Day 67, It Does a Body Good?

How many celebrities in a mustache does it take to convince Americans that something is good for them?

Well, according to Wikipedia, at least 277 celebrities have endorsed the campaign. What campaign? Why, the "Got Milk?" campaign of course! And even on their website, www.whymilk.com, there are currently 28 celebrities donning the infamous milk mustache.

So that means it MUST be good for you right? Because all of these celebrities would never endorse something unless they totally and completely believe in it...

Hahaha, sorry...everyone needs a chuckle once in a while.

Let's get real.

This blog began last night, when one of my roommates mentioned that she thinks she might be lactose intolerant. My other roommate mentioned how her mother became lactose intolerant as she got older. And of course, this began a whole conversation for me.

Why do you think so many adults are lactose intolerant? (I won't even go into why I think people have allergies to soy and wheat...I'll save those blogs for another day.) How is it that such a large number of people can have an allergy to one particular food group?

My opinion...it's because our bodies are not meant to eat it! And yes, many people's bodies have adapted and become accustomed to dairy. At least they think so (note: stomach aches, diarrhea, cramping, acne...they don't just happen on their own. Not saying it's necessarily because of dairy, but it could be.)

Humans are the only animals to continue to drink milk after being weaned. No other mammal depends on dairy for strong bones or other minerals/vitamins. They get these by eating plants and grains. Humans are capable of getting their nutrients the same way. But we all know how hard it is to get children to eat their vegetables, so lets just give them some naturally fatty/sugary milk. They don't like that either? Add chocolate. Problem solved. Right...

Breast milk is designed so that it is fatty and contains a lot of vitamins, minerals, hormones, etc. Because milk is designed to aid a baby in the first and biggest growth spurt of their life! After they've been weaned and are capable of digesting real food, they don't need milk anymore.

And what about all of those adds that say kids need milk to grow strong bones? I call BULLSHIT!!!

First of all, there are people in other countries who consume WAY less dairy than we do, and guess what...they actually have less percentages of osteoporosis! Our bodies will absorb calcium, we don't need to overload it.

Okay...so plenty of research is out there to prove this, yes? Yes. I'll post some links at the bottom of my post. But what about the research that says we DO need dairy? Hmm...

I'll answer that with a story that seems unrelated. But it's not. I promise.

My boyfriend gave up red meat for Lent this year. Before he did this, he wasn't sure if he needed to give up pork or not. After some research, he learned that pork is, in fact, red meat. Whaaaaat? But isn't pork "the other white meat"??? Oh the power of advertisement!!!

In the 80s, due to a general perception that chicken and turkey were healthier than red meat, the US National Pork Board began the advertisement we all know and remember, which calls pork "the other white meat" to boost its consumption. And by god, it worked! Sales went up like crazy! Yay for marketing.

How does that relate? Because the milk campaign does the exact same thing, just in a different way! They market it so that you will buy it. They don't do it for your health, they do it for their wallets.

What about all of the research on their website? I truly do wonder who funds it.

Unfortunately, I do not have the money or resources right now to do an extensive background check on who funds the research for milk, but having seen a ridiculous amount of documentaries, I feel it is safe to say that there is a high probability that a dairy foundation is behind that funding. Which means Milk has a lot of control over how these studies are run and what information is being released.

A lot of research has been done to test the accuracy of the milk campaign studies, and a group of researchers even found that several of these studies had to be rejected because they didn't have adequate controls. Research has also shown that our bodies absorb the calcium in dark green leafy vegetables better than the calcium in dairy. (We absorb the same amount of calcium in a cup of cooked kale as we do in a cup of cow's milk). Not to mention, dairy protein can actually keep you from absorbing calcium.

And now, to try and sum up this ridiculously long blog. Milk and dairy can affect you negatively, and it is not absolutely necessary for one to consume it after one has finished breastfeeding. (Note: I have not once said that milk is bad for you or that you need to stay completely away from it--unless it does affect you negatively and you know this about your own body.)

Do I love cheese? Absolutely. Has cottage cheese been one of my favorite foods since high school? Totally. Is ice cream one of the most wonderful treats in the world? Fuck yea. Have I personally given up all dairy forever and ever amen? Hell no.

Enjoy it in moderation! A little bit here and there! Because if you're going to eat it, you may as well eat it as naturally as possible (ie: no fat free junk that's filled with crazy ass fillers...they don't taste as good anyways, right?). Which means it's going to have fat, which means you should be eating it in moderation to begin with.

But a glass of milk a day? It isn't necessary. And just think, you're feeding the pockets of a huge, greedy corporation a lot more than you're feeding your own health.

