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well, it depends on what your priorities are. personally, i don't want to support factory farms that torture animals, destroy the environment, have serious food safety issues, and exploit humans. i might consider eating dairy again if i had my own dairy animals or knew for absolutely certain that the milk and eggs were coming from a farm where the animals were treated well. but that's just me.
other people are vegan for their health - eggs and dairy are high in cholesterol and saturated fat, and there is some evidence that the protein present in milk actually inhibits calcium absorption. it's not really normal for any species to consume milk after infancy, let alone another species' milk, and most of the world is lactose intolerant. that's kind of a quick overview because health is not really the thing that spurred me to become vegan.
and almond butter is like peanut butter, it's not a dairy substitute.
I can't really speak to the whys and wherefores of the merits of omitting dairy. I know people have a variety of reasons. But I noticed that once I cut out (cow's) milk -- I still have a little cheese in my diet, but not on a daily basis, and not much -- I finally started to lose some of my belly bloat and started to lose a little weight. Maybe that didn't have anything to do with milk as a food, but rather, maybe I'd become lactose intolerant as I'd aged, and so I was having difficulty digesting dairy. I dunno. But omitting dairy has, for me, been generally beneficial.
I'm not militantly anti-dairy, but I think that for my body/system, it's a food best kept to a minimum.
A better question is why are you considering reducing or eliminating dairy? Everyone has their own reasoning. If you tell us a little more of why you are considering this path, then I bet someone on here can relate and provide you with more insight.
well, it depends on what your priorities are. personally, i don't want to support factory farms that torture animals, destroy the environment, have serious food safety issues, and exploit humans. i might consider eating dairy again if i had my own dairy animals or knew for absolutely certain that the milk and eggs were coming from a farm where the animals were treated well. but that's just me.
other people are vegan for their health - eggs and dairy are high in cholesterol and saturated fat, and there is some evidence that the protein present in milk actually inhibits calcium absorption. it's not really normal for any species to consume milk after infancy, let alone another species' milk, and most of the world is lactose intolerant. that's kind of a quick overview because health is not really the thing that spurred me to become vegan.
and almond butter is like peanut butter, it's not a dairy substitute.
Not trying to be critical here, just pointing something out re the bolded: That's a common argument against dairy, of course, but couldn't one also point out that it's not really normal for any species to cook its food, either? I think the common thread is that humans adapted to what was available and/or what could be done with what they had available.
Your point about the way animals are treated to produce those products is food for serious thought. Thanks.
And yes, it's amazing how many people are lactose intolerant AND it does seem as if people who were formally not lactose intolerant develop it with age. I'm noticing that amongst friends and family as I get older.
i don't usually make the argument about things being natural or not natural; i've actually argued against that tactic on this board before. however:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801
And yes, it's amazing how many people are lactose intolerant AND it does seem as if people who were formally not lactose intolerant develop it with age. I'm noticing that amongst friends and family as I get older.
you observation is correct; lactose intolerance does develop with age. as we age, we lose the ability to digest lactose, because, again, we're not really supposed to be consuming it post infancy. you can build up/maintain a tolerance for lactose by continuing to consume it, but once you stop for a while you won't be able to go back without some pain. lactose tolerance usually lasts through childhood in western society, but as we get older we also tend to stop drinking as much milk, and many people find they can't anymore without getting sick. in many eastern countries, everyone is lactose intolerant because people just don't drink milk.
so while i don't like the arguments that humans are herbivores (pretty sure we're not), or that we must eat meat because we're omnivores, digesting lactose past infancy is kind of like training yourself to eat poison berries.
one thing that is a good analogy for cooking, though, is fermentation of dairy products. many people who can't digest straight milk can digest dairy in the form of yogurt and cheese. so yeah, probably shouldn't have brought that up, but that section of my post was more about explaining other people's reasoning than my own. personally, i think a diet that includes meat and dairy in moderation can be perfectly healthy; i'm not vegan for my health.
Caucasians and some Africans have a genetic variation that makes them (or us as I should say) tolerant of drinking cow's milk into adulthood and if you have this genetic variation there's usually no benefit to omitting dairy (unless you were consuming too much to begin with). Ancient DNA solves milk mystery : Nature News
i don't know about that - the dna might make it even possible that we can retain our tolerance into adulthood, but most people i know who stop or cut back on consuming unfermented milk become intolerant of it.
i know that long before i became vegan in my early 20s i could no longer drink a glass of milk or even eat ice cream without getting queasy. and i know way too many people who experienced the same thing after they stopped drinking glasses of milk all the time (as most children do but few adults do) for it to be an abnormality.
i'm not questioning the veracity of that article, but i think the potential to build up a tolerance to lactose as an adult is the genetic thing, not the tolerance itself, if that makes sense.
Read the book "The China Study". It is the longest nutritional study in history. The author of the book advises against using dairy because it has an animal protein casein. Casein is a protein found in milk and other dairy products. In his book, The China Study, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, reports how he discovered, over many years of cancer research, a possible link between animal protein intake and cancer development. Although Campbell was raised on a farm and loved his milk and eggs and sausage, his scientific curiosity was peaked through the research he conducted as well as reviewed. Because of these potential links he found, he was finally able to receive funding to study the possible effects of protein on cancer.
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