Milk.
There
was a time that I thought I could live on cereal and even tried. I don't recall
I time where I ever didn't love cereal. As a kid I was drawn to the brightly,
colored boxes that had the biggest, most bad ass prize in the box (cereal type
was occasionally irrelevant if the toy was cool enough). The bright visuals of the packages and whacky
cartoon characters that were clearly dreamt up by some meth addict on a bad
trip, called my name and I answered with open arms. Unfortunately, my family
wasn't really loaded with cash and buying a box of sugar that was disguised as
FDA approved cereal was just not cost effective given its short life span in
the cupboards. Occasionally my brother and I were treated with 'kids' cereals,
but it was a rarity. I really didn't know any better so there was no bitterness
whatsoever towards my mom at the time especially since I learned that pouring
sugar over any kind of cereal was just as rewarding. One of the best parts
about mowing down a big ole bowl of sugar-laced cereal was the cloudy leftover
milk that I would slurp down in pure bliss, savoring every fructose-laden drip
of goodness. It was take a good 30
seconds or so for the stream of milky sugar to slowly make its way from its way.
I'd wait..patiently..in anticipation of that sweet, caloric goodness that would
fuel my morning. Ahh…sugary milk. Cheers
to that.
When
I went off to college my addiction continued. I clearly remember the first time
I went to the grocery store to load up on my first, unsupervised adult stock of
food. No parental advisement, no restrictions..no joke. Hello Lucky
Charms-where have you been all my life? Hey you Cap'n Crunch-how you doin (in
my best "Joey", from Friends voice)? Reese's Puffs-ARE YOU F#$&ING
KIDDING ME??? The list was longer than Schindler's and just as painful. All
these delicious vices encouraged a ton of processed carbs and gallons by
gallons of milk. The satisfaction of knocking out a box of cereal in two days
was occasionally cursed by a the roof of my mouth being raw (I blame the
Cap'n..) and excessive bloating. I thought it was all the sugar, but I was
wrong. The culprit for me was a surprising nemesis hidden by the media's
glorification-milk. I didn't realize this until very recently. For years, I've
felt the uncomfortable and often physically restricting side effects of sucking
down milk and never thought twice about it. Then, as my interest in endurance
sports and fueling my body took precedence over eating for entertainment
matured, I started asking questions. Always ask questions. "Never Stop
Exploring"-North Face.
A
couple months ago I was in a coffee shop chatting with some obvious locals in a
small town. Clearly they were farmers-bib overalls, black coffee. The sense of
hard work and accomplishment permeated the table. Being the social person I am,
I commented on the quality of the coffee and joined the conversation. Dairy
farmers, all three of them..I'm pretty sure one of them had cow crap on his
boot but I respected him too much to care. Somehow we began to discuss the
dairy industry. As you can imagine, I was a willing observer in the discussion
since I don't know a damn thing about farming. I've been on a few farms in my
day but always felt substantially out of place. My experiences have encouraged
me to be a little intimidated by cows. I remember in high school being on the
back of a four wheeler flying through the pasture as cows chased us. That had
the look of Satan Himself in their eyes and vegetarian or not, I thought wanted
to eat my liver. Yeahhh, not really my thing. My only draw to a farm at this
point is that I will--someday--take my turn riding a bull (of course wearing a
red shirt)-likely supported by the IPA of the day. That has got to be a
rush. Anyways, chatting with my new
farmer friends was enlightening to say the least. The conversation dipped and I
jumped at an opportunity to learn more. I did have a question. After reading up
on nutrition a lot lately, I wanted their take on milk and shelf life. I recall
a friend mentioning how milk, minus all the additives added into it for
preservation during the homogenization/pasteurization process, has a very low
refrigerated shelf life. This comment has always stuck in the back of mind and
this was my opportunity to ask about it. My question clearly instigated a
little debate but this is what I pulled from it: Hormones addictives given to
the cows clearly affect the milk and the overall nutritional value and general
health benefits. To support this, I referenced Dr. Phil Maffetone's
"Eating For Endurance". He
stated that bovine growth hormones increase milk production by 25%. Well,
that's all good..But, he continues reporting that this same growth hormone as
well as other "chemical contaminations" is contributors to the growth
of cancer cells, specifically breast cancer in women. FAIL. I know, I
know…everything causes cancer nowadays, right?! Think about it. If milk at its
purest form is only supposed be good for a few days, how is it sitting in
grocery stores for a couple weeks? Also, and this is my own theory--have you
noticed how kids seem to be physically maturing quicker these days? I tie that
to the hormone addictives in milk, meats, and other non-organic products. My
ten year old is more developed than I am. #notcool. Hell, I could be way off
but it's definitely something to consider.
