Milk is a complex fluid. Regardless of the source, milk is composed of fat, protein, lactose, and ash. Other components include water, minerals, and vitamins. Each source has these nutrients in varied percentages.
Side Effects And Risks
- Lactose Intolerance
Lactose is the sugar found in milk and milk products. To break it down into glucose, our small intestine produces an enzyme called lactase. When there is insufficient lactase produced, your stomach cannot effectively absorb lactose – and this results in lactose intolerance.
And that’s when undigested lactose passes through the intestine, as it is. As it reaches the colon, the bacteria there break it down to produce glucose, but along with it, fluid and gas are formed. So, the classic symptoms of lactose intolerance are bloating, diarrhea, gas, nausea, and gastric discomfort.
- Milk Allergy
Milk allergy is a reaction by the body’s immune system to one or more milk proteins. An allergic reaction to milk can be life-threatening – even if the person takes only a small amount of milk or milk products.
Milk allergy most commonly occurs in infants or one-year-olds, while lactose intolerance occurs more often during adolescence or adulthood.
Note the difference!
- Acidity And Gastric Cancer
While there are research papers that say drinking milk can reduce gastritis and ulcers, there are few others that disagree.
As the casein in milk helps transport minerals and peptides to the gut, it can even trigger excessive production of gastric juices. This changes the pH balance of the stomach.
Instead of healing, this feedback effect of milk could aggravate peptic ulcers. Worst case, the build-up of such pH imbalance in the gut might lead to gastric cancer.
- Hormonal Imbalance
Bovine milk (cow and buffalo) has natural hormones secreted by the animal. Estrogen is one such hormone that is found abundantly in milk.
Your body already produces estrogen to perform assigned roles. Excess estrogen through milk can cause issues, especially in men. Some studies show how estrogen from milk can cause cancers of the breast, prostate, and testes.
- Bacterial Infections
Drinking raw milk from cow, goat, sheep, or buffalo can cause acute and chronic pathogenic infections. Unpasteurized milk has dangerous bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus aureus, Yersinia, Brucella, Coxiella, and Listeria.
Most commonly, bacteria in raw milk can cause vomiting, diarrhea (sometimes bloody), abdominal pain, fever, headache, and body aches. In rare cases, it can also result in severe or even life-threatening diseases like paralysis, hemolytic uremic syndrome, kidney failure, stroke, and even death
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