MILK Yay or Nay

[C0LUMB0]

I'm pretty much as hardcore "Pro" milk a guy as you will ever meet.

I routinely drank a gallon a day at one point in time for over a year. I still average half a gallon of 2% milk every day just because I love the taste of milk so much.

That said I will list the good and the bad of milk.


The GOOD:

The most anabolic food, period. This is not debatable. Casein is a superb protein. Milk sugar is an ideal bulking agent. People really seem to gloss over how anabolic carbs are. When you bulk it is the combination of moderate to high protein, HIGH carb and moderate or higher fat intake leading to a surplus of calories that is ideal for growth.

Provided you don't have milk allergy or have lactose intolerance you can literallly live off milk alone with vitamin/mineral supplementation. Milk is literally a perfect food. People that milk doesn't agree with love to bash milk, but I challenge anyone to name one food, just one food out there that you could literally live off of that supplies adequate protein, carbs and fats all by itself and you can actually tolerate it's constant presence in your diet. You're going to have to think REAL hard.

Mark Rippetoe likes to advise drinking a gallon of milk a day if weight gain, bulking or as fast as possible strength gains are your priority. Nowhere is 6 pack abs or definition mentioned. Drinking a gallon of milk a day in combination with basic heavy training has been common knowledge since the 40's.

Alot of people are under the notion that you need to take in 1 to even 2 grams OR even more protein per pound of bodyweight whether natural or chemically enhanced to gain muscles. This is a load of crap. I do believe if you are cutting weight that a very high protein intake is good, but this is because of the reduced carb and fat intake which causes a less than favorable anabolic environment. Creating an anabolic environment in your body has far less to do with total protein intake than many people realize. Water volume related to water intake, carb intake is vital. Fat intake and the production of hormones and surplus energy is vital. Protein is essential for repairing muscle tissue, but is not required at some of the ridiculous levels often quoted if both carbs and fats are adequate.

The milk that you buy in the supermarket is the crappiest kind of milk. That said the protein is just as good as that found in raw milk and so is the milk sugar. The main difference between raw milks incredible value and typical pasteurized milk is raw milk's enzymes, higher vitamin/mineral content and the alpha lipoic acid in it. If I could only have 1 food it would be good raw milk from a well cared for cow. I have never been to a dairy farm though I have driven by a ton of them and I know that the quality standards are far lower in a mass production farm because they can kill off any dirty bacteria with the sterilization process which removes the ala, vitamins and benefical enzymes and bacteria unfortunately.

Milk is one of the few foods that can literally go with any food you eat because of it's alkalizing effect. If you can name one thing you can't eat with milk I would be very surprised.


The BAD

Milk is fattening especially if large quantities are consumed.

Some people have lactose intolerance which is unfortunate for them, but nowadays if you like milk their are plenty of products with lactase to combat this. I have met a few people in my life that literally do not like milk and do not like the taste. Sucks for them. Most people I have known that only drink a little milk or choose not to drink it still admit they enjoy the taste of it.

Milk increases insulin secretions which can lead to fat gain. I don't believe their is one single study that can without a doubt prove milk causes diabetes, but then again imo I believe diabetes typically has as much to do with low exercise or sedentary lifestyle and general poor choice in food intake than it does to any one specifc sugary food.

Milk does smooth out your appearance. I won't argue this. If I don't drink milk within a few days I noticeably dry out. This is part of milks anabolic property imo, but again not ideal for a defined look.

Milk slows overall digestion. Milk is the #1 bulking food. If you drink large quantities of milk it becomes hard to eat more than 3 MAYBE 4 meals a day because milk practically becomes a solid food in your stomach. Think of it as becoming cottage cheese which is essentially what happens. If your goal is to eat lots of lean meats, vegetables and low glycemic carbs and eat every 2-3 hours milk can make this difficult.

Some people have milk allergies. Everyone is different so while milk "technically" is about as perfect a food as there is, it is not perfect for "everyone".

So you see I listed far more Pro's than Con's which one would expect a milk advocate to do. That said most of the bad mouthing from people that dislike milk usually stem from misinformation or ignorance.

I knew a guy that was born and raised on a dairy farm literally until he was 18 and he lived, worked on that farm all the time and knew pretty much every thing there is to know about milk and producing milk. He LOVED milk. What's that tell ya? He saw the good and the bad and still knew milk was a good thing. 20 years later he still drank a large glass of milk with every meal and he was an ovo-lacto vegetarian because he did not believe in the slaughter of animals having also having seen this first hand more times than he cared to admit.

Is milk perfect for everyone? No.
Is milk perfect for every situation. No.
Is milk a perfect food? Arguably, yes.

I fully expect someone to throw out some anti-milk propaganda after this. Thing is I have heard them all and they all either have to do with an individuals own intolerance of milk, slanted negative viewpoints, misinformation or ignorance of milk or what they have "heard" someone say.

Great write-up bro... i was just about to start a yay or nay on the GOMAD for opinions ,then i came across this.
k to ya.

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

I feel ya rick. Like I said milk is not perfect for every situation or person.

I have never once heard of milk increasing inflammation ever. Not once so that's news to me. Gonna have to look it up.

 

[RickO'Shea]

I heard it from my Orthopedist. So take that with a grain of salt, but My knees flair up soooo much worse if I've had glass of milk or a couple of string cheeses...

 

[Lucasta]

I have to have milk in my protein shakes. Its required lol. I drink about 32 oz on average a day. Love the stuff

 

[kx250rider]

NAY for me; for the reasons of lactose intolerance (MAJOR diarrhea & cramps if I drink any milk), and also I'm subject to kidney stones and bone calcifications. Doctor says NO dairy, and NO leafy greens.

There are various well-qualified arguments in the medical community as to whether or not adults and non-nursing children should have milk at all.

One weekend with a BIG rubber catheter up my junk (not the usual thin catheter that you get when you're in the hospital), was plenty of evidence not to have any milk. That thing was exactly the same thickness as an automotive brake hose... I kept it as a souvenir.

Charles

 

[Cordova]

I avoid Milk like the plague, sworn off of it, and products containing it. Call it paranoia, but I believe it to contribute to my acne, and since I developed an allergy to the treatment I was using (the only one I found to work for me) I felt I'd try this.

Just another negative side of milk for me. I can wake up in the morning knowing full well that no zits have suddenly appeared over night, without using any kind of treatment what so ever. I'm sure much of the difference is the fact that I am older now, but there are periods of time where I will indulge in foods containing dairy, and nine times out of ten it results in a sudden flare up of acne.


.....Nay.