be due to calcium binding fat in the intestine, preventing its absorption.[30]
A thorough search of the literature for properly designed studies shows only one of 17 randomized studies found weight loss in people taking calcium pills, and of the nine randomized studies where fluid milk was added, two showed significant weight gain, and none showed significant loss.[31] In one study funded by a grant from the International Dairy Foods Association, 204 healthy men and women were asked to increase their intake of skim or 1% milk by three cups a day for 12 weeks; those consuming the extra milk gained an average of 1.32 pounds (0.6 Kg).[32] Can you imagine what their weight gain would have been if they had been asked to add whole milk, cheese, butter, and ice cream to their diet, instead of skim and low-fat 1% milk? The result of all this research was well summed up by one of the dairy industry’s frequent spokespersons at the Dairy Management Inc. sponsored Symposium: Dairy Product Components and Weight Regulation, held April 21, 2002 in New Orleans, with this statement, “In conclusion, the data available from randomized trials of dairy product or calcium supplementation provide little support for an effect in reducing body weight or fat mass.”31 Yet the consumer will hear from Dr. Miller and the rest of the industry, “eat more dairy products and you will lose weight.”
Dairy products are loaded with fats that are easily stored under your skin as “body fat.” The fats in the cold glass of milk, the little bite of cheese, and that small bowl of ice cream will move from your lips to your hips effortlessly. In fact, it moves with so little effort that the chemical structure of the fat isn’t even changed. Cow’s milk contains a unique kind of fat with double bonds located at the C-15 and C-17 position on the fat’s carbon chain. Examination of a person’s fatty (adipose) tissues following a biopsy will show the amount of this kind of fat present, which will be in direct proportion to the amount of dairy products the person consumes.[33]
All that fat the dairy industry asks us to eat is associated with higher risks of heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and breast, prostate, uterine and colon cancer. Yet, as a marketing scheme, the dairy industry has teamed up with the National Medical Association to write articles about “the role of dairy in helping reduce the risk of heart disease, hypertension, and other serious health issues.”[34] The National Medical Association promotes the collective interests of physicians and patients of African descent. Please explain to me how this association came about when the vast majority of people of African descent (80% to 90%) cannot drink milk because of lactose intolerance; causing them diarrhea, stomach cramps and gas.[35]
Not only is this dairy fat unattractively worn and a health hazard, but it is also a source of large quantities of environmental chemicals, like dioxins and DDT, that affect your health and the health of a mother’s offspring during pregnancy and nursing.[36] One reason a young girl needs to start thinking about a healthier diet early is because the accumulation of these chemicals in her own body fat occurs over her entire lifetime.
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The UMP Will Try to Confuse You about Bone Health and Animal Protein
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Marketing Milk and Disease
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We began this archive as a means of assisting our visitors in answering many of their health and diet questions, and in encouraging them to take a pro-active part in their own health. We believe the articles and information contained herein are true, but are not presenting them as advice. We, personally, have found that a whole food vegan diet has helped our own health, and simply wish to share with others the things we have found. Each of us must make our own decisions, for it's our own body. If you have a health problem, see your own physician.