Is Milk Harmful?
Humans don't even have the enzyme to digest milk. And now, milk carries carcinogens
The health hazards of milk aren't well understood by the medical fraternity, let alone the common man. The fact is that humans do not have any enzyme to digest milk from a foreign source after we are weaned from our mother's milk. No other animal drinks the milk of another species. Domesticated cats and dogs do drink cow's milk, but even this is our doing. They have a stunted life span when compared to their cousins in the wild. In this whole saga, goat's milk is supposed to be least antigenic (when introduced into the body, it stimulates the production of an antibody).
We do not have the capacity to digest milk, so the milk we drink, as children and adults, is broken down into whey and casein. The latter is a highly antigenic substance. Denatured milk protein in curd and buttermilk is much safer as they have not been found to be antigenic. The best part of milk, of course, is ghee, which even Ayurveda praises as good food.
Studies on the effects of milk have shown conflicting results. A large multi-centric study, published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine in 2010, however, puts all doubts to rest. The study found that antibodies produced in the human system by the milk proteins are similar to the antibodies that work against the pancreatic beta cells that produce human insulin. Antibodies from milk recognise, attack and destroy human pancreatic beta cells as they recognise them as the twin of casein. The study showed that type-I diabetes is significantly more common in infants fed with cow's milk instead of mother's milk.
More dangerous than the risk of developing diabetes is the risk of carcinogens in the present-day milk derived from multiple sources. Natural pollutants, including dioxin, have been found in small quantities in such pooled milk supplies. Additionally, the feed given to cows these days contains genetically-engineered bovine growth hormones, which are also carcinogenic. At least in the case of breast cancers, this link has been established reasonably well.
Studies have shown that Indian cows have minimal antigenticity against human cells. Casein derived from milk after it is split in the stomach is of two types—A and B. Type-A milk, from cows of northern European origin, is highly antigenic, whereas type-B milk, from cows of Indian origin, is less antigenic. The reason for the difference is probably that cows in warm countries derive higher Vitamin D from the sun shining on their backs all day.
What I find equally worrying is that milk antibodies, when combined with any viral disease, could become powerful carcinogenic mutants. The poor who drink this milk are greatly risking their health.
We are stealing the calf's rightful share of its mother's milk, which is cruel. I have been an advocate of mother's milk bank, which is not difficult if we really are serious about it. Many mothers have excess milk. I hear lately a faint clamour for this in the West, too.
Let us think of learning from nature and history to give a safe future for our coming generations. Hopefully, there will be a time in the future when mankind realises the folly of abusing nature.
Professor Dr BM Hegde, a Padma Bhushan awardee in 2010, is an MD, PhD, FRCP (London, Edinburgh, Glasgow Dublin), FACC and FAMS
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