Is cows milk bad for you?

Question

OK I've just seen a question on cows and milk and some people are saying milk is bad, so what in milk is so bad, I know it's good for Calcium (strong teeth & bones.) but I've never heard of it being bad except for people who are lactose intollerant.

I'm not being silly, I'me being confused as to why people are saying it's bad.

Answer 1

I've heard that, too. But I think, overall, cow's milk does a body more good than harm.

Answer 2

The fats in goats milk are more like the fats in human milk, I think the fat moleules are smaller or something; so goats milk is easier to digest and better than cows milk. The cholesterol in cows milk isn't a problem because cholesterol does not cause heart disease; your ability to metabolise cholesterol is impaired if you are under stress, and that can be an early indicator of heart disease, so the cholesterol isn't a problem. So unless you are unable to digest it, cows milk is a perfectly good food. W eseem to be more prone to these food myths than in years gone by, which is a shame. People deprive themselves when theres no good reason.
I can't drink cows milk but can eat cheese and yoghurt, I don't know why. Also 10% of the population are allergic to soya, it causes digestive upsets. Consumption of soya milk in pregnancy increases the chances that the baby will have a peanut allergy.

Answer 3

I think cow's milk is okay for you IF it has not been ultrapasteurized and if it does not have Human Growth Hormones in it. The process of pasteurization kills the enzymes that your body needs to digest milk and obviously you do not need to ingest hormones into your body via milk. If you want to drink milk products go organic. I think it is best to stay away from milk altogether unless it has been cultured, like yogurt, sour cream, or cheese, in which case enzymes have been added back to it that help you digest it. You can get plenty of calcium by eating green leafy vegetables.

Answer 4

Some people say that full-cream milk has the wrong kind of fat in it (cholesterol).

It does contain lactose and I believe that if you are given cows milk too young, you can develop lactose intolerance (as well as genetically, I mean).

It's certainly not good for kitties.

Answer 5

Even people who are lactose intolerant drink cow's milk. They consume a lactose free product. (it's partially skimmed but I think it tastes almost like whole milk, it stays fresh longer than normal milk, and has added vitamin A and D).

I personally don't think cow's milk is bad for you because of the vitamins and minerals you get from it. There are a lot of other things we consume that are bad, like foods high in fat and high in sugar.

Answer 6

The milk itself isn't bad for you. After all humans have been drinking it for thousands of years. What worries some people is that the antibiotics and Hormones in it might be bad for people. Cows just don't produce milk, they have to be to pregnant first. So dairy cows are feed artificial hormones to make them think they are pregnant so they keep producing milk.

Answer 7

lt's good for everyone,except those who have allergies to diary products or are lactose intolerant (as you noted) and newborn babies...they do better with human milk.
Infant formula is cow's milk that has been made to be as much like breast milk as possible but still predisposes to allergies in babies because the molecules are too large to be properly absorbed by the intestinal villi.
Apart from that,there's nothing really wrong with cow's milk.

Answer 8

The people who say it is bad may be concerned over the amount of hormones that are pumped into the cow during it's life and the consumption of those hormones by the rest of us.
Some would say that is the reason kids today are taller earlier and young girls seem to be developing much faster than in previous years.
Farmers want more production but I have to wonder at what cost to the public. And I drink the stuff like crazy. Yikes!

Answer 9

I made myself a really big strong coffee this morning then realised I had no milk. So I heaped sugar in it instead. A clear case of a lack of cow's milk being bad for you.

Some people just want to diss everything mainstream, so for them it's bad. A much smaller number of people are genuinely intolerant for sure. But for the rest, as the methodists say in honour of their founder:

IN ALL THINGS, MODERATION!!

sorry just felt like shouting that bit.

Answer 10

I think the people who believe it is bad do so because of the fat content. Although full fat cows milk contains no more than 4% fat which is less than some of those diet bar things. Too much milk might be bad but then too much of most things is bad.