Do you eat dairy? Should I be consuming dairy products? Omnivore responses only.

I eat lots of dairy. Lots of cheese. Can't imagine life without cheese.

Exes and Ohs wrote:

Dairy products are an excellent source of protein and calcium and are fairly economical as well. If you can digest them and enjoy them, consume them! I eat at least two cups of greek yogurt a day (great for protein and low in fat) and don't get me started on the deliciousness of cheese.

They also have bad fat and high consumption has been linked with prostate cancer.

"Bad Fat?" Oh please. I'm a skinny runner with low cholesterol. Greek yogurt is non fat! Plus "high consumption?" Moderation in all things, my son. High consumption of just about anything is not good for you.

Keep eating those wonderful soy products and grow some man-boobs from the estrogen. Women, who don't have prostates would greatly benefit from the calcium in dairy products. Have you ever heard of "dowagers hump?" Lack of calcium.

Exes and Ohs wrote:

"Bad Fat?" Oh please. I'm a skinny runner with low cholesterol. Greek yogurt is non fat! Plus "high consumption?" Moderation in all things, my son. High consumption of just about anything is not good for you.

Keep eating those wonderful soy products and grow some man-boobs from the estrogen. Women, who don't have prostates would greatly benefit from the calcium in dairy products. Have you ever heard of "dowagers hump?" Lack of calcium.

So let me get this straight... You are suggesting that adults should breastfeed, and from another species? That is some crazy junk you're talking about right there.

Kevegan wrote:So let me get this straight... You are suggesting that adults should breastfeed, and from another species? That is some crazy junk you're talking about right there.

It is not even remotely crazy if you accept the underpinning premise of evolution that "it is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change" (Darwin). Humans emerged as a dominant species due to our ability to adapt to practically every land environment on Earth, exploiting practically every food source.

Personally I avoid dairy generally due to a casein intolerance. There is however plenty of variation within the species and plenty of adult humans who can exploit non-human dairy (although modern processing methods may be creating very different problems).

Kevegan wrote:

So let me get this straight... You are suggesting that adults should breastfeed, and from another species? That is some crazy junk you're talking about right there.

Why is it any weirder to drink an animal's milk than its flesh? One is specifically made to be food, the other isn't. Besides, humanity's MO has always been to eat everything we can digest.

Kevegan wrote:

So let me get this straight... You are suggesting that adults should breastfeed, and from another species? That is some crazy junk you're talking about right there.

If you equate eating yogurt with breastfeeding, you have some serious issues.

Exes and Ohs wrote:

"Bad Fat?" Oh please. I'm a skinny runner with low cholesterol. Greek yogurt is non fat! Plus "high consumption?" Moderation in all things, my son. High consumption of just about anything is not good for you.

Keep eating those wonderful soy products and grow some man-boobs from the estrogen. Women, who don't have prostates would greatly benefit from the calcium in dairy products. Have you ever heard of "dowagers hump?" Lack of calcium.

If I remember correctly, milk has estrogens in it. And those are no plant estrogens but animal kind.

Almond milk is good too.

Women have ovaries. There' also a possible link with ovarian cancer. Leafy greens have calcium too.

Being skinny is no guarantee of low cholesterol.

I've always eaten a lot of dairy and thought that I had no problems with it.

However, recently I spent some time in China during which I ate none at all. Within a week I had massive improvements in my skin, allergies and asthma (and this was Beijing with all the smog issues btw!). Since returning I've carried on avoiding it and I've continued to have better than ever skin and no need at all for an inhaler. I cant guarantee cause and effect, but it does seem quite a coincidence if my improved health doesn't have at least something to do with cutting out dairy

eatingclubs wrote:

Only if you are prepared to get the directly from the source (i.e. mouth to cow/goat teat). Why don't cows drink human milk?

They don't eat the burgers you flip either

cottage club wrote:

does yoghurt have lactose, or does it all get converted?

Most of the lactose gets converted, so it contains small amounts of lactose which may or may not trigger lactose-intolerance depending on the individual. Some yogurts (like Yami) are explicitly lactose-free. Some dairy products which become basically lactose-free by processing (yogurt, cream cheese) have lactose added back in after the fact for god knows what reason, so you have to watch out for those if you're a lactard.

