The milk industry has pushed the need for its presence in every home since the 19th century. Milk advertisements, especially from the well-known advertisement campaign “Got Milk?”, were everywhere and often reinforced the potential benefits of drinking the product to people. According to Fast Company, during the ’90s and lasting for two decades, “Got Milk? dominated the public consciousness, more than 70 commercials ran on television in California alone, and some 350 milk mustache ads ran nationally in print and on TV—at a time when those two media were still all-powerful. Any given day, an estimated 80% of all U.S. consumers came into contact with that innocent little question: Got Milk?”
The idea that circulated through homes, schools, the doctors’ office and even on television is that drinking milk helps build strong bones due to its high percentage of calcium. However, over time with extensive research and more advanced technology, researchers debunked many statements just like that one. According to the Physicians Committee, “Milk and other dairy products are the top sources of saturated fat in the American diet, contributing to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. Studies have also linked dairy to an increased risk of breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers.”
Not only are there potential long-term risks for its consumption, but drinking the product also causes problems that can be identified no more than thirty minutes after. According to News 18, “Usually, dairy products thicken your mucus and so it takes longer for the thicker mucus to get out of your system consequently causing acute congestion. One of such dairy products is whole milk which thickens the mucus and also accelerates its production. The same is the case with our favorite ice cream, which contains ‘casein’ that results in nasal congestion.”
A common problem that many people face from consuming dairy products is being lactose intolerant. This problem is because when we are babies, we have an enzyme called lactase that helps in the production of breaking down lactose which is prominently found in not only cows milk but our own mothers’ milk as well. However, there is a point where your mother will stop breastfeeding you. As you grow and mature, that enzyme loses its ability to function, therefore making it hard for you to continue breaking down lactose which will now cause “upset stomach, diarrhea, and gas.”
People deal with this every day and choose to either ignore the problem or take lactaid supplements to provide them with fast relief and to avoid those problems in the first place. Yeah, sure, you get to enjoy your favorite products, but most people are trying to reverse a natural occurrence for the sake of enjoyment and familiarity.
Individuals can completely avoid all the negative side effects by switching their consumption to a variety of nut milk. The most popular is Almond milk, but there is also cashew, macadamia nut, hazelnut, walnut and peanut. Most of these not only provide calcium, but some also provide protein! Individuals who have a nut allergy can look into soy milk or rice milk, these two have a low percentage of lactase, but it’s not as strong as what you would find in regular cow’s milk, allowing the consequences to not be as severe.
You have the knowledge, you have the information, do something with it and make a change in your diet for the sake of your well-being now and in the long run.