Maffetone
also goes on to explain (warning: put down the ice cream before proceeding..)
that the growth hormones lead to udder infections, which leads to antibiotics
and other drugs, and pus from infected udders contribute to that creamy
goodness that we call milk. Mmm, Got Milk? No, but I'm going to yak now. I
understand that impurities wouldn't pass FDA infections..I mean, inspections..(Freudian
slip?) if there were obvious, serious health issues. But, how can we be sure
that our best interests are being upheld via FDA? Recent additional research
has really opened up my eyes about how politics and special interest groups
have a hand in everything. Our treasured nutritional pyramid is a good example
of this. Our children's meal plans at school, caloric recommendations, and tons
of other reference points in regards to nutritional standards all stem from the
Food Pyramid. Theorists have made valid concerns on the formation of this
standard of excellence considering the authors have significant political ties.
Something to ponder I guess. Things that make you go 'Hmmm..'
"Cow's
milk is for cows; human milk is for humans." I've heard this before but
never really let it sink in until I noticed the intestinal and GI issues that I
have discovered in myself from indulging.
Maffetone's breakdown of percentages of casein and whey in cow's milk
are the exact opposite of percentages in human milk (cow: 80/20; human 20/80).
There's research on goats milk but I'm already boring myself so I'll digress..
I'm
not going to bag on milk completely; clearly the reported benefits are
incredible for some but to each their own. I did some experimenting and cut
about 95% of dairy (feta in my salads is my primary current source…and has been
for 5-6 weeks now). For me personally, I feel better. Less GI issues, weight
loss, more lean muscle, better endurance. That is huge. Granted I have made
some other significant nutritional changes, but I know that this move was big
for me. As a student of nutrition, I didn't just cut out dairy and leave a gap
in my diet. I've replaced milk with soy and almond/soy milk. It's an acquired
taste, but it's not too bad. Works well with cereal, Starbucks, and White
Russians so all is good. Just like my pescatarianism, I'm not being a Hitler
about it at all. Life is too damn short for that crap…and I'm sure as hell not
giving up Fong's.
Calcium
intake has actually increased for me. The soy that use has 50% more calcium
than the skim milk I used to guzzle. Additionally, my daily intake of spinach
(loaded with calcium..) and few other things have really be a great milk
alternative.
I
have some definite vices that continue to haunt my diet that I am
addressing…baby steps! Gone are the days of Lucky Charms as it has been replaced
by steel cut oatmeal though-that is friggin huge for me. However, this historic
love has been replaced with a crouton addiction. Damn, that's good
stuff-salads, mix in with soups, pop it straight outta the bag..oooooh yeah
baby.
So,
as much as I hate titles, I guess I am a pescetarian-mostly dairy free-soy
infused freak. I've been called worse, I guess.
Thinking
about steroid-infused cows has encouraged more of a raw/whole food organic diet
for a large percentage of my day. Less processed and more natural ingredients
have increased nutritional value written all over it. It's challenging, time
consuming, occasionally restrictive, and a little more costly… but when have I
shyed away from a challenge or not thrived on restriction? Bring it biatch. I
like it; it's another discipline that I have in my life to keep me focused,
driven, and geared towards self improved--all factors that I dig.
Like
any major lifestyle change, I'm not recommending that people cut dairy-udders
would explore everywhere if mass milk consumption decreased dramatically. What
I recommend is making conscious efforts to question why you don't feel so hot
sometimes. We all feel like crap on occasion and likely don't think twice about
its source or maybe even just put a band aid on it by self-medicating it for
that single episode. The problem with that is we never truly find the source of
the discomfort, or the pain. We just keep covering it up and waiting patiently
for it to go away. Reactive vs. Proactive. I think it's astonishing to
hypothesize the difference that we would feel in our lives if we start
questioning discomforts and the route cause, not just the presenting aches and
pains. I think we've become comfortable about accepting the routine BS that we
encounter and are far less proactive because we accept it. Why accept anything
that causes pain? Make changes. Or, go ahead and sit back and allow history to
repeat itself..then post in on Facebook on how appalled you are. The definition
of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different
result. Insane in the membrane.
I
challenge you to examine one issue in your life, from nutrition to fitness,
relationships to recovery, self-anguished and guilt to your car insurance
policy. Taking a close look at any aspect in life can reveal opportunities for
improvement. Step two, be proactive vs. reactive. Step three, make a
sandwich-this shit is exhausting (hold the mayo).
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