I eat lactose-free dairy like twice a day, a cup of milk and a container of yogurt usually, I've felt better since I've started eating dairy again (went without it for years)

Let Us Run wrote:

[quote]Kevegan wrote:

Besides, humanity's MO has always been to eat everything we can digest.

False. I COULD digest poop....I won't.

Milk intake correlates with higher mortality rate, more fractures:

http://www.chron.com/life/healthzone/article/Study-Milk-intake-linked-to-higher-death-5858608.php

Note that the correlation was seen only with milk, not with cultured dairy products like yogurt and cheese, raising the possibility that it's the lactose that's the problem, because culturing removes most of the lactose, not fat or other components.

For the record I consume lots of dairy (yogurt, cheese, butter) but don't drink milk.

I go through 2 gallons of milk a week with a little help from my girlfriend. Also a cup of greek yogurt every day, and frozen yogurt in my smoothie in the morning.

From that same link I also learned that exercise increases tooth decay risk.

No reason not to eat dairy if you can digest it. I think a lot of the lactose intolerant people are fadders, like the wheat free people anyways. Sure they won't drink a glass of milk, but then you'll see them having a slice of pizza or a piece of chocolate.

[quote]petri dish wrote:

Milk intake correlates with higher mortality rate, more fractures:

http://www.chron.com/life/healthzone/article/Study-Milk-intake-linked-to-higher-death-5858608.php

The women who are going to be drinking that much are ones who have been diagnosed with osteoperosis.

Eveything is bad for you, but full fat milk only contains 4% fat and is a good recovery aid to training

Lactose intolerance is exagerated and not that common. There are women I work with claiming to be lactose intolerant - so they skip a dash of milk in their tea while chomping on biscuits and cake

1. the article already cautioned that the study results do not mean causal relationship between milk drinking and death rate/health problem2. the study compared women drink 3 cups/day to 1 cup/day. it did not compare those drink 1 cup/day to non-milk drinkers and did not conclude women/men live longer by not drinking milk.3. If the study results hold true that milk drinkers have (lead to?) lower HDL cholesterol then I don't know how to explain my moderately high HDL cholesterol number (and low LDL + very low triglyceride numbers) while having WHOLE milk every morning. (I run 35 MPW. And I eat cookies. I'm normal skinny, not runner skinny.)4. The protein in milk is excellent source of protein--whey protein. I'd say, Drink up!

petri dish wrote:

Milk intake correlates with higher mortality rate, more fractures:

http://www.chron.com/life/healthzone/article/Study-Milk-intake-linked-to-higher-death-5858608.php

Note that the correlation was seen only with milk, not with cultured dairy products like yogurt and cheese, raising the possibility that it's the lactose that's the problem, because culturing removes most of the lactose, not fat or other components.

For the record I consume lots of dairy (yogurt, cheese, butter) but don't drink milk.

Thanks for the info. However,

petri dish wrote:

Milk intake correlates with higher mortality rate, more fractures.......

...in a single study. From that study:

"Meta-analyses of cohort studies on the association between milk intake and mortality11 and fractures12 13 have shown significant heterogeneity between studies. In the higher milk consumption category, for example, some show lower mortality rates and some show higher. ."

So I could also say: milk intake correlates with LOWER mortality rate.

This study shows no difference:

Furthermore, the study lumped all levels of milk fat consumption into one category (0%, 2%, and whole milk were all counted the same). It is possible that high whole milk consumption, with significantly more fat, sat fat, and calories than fat-free milk, could have negative effects on health if one already consumes a lot of calories. And, in fact, at least in women, the higher milk drinkers did state that they consumed significantly more calories and sat fat than the low milk drinkers.

Anyway, food for thought. I would say the evidence points to dairy being fairly neutral at this point, or at least uncertain. I would not state that there is good evidence (for tose without lactose intolerance) to avoid milk, especially low fat milk, which is an excellent hydration source, a very good protein source, and provides several micronutrients. Lastly, quite a few studies link it to having body weight lowering qualities.