I appreciate all the interesting suggestions from my last post.
I definitely will investigate goat’s milk, and see what my supplier options might be. Mary McGonigle Martin’s skimming idea is interesting, though then there’s the question of what I do with the cream. Discard it? That would hurt.
I am encouraged by the discussion about estrogens. Linda Diane Feldt’s observation about plant-based estrogens has me thinking that consuming lots of green-based juices could help off-set the cow-based estrogen. I’ve not known what to make about the arguments pro and con about soy, and I can’t say I understand that issue any further, except to appreciate from several health-care professionals now that fermented soy seems to impart more nutritional benefit that straight soy.
I also have a few more questions and concerns growing out of the Harvard Magazine article and the comments:
–Could the increased estrogen in milk be a factor in encouraging earlier adolescence, especially for girls? I’ve known of some girls entering adolescence at nine and ten years old.
–The article about the Mongolian researcher specifically mentioned that the cows in the research were grain fed. I wonder if grains have any bearing on estrogen levels, versus pasture fed, per Kathryn Russell’s questions.
–Another issue: I don’t like to abandon my farmer by suddenly discontinuing purchases of raw milk. I sense that my regular purchases represent an important source of support to her, financially and morale-wise.
–The study Dan Corrigan cites seems confusing, even contradictory. Farm milk helps alleviate certain conditions, yet boiling (the equivalent of pasteurization) seems not to have an effect, yet most people likely didn’t boil their milk, yet the authors can’t recommend consuming raw milk… Other than that, pretty straightforward.
And finally, I think Anna’s observation about making adjustments rather than wholesale changes is well taken. There is a tendency to react to every piece of research—the major media encourage this through highlighting of contradictory results from various studies about nutritional supplements. As Dave Milano says, the research results in the study I alluded to are far from complete or definitive. (Though it feels less commercially oriented than much of the research the media tends to focus on.)
I sense that I’ve developed some healthy habits by moving toward less processed and more locally produced foods over the last couple years. (I am just in the process of joining a Community Supported Agriculture program to obtain vegetables during the coming five months.) My inclination is to trust that overall such an approach produces more positives than negatives.
You might consider reading The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food by Kaayla T. Daniel to learn more about soy, then decide where you stand. There is a lot of pro-soy info out there, but I find much of it incomplete, uncritically accepted, and self-serving (by commercial interests). The author of this book is definitely not pro-soy, and she has asssembled an incredible amount of information to chew on.
The thing about soy is that it (or its fractionated parts) is in nearly every kind of processed food, much like ingredients of corn-origin. Many folks would even say they don’t eat soy, but if they eat the standard supermarket fare or at fast food places, they get plenty, they just don’t know it. Some folks think that Asians consume vast amounts of soy per capita and that accounts for some epidemialogical (sp?) differences, but there soy is more often in condiment amounts and in quite different forms (as you mention, fermented) than the typical American soy protein bars, ersatz burgers/bacon, soy milk, etc. Soy is another one of those foods that is a huge part of the American commodities and food manufacturing economy. That’s another reason to give it some consideration.
In case it isn’t obvious, after my own search for info, I have minimized my family’s consumption of soy in the past year or two, except for traditionally brewed raw soy sauce, raw miso, and things like that. I love boiled edamame, but I’ve even reduced that to a few times a year. For us, I thought the cons outweighed any potential benefits.
As for the increasing precocious puberty, and other estrogen-agonist conditions possibly caused by exposure to exogenous estrogens, one would have to also consider so many other sources of endocrine disrupters in plastics and plasticizers, personal care products (sunscreens?), household and garden chemicals, and so much more, plus the various animal products that have hormone residues. Personally, I would be more worried about the highly processed soy milk than well-produced milk direct from a farmer, for a lot of reasons, not just the estrogens or phyto-estrogens.
But like so many foods, more important than whether you decide to consume soy or not, is to be "mindful" of your consumption.
I just wanted to point out that you do not have to "boil" milk; that gentle pasteurization is possible, but gently pasteurized milk is not available in stores because it doesn’t increase shelf life enough; and that you can indeed skim goat milk.
Gwen
Another option is to buy and freeze milk from the spring when the cows are most likely not bred or in their 1st term, particularly if it is a seasonal dairy. This will be the best quality milk and at the time when the farmer most likely has a surplus of milk.