On that note, try to buy organic. And be sure it comes from cows that are grass-fed. Otherwise you're likely ingesting all kinds of pesticides and hormones and crap that you really, really don't need.

To finish, I love my roommates to death and fully support their dairy habits (along with all of my friends/family) as long as they're healthy and happy!

Some links:

http://www.pcrm.org/magazine/gm05spring/milk_myth.html (A great article with great research to back it up).
http://www.worldchiropracticalliance.org/tcj/2001/feb/feb2001twarner.htm (Another great article with more great research).
http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/archives/2009/06/sometimes_science_makes_me_sick.html (A funny blog that helps prove my point about marketing and research).

Day 2: Holy Cow Man

I was going to write a post this morning, with no other motivation than my experience on Wii Fit last night. For the record, my BMI is about 21.5 and my Wii Fit Age is only 22 (I'm 23).

But then, I happened to watch Food Inc. today. Have you seen it? Holy cow. Or, in the case of corporate American farming...not-so-holy cow.

I'll try not to get into a lot of details of the movie, but really...you should watch it. Don't worry, it's not like the book The Jungle, and it won't turn you into a vegetarian or vegan. In fact, one of my favorite interviews was with a farmer who raised chicken, pigs, etc. and refuses to sell out to corporate American farming practices. Rock on, fella. BUT...it will definitely get you to think twice (three times, even) about where your food is coming from.

I'll admit, I'm definitely turning into a big hater of mass-produced anything. But, I'm also broke, so I understand the appeal. I've managed to give up Walmart (yea...I watched that documentary, too), but I'm not going to pretend like Target (one of my favorite stores) is an angel.

But the most important information that I took away from this documentary was not just about the evils of corporation and money. Not just about the poor conditions for workers or the animals being produced. Among all of these concerns, my biggest is the quality of nutrition (or lack thereof?).

I already knew that most mass-produced beef cattle are fed corn (because corn is used in EVERYTHING)...but I didn't realize that eating corn is what causes Ecoli in cows. ECOLI people...not fucking cool. Cows are meant to eat grass...this is why. And don't think you're safe if only one cow gets Ecoli. Because in mass production, that one cow's meat is mixed with thousands of other cows' meat. (Hence nationwide outbreaks...awesome). And the Ecoli in spinach (that outbreak was in 2006, I believe)? That's because all of these mass-produced-cows' shit gets dumped into waters that end up being used to irrigate crops. YUMMY!

I haven't even started on chicken or pigs yet. And have I mentioned that corn is used in EVERYTHING? Because it is...in genetically altered forms with names that you might recognize, but probably can't pronounce. High Fructose Corn Syrup is only one among many.

Personally, I'd like everything that enters my body to be natural unless I specifically choose something that I know isn't. (I had a Splenda addiction...and I mean addiction...for a year or two.) But our super fun, FDA this, Censor that, control control control government will actually pass laws that protect companies from labeling whether or not their food is genetically altered. In fact, one company basically dominates most of the soybean industry...they genetically alter soybeans to make them immune to pesticides and such. And farmers that don't comply get to lose thousands and thousands of dollars in lawsuits! Yay government!!!

Well, now my roommates have put a movie on (Paranormal Activity...I've wanted to see it for months), so I'm going to end my ranting for today.

I will say, before I go, that unfortunately I did not eat completely vegan today. Apparently, the won ton wrappers that I used to make "vegan" pot stickers have eggs in the ingredients. But, they are organic...so I feel better about that at least.

Tomorrow I've got a sushi date w/ the boyfriend...but I'm going to try to order off of a "sustainable seafood" guide so I can eat healthier AND protect our ocean! Mmm...I love sushi. But other than that...all vegan and organic tomorrow. Rock on.

Like Julie and Julia, but with way less butter.

I'm not a blogger.

I didn't keep a diary as a young girl. Diaries, blogs, and typing in general tend to get me into trouble...because my fingers type a lot faster than my censoring capabilities can keep up with. The fun part of typing an e-mail, blog, or text is the ability to review and edit it before you push "send." But I'm not so good at checking my work, and like I said, I get myself into trouble.

SO...this blog will be about my journey to finding a healthier lifestyle. Because I can't hurt Big Mac's feelings by accidentally calling it fat or stupid. And a Butterfinger Blizzard probably won't go do something so scandalous that I feel the need to tell the world about it.

However, I will probably end up offending: vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians, carnivores, overweight people, super skinny people, nutritionists, fast food junkies, and other bloggers. Too damn bad...get over it.

Recipes, nutrition statistics, and other commentary (especially if it's controversial) are totally welcome.