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I have heard it over and over again that milk is bad for you, most recently
I heard it from my 81 year old grandma. Now wait didn’t she grow up in the
era of milk does a body good? This got my mind wondering and lead me to some
research on if I should be consuming my normal gallon of milk a day.

My research led me to some pretty interesting information on the bovine growth
hormone (rBGH) they give cows.

The bovine hormone basically helps make super milk producing cows. But with
every good thing comes a bad, these hormones are given via a shot, and yes
even cows hate shots. If they are not administered properly the shot results
in an infection. Now the cow is all doped up on antibiotics while they are
producing your milk, doesn’t that sound good. But milk goes through
pasteurization right… yes it does but these drugs are super drugs and
survive the processes. It gets worse, sometimes pus from the infections
leaks into the milk which guess what, survive the pasteurization process.

As stated before cows are injected with rBGH which causes there IGF-1
hormones to shift into overdrive and produce more milk then a cow is ever
suppose to. Now that IGF-1 is passed through the milk and into you. Good
news is that a human and animal IGF-1 are exactly the same. So if you look
at it from one angle, you are getting growth hormones in your milk…free
steroids? Is that glass of milk looking better now, is your milk like
Poppey’s spinach? If spinach caused the following for Popeye then yes it
would be the same as elevated levels of IGF-1 have leaded to cancer and
tumors in adults.

The side-effects of drinking contaminated milk vary because, aside from
IGF-1 contamination, your milk may be contaminated with one (or all) of the
following hormones: estradiol, estriol, progesterone, testosterone,
17-ketosteroids or corticosterone. The packaging of milk in plastic
containers has increased contaminant levels.

So, while the injection of cows with hormones and antibiotics is good news
for major pharmaceutical companies and dairy farmers, the presence of these
contaminants in your food supply is detrimental to your health.

Is this going to sway me from drinking milk, probably not as it seems that
everything we eat now in days causes cancer or some other disease.  The
numbers I found state that roughly 20% of milk in America is contaminated. I
would say odds are you are going to be ok. Plus the benefits really seem to
outweigh the possible outcome of drinking milk.

Some body builders shy away from milk because it may be counterproductive.
Milk is though to be a very high in fat food, which is true if you buy whole
or 2% milk. I will admit, I used to only drink 2% but have recently switched
to skim to remove the un-needed fat. If you don’t know it by now, milk is an
incredible source of protein, vitamins, and nutrients essential to
everyone’s dietary needs, but even more so a bodybuilder’s. Milk’s unique
protein profile is comprised of about 20% whey protein and 80% casein
protein. The benefits of whey have been discussed for years in the
bodybuilding industry. Suffice to say that whey is only second to whole egg
protein in quality and digestibility, making it a top choice for
supplementation by many champion athletes. Casein protein has a lower
quality rating, but its slow and even digestibility make it the perfect
balance to whey. Since whey is quickly digested and used up by the body,
casein is there to keep the body in a positive nitrogen balance and to
slowly “feed” your muscles over a period of several hours. Multiple proteins
in one source and I am not paying $50 for 2 lbs of it. Who would have
guessed?

I have heard many people make a lot of different comments about milk and why
they shouldn’t drink it. I have heard so many I know I can’t remember all of
them. Here are a couple off the top of my head.

There is to much fat in dairy, if I drink milk I won’t lose weight

Bullshit, if this is the case look at what milk your buying, just because 2%
may taste better then skim does not mean you can’t drink skim. If you drink
2% or whole don’t bitch about that fat. Dairy’s essential fatty acids are
necessary in one’s diet to regulate metabolism and fat loss and keep skin,
hair and nails healthy and shiny. The key with any higher fat product is
portion control. Nuts and peanut butter are excellent sources of fat found
in most bodybuilders’ diets. They are high in fat, so the portions consumed
must be controlled. This is the same case with full-fat dairy, but if you
opt for the low or nonfat version, it’s not even an issue at all.

I can’t eat processed foods

Do you know the meaning of processed food?  A processed food is something
that has basically had all its nutritional value put down the shitter. Then
had all sorts of preservatives added to it so it has a longer shelf life.
Walk down the aisle of your local grocer and look a the boxed items. These
are processed foods. Sure there is a process in making milk…but no where
near the same thing, if this were the case you couldn’t eat any food. Well I
lied go out shoot a deer and eat it raw, that would be unprocessed. Also
throw away all your protein powders as they are processed as well.

I am lactose intolerant

Hmm…. I guess you got me there, lactose intolerant people are those of use
who cant eat dairy due to an inability to digest it. There are however low
and lactose free foods at the local grocery store. Also one may try a
protein supplement made from milk isolate as you will just get the protein
without the lactose.

In my mind, milk is a great source of a lot of essential vitamins and
nutrients we need. The start of this article isn’t going to sway me from
drinking milk as stated before I am probably getting cancer from breathing
the air right now anyways.

Good Luck and Happy Training