A beef cow will typically start to dry off at about 5 months from freshening, which is roughly at the end of the 1st trimester. Though if not weaned, a calf will continue to get a little milk through the entire pregnancy.
As far as trusting the results of one study; I don’t remember the exact statistics, but anymore studies typically have an abysmal repeatability rate.
And that doesn’t even begin to take into account the study itself (which almost no one even bothers to look up and read beyond the summary). Were commercial interests involved in the study in any way, from funding to to data collection/interpretation & design? I especially view epidemiological studies with extra scrutiny. They can be useful, but they can also lead one very astray. Diet studies are particularly difficult to design well. Many are based on memroy questionaires rather than daily diaries, therefore notoriously inaccurate (but diaries have their weak points, too), to the point of perhaps being no value, but they are inexpensive and easier to manage. Some useful studies involve study subjects in a more controlled situation, such as in hospitals or in-house situations, where dietary intake can be strictly monitored and accounted for, but these studies are restricted by high cost, limited number of sujects, and relatively short duration of the study (compared to longtime dietary habits which are probably more important). And dietary habits change over time, etc. Dietary influence on health are just hard to study.
And then there is the reporting of relative risk vs. absolute risk. These can be quite misleading (often intentionally, to encourage people in a particular direction). I am definitely not the best one to explain the difference, but knowing the difference is important before acting. And rarely does the risk reporting include further information on other details associated with the reported risk (or reduction of risk), such as the cost, how many will realize the benefit compared to how many won’t, etc. That is especially true of drug reports.
So, taking the long view (& perhaps ignoring the majority of the media reports on health studies) can really help temper all the ups and downs of worrying or getting excited about the latest studies. I’ll bet it really helps keep my blood pressure down :-). That way, it is possible to read through the health section of the newspaper without wanting to immediately purge the pantry, join a gym, or choke down a bowl of sawdust, I mean fiber, etc., only to find the reports the next week are that another study finds what you purged is now "healthy", joining a gym does something harmful, and too much fiber damages the colon, etc. (I’m mostly making these up for contrast, btw).
Ok, back to my coffee, which studies show ….
In addition to experiencing personal weight loss, I am learning that fat from grass-fed animals is a source for vitamin K2. Current research in the Netherlands and in Japan is demonstrating that vitamin K2 counters arterial calcification and osteoperosis. Chris Masterjohn has an excellent article in the Weston A. Price Foundation’s current journal "Wise Traditions" on this subject.
Other sources for vitamin K2 are foods that initially are rich in vitamin K1 but have been fermented. Good bacteria make the conversion. Fermented soy products seem to be especially rich in K2, but other sources are kim chee, sauerkraut and cheese.
As Anna recommends, don’t go overboard, and don’t discard the cream either!
Nina Planck (one of my favorite food writers) has a recent article on K2 on her website, http://www.ninaplanck.com, that might interest you.
I think it was in the Drs. Eades’ Protein Power Lifeplan book where I read something that made tons of sense to me (paraphrasing from memory): About 80% of the benefit of improved health from dietary changes is achieved just by getting off processed food and on to whole, real food (much of the food found around the perimeter of any grocery store, for example). That would be tremendous improvement for people on the Standard American Diet (SAD), and perhaps not so hard to do with a bit of effort and thought. The remaining 20% improvement is from further refinements such as organic foods; animal products raised humanely and in sync with their nature & needs; seeking the best (minimally processed, natural) fats; eating seasonally and locally, etc.
I’m guessing most of us who read this blog are working on that 20%.
I completely agree with you about the fat. My weight is about as low as it has been in 15 years (BMI 21.6) and I am eating much more fat than I ever have, but almost no starch and very little sugar (except what is in my non-starchy veggies and dark chocolate). It’s my main energy source. I do think it is harder to maintain weight and good glucose control on a high fat and high starch/sugar diet. Many of my friends think I am nuts when I say that I consider butter to be a health food & don’t restrict it at all (especially for my son). My husband (who practically eats butter like one would eat cheese) is so relieved that I no longer monitor his butter intake :-).
Did you read the recent headlines that the FDA is forcing the dairy industry to stop the dairy/weight loss ads? That issue was the result of some isolated study, and the dairy boards jumped all over it, using it to their advantage (ka-ching!).
You may also find it useful to visit my website: http://www.healinginstitute.info