This blog post comes from the heart and from deepest conviction, so this time it will be a little more emotional on my blog. I’m happy to give you some insight into why I decided against milk and dairy products in general. Small spoiler: There are so many different, super delicious and healthy alternatives!
FOR THE LOVE OF MY DIGESTION
If you often have to deal with an inflated stomach, you might want to consider whether it could be due to lactose. The argument “I have always tolerated milk” does not count, because often a lactose intolerance develops slowly and with increasing age. So maybe it is worth a try?! And maybe this is also the reason why many people give up milk but continue to eat products such as quark, yoghurt and cheese. I don’t make a distinction, because all products come from a mother cow and are full of hormones – no matter whether they are processed or not.
Whatever the case, I am thrilled by the wide variety of new alternatives that you can now find in the supermarkets: Yoghurt and quark alternatives of every consistency and on a variety of bases, ice cream and much more. Whoever follows me on Instagram can regularly accompany me in my search for new treasures. And everyone who chooses these alternatives promotes the long-term development of new products that are created without torturing animals! Every purchase counts!
BECAUSE I LOVE MY BODY
The rumor that milk is so incredibly healthy (cheese, yogurt and quark first) seems to be somehow deeply rooted in the thoughts of many people. I don’t want to demonize that at all. But I am surprised, because compared to the alternatives, cow’s milk looks quite pale. Take the fantastic new milk alternative made from pea protein. It contains twice as much protein as cow’s milk, has less fat, fewer calories and also less sugar. Even if we look at the calcium content, pea milk clearly beats cow’s milk!
MY DEAR HORMONES
I want my hormones to be produced by me and not in a cow. The hormones that a cow releases into the milk, such as the growth hormone IGF1 for example, are actually intended for her calf and are supposed to make sure that it grows up quickly. These hormones are not only measurable in the products, but also have an effect in our body. In doing so, they can really mess up our body’s own hormones. As you know, my cycle is particularly prone to disorders, but larger studies have also observed disorders.
BECAUSE I LOVE THE WORLD WE LIVE IN
It sounds unbelievable, but the production of 1 liter of cow’s milk has an impact on the climate of about 2.4 kg CO2 (on a worldwide average). To give you a better idea of this figure: this is the same amount that is produced by burning one liter of gasoline. And now comes the killer: this calculation does not even include transport, processing, storage and trade. If you think now that criticism is easy, I would answer: “but make it better in this case too!
Compared to cow’s milk, the energy consumption of soy milk is 86%, much lower: 39% land consumption produces only 24% CO2 and contributes only 19% to the acidification of the seas. And many other milk alternatives perform even better – oat milk, for example. I am enthusiastic about each of the many environmentally friendly products and always try to live as CO2 neutral as possible. So why look away from food? Cow’s milk has a decent ecological footprint, so the earth is far better off with soy milk drinkers. So let’s give the world a little breathing space after all.
ANIMALS ARE FRIENDS NOT FOOD
Somehow this is already absurd! Well, it may be a matter of opinion but I find it suspicious that we humans are the only ones who drink the breast milk of another species. I find it sad to enjoy the milk a mother intended for her baby. Even worse, of course, is the common practice of impregnating cows just to produce milk, then taking their calf away from them (often it even goes straight to the butcher!) and then milking it for years. I wouldn’t wish this on any mother, no matter if human or animal – and neither would you, right? So it only remains for me to appeal to you to open yourself to the variety of alternatives. Because in the end the decision is YOU. And you can decide every day anew! With my almond milk recipe I will even show you how to prepare your own milk alternative from fresh almonds.
SOURCES:
KIM K, WACTAWSKI TURN J, MICHELS KA, PLOWDEN TC, CHALJUB EN, SJAARDA LA, MUMFORD SL DAIRY FOOD INTAKE IS ASSOCIATED WITH REPRODUCTIVE HORMONES AND SPORADIC ANOVULATION AMONG HEALTHY PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. J NUTR. 2017 FEB;147(2):218-226. DOI: 10.3945/JN.116.241521. EPUB 2016 NOV 23. PMID: 27881593; PMCID: PMC5265695. (09/07/2010, 09:00)
HTTPS://ALBERT-SCHWEITZER-STIFTUNG.DE/AKTUELL/OEKOBILANZ-PFLANZENMILCH (07.09.2020, 09:00)
LEITZMANN, C., KELLER, M., AND NEITHER, SEE (2018). VEGANISM: PRINCIPLES, ADVANTAGES, RISKS (MUNICH: C.H.BECK).
MÄKINEN, O.E., WANHALINNA, V., ZANNINI, E., AND ARENDT, E.K. (2016). FOODS FOR SPECIAL DIETARY NEEDS: NON-DAIRY PLANT-BASED MILK SUBSTITUTES AND FERMENTED DAIRY-TYPE PRODUCTS. CRITICAL REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND NUTRITION 56, 339-349. (07.09.2020, 10:00)
HTTPS://WWW.VLYFOODS.COM/BLOGS/BLOG/VITAMINE-MINERALSTOFFE-DER-UBERBLICK (07.09.2020, 10:00)
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