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“Sugar — in the form of lactose — contributes about 55 percent of skim milk’s calories, giving it ounce for ounce the same calorie load as soda” — Neal Barnard, President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

That just happens to be one answer to a question we get asked every day at Plan Z the Diet by Zola. “Why do you suggest I quit drinking milk?”

But wait. There’s more.

After infancy, you don’t need milk. It’s a simple fact. Milk is a substance produced by mammals to nourish their newborn babies. Baby mammals — including humans — depend on milk until their digestive systems have had enough time to mature and allow them to eat solid food.

After they begin eating solid food, the animals don’t go back to drinking milk.
That is, of course, unless they’re human.

I used to drink milk; lots of it. I was raised in Appleton, Wisconsin; pretty much smack dab in the middle of the Dairy State. We had a milk man who delivered (sometimes twice a day) to our house. We had such huge containers of milk in our refrigerator they took up most of a shelf and even had spouts on them. As kids we could serve ourselves without having to even reach for a milk carton.

At grade school I wasgiven milk three times a day.
In high school I bought milk from the vending machines.
As an adult I drank a gallon of milk every two days.

I loved milk. I loved it so much I craved it for over two years after I had given it up.

Today the Department of Agriculture’s recommendation for dairy is still 3 cups daily for every man, woman and child over age 9. This in a country where as many as 50 million people are lactose intolerant, including 90 percent of all Asian-Americans and 75 percent of all African-Americans, Mexican-Americans and Jews.

No one actually needs to drink milk. The myth is you need milk for calcium and bone strength. This is in fact FALSE. If you are really interested in this subject and want to get the lowdown on the science, read this entry at saveourbones.com.

All of this doesn’t mean I recommend you quit drinking white liquid or give up smoothies. Try drinking unsweetened almond milk. Or my favorite, unsweetened coconut milk. I just bought a carton today and plan to have a mango smoothie for breakfast.

I have shut the refrigerator door on cow milk.

If you’re still not convinced, Google “milk bad” and read up. You’ll find out raw milk is slightly better for you than pasteurized milk but still not really beneficial to your health. You’ll find out pasteurized milk is pretty much devoid of the healthy elements we thought was in it. You’ll find out cheese and yogurt digest much more easily than milk, and why. And you’ll find out there are plenty of other sources where you can get your calcium.

MOOOOVE over milk. Water is the drink of the day.

Cheers,