I really don't like milk. I never have, and most likely never will. I remember when I was little I would drink maybe a glass or two weekly. Today, I can't even remember the last time I drank it! Okay, I do have my reasons though. First off, I'm slightly lactose intolerant, so if I don't take my lactose intolerance medication before drinking milk, I get terrible stomach aches. That may have something to do with it. I know that numerous people share this trait with me. And it's not fun. Even if I take medicine before eating dairy products, my stomach still hurts after eating something as simple as a bowl of ice cream or macaroni and cheese. But mainly, I honestly just don't like it. To me at least, milk tastes strange, makes my stomach hurt, and causes me to cringe every time I drink it.
Now some of you milk-drinkers out there are probably mad that I'm basing this entirely off of my own personal opinion. However, it turns out that I am not alone in my quest to not drink milk. Many professionals have stated that drinking milk past childhood is in fact not as good for you as they once thought. First off, cow-milk, what we normally drink, was made especially for baby calves and not for humans. Every species has its own, unique version of milk, and they drink milk from their own kind. So it seems a bit odd that we drink the milk of other animals. Besides, baby mammals like calves only drink milk when they are young. Then they stop. Humans, on the other hand, drink milk all throughout their lives, contradicting the natural pattern that mammals follow. Also, milk ironically depletes the calcium from your bones. This goes against everything we have known about milk. I grew up hearing that I should drink a glass of milk every day (which I did not do) so that I would stay healthy and build up strong bones. Now, that entire idea is being questioned. Should we really be drinking milk throughout our entire lives?
Whether you don't drink milk for personal reasons or for health reasons, there are always other ways to get calcium into your diet. Exhibit A: Almond Milk. This is one of my greatest discoveries. The world outside of dairy milk. If you find a good brand of soy milk or almond milk, it is a great substitute for cow-milk. Personally, I love Silk Almond Milk. After growing up with hating regular milk, I was surprised to find a drink like milk that actually tasted good. Not to mention the fact that almond milk can have more nutrients in it than regular milk. When I first started drinking Silk Milk, I realized that there was a whole 50% more calcium in it than regular milk. It also tastes wonderful in cereal and in cooking experiments like macaroni and cheese! Another way to get calcium into your diet without milk is by consuming other forms of dairy more. There's yogurt, cheese, and so much more.
This concludes my rant about milk. I never thought I would end up writing about such a random topic, but it happened. Now I can officially say that I have written a blog post about how terrible milk is. I understand that some of you may feel differently, but now you have a look into the other side of this dairy drink. Thank you for listening! (:
I guess I can see your point there, about how technically we don't really need to drink milk throughout our lives. But I think that the main reason why we drink milk made from other animals is due to our evolutionary history. For thousands of years in many different cultures we've been drinking milk, making cheeses, the whole lot, mainly because we weren't able to get sufficient nutrients back then. I guess not liking milk nowadays since we don't need all the nutrients that we did is an evolutionary advantage. Even so, I personally love the taste of milk, maybe to an unhealthy point. I probably drink much more than I should actually. Anyhow, people have different opinions, and if something tastes bad to them and makes them get a stomach ache/feel sick when they eat it, I can definitely see why your opinion is strong on this topic. Good choice to write about Theresa :)
ReplyDeleteGood point, Rachel! Milk sure has helped us out a lot throughout the years. Without it, it would have been hard to get the nutrients we needed to survive. I still don't like milk, but I'm glad that others do in my place. Thank you for the comment, Rachel (:
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