As a kid, and up until yesterday, I believed that skim milk was about the most perfect thing for you. Calcium, protein, no fat, what's not perfect about it? Well, potentially a lot, if you believe the words written by Dr Campbell in his book, the China Study (yes, those are two separate but related links).
The other day at the CSA I had some time to kill, so I picked up their copy of the China Study and started reading it. I won't go into a full review here, but I do want to describe the part that pertains to my opening line.
Campbell did a study where they gave rats liver cancer, then fed them either a 20% milk protein diet, or a 5% milk protein diet. He claims 100% of the rats on the 20% milk protein diet fully developed the liver cancer, while 0% (yes, that's none) of the rats on only 5% protein diet actually developed the disease. He then goes on to say that milk will give you cancer, and laments this fact seeing as he grew up as a dairy farmer.
So, uh, that sucks, first of all. Second, I'm not going to stop ingesting dairy products, no matter how strong his evidence is. Third, and lastly, it has however scared me enough that I have reduced my intake of milk, from a pint+ at dinner to a small glass, probably only 4-6 oz.
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