by Bonnie Kretchik

Created on: July 07, 2008

Who hasn't enjoyed a tall glass of cold milk with some cookies or slurped up the sugary remains of a favorite cereal at the end of the bowl? Milk is a staple in most people's diets and has been for years. But, should it be? Milk's health benefits have been touted for decades. Who can forget the slogans, "Milk, it does a body good" and "got milk?" endorsed by celebrities time and time again. Unfortunately in today's society those slogans should read something more like, "milk, it does a body sort of good sometimes" and "got growth hormones?".

As we all know, drinking milk has many health benefits. It's a good source of calcium and Vitamins A, D, B-12, which play important roles in growth and development. It's also a natural source of protein, potassium, phosphorus, niacin and riboflavin, all of which are vital to human functioning. Research has even suggested that drinking milk can aid in weight loss and that chocolate milk could be the ideal post-workout drink due to its perfect proportion of protein and carbohydrates. Americans spend billions of dollars in weight loss aids and workout recovery drinks a year and here all they had to do was drink milk, the low fat kind of course.

It almost sounds too good to be true. That's because it is. Although milk can be good for some of the population, approximately 50% of the adult population is lactose intolerant and many don't even know it. These individuals suffer from bloating and gas as a result of consuming milk and milk products. What's worse though, is that today's milk isn't nearly as pure as it was fifty years ago. Today, many dairy farmers use a growth hormone in their cows to increase milk production. This can lead to inflammation of the udder and contaminates the milk produced. Antibiotics used in treating this inflammation have also been found in trace amounts in the milk. Furthermore, milk can contain remnants of anything the cows grazed on. Do you know where the cows that produced your milk last ate?

With all of the possible contaminants in today's milk, it's no wonder people are beginning to doubt milk's benefits. Would you want to drink a glass of growth hormone? How about some bovine antibiotics? Was that cow grazing on an old nuclear testing site? Every pesticide, herbicide, bacteria that the cow ate can wind up in your cereal bowl.

But, should we skip milk altogether? The answer is, not necessarily. Organic milk, although a bit more expensive, is free of all growth hormones and antibiotics since all of the cows are raised organically. Furthermore, the cows must be grass fed on an organic site in order to be classified as such. So, this milk is far more pure than regular milk. Furthermore, one must keep in mind the type of milk they drink when trying to reap benefits. For example, trying to lose weight by drinking whole milk eight times a day is probably not going to get you very far. Similarly, milks classified as "super skim" are generally loaded with added artificial ingredients to make it taste more like whole milk without the fat. Flavored milks such as strawberry, vanilla, and banana are full of sugars and colors, which have no health benefits whatsoever.

If you really want to reap the health benefits of milk and milk products, without actually consuming dairy there are many alternatives. Soy and almond milks come in a variety of flavors and taste pretty close to the real thing. Try something different like almond cheese for a low fat alternative to whole milk cheese. The bottom line is, milk can be very healthy for you if it is pure, but it can also be a high fat, high calorie, artificially enhanced, contaminated product if you are not careful.

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