The Magnificent Milk Myth … Debunked | Brooke Miles | TEDxWilmington

Translator: Napakcha P. Reviewer: Carl Luc Campbell What if you discovered that something you've been taught since childhood is completely wrong? What if more than five billion people on Earth could prove it? Humanity has been a big fan of

milk

and everything dairy related for thousands of years. Of course, the caveman didn't

milk

cows, but when the domestication of animals came, so did dairy farming. We are all taught the wonders of milk. Do you want strong bones? Drink milk. Do you want a great source of protein? Drink milk. Want something to dip your Oreo cookies in: milk and cookies?

Drink milk. Also, how can you dispel advice from people like Martha Stewart, Heidi Klum, Taylor Swift, Wolverine, Austin Powers, Bart and Lisa Simpson, and hundreds of other real and fake celebrities who sported milk mustaches? Until about three years ago, I also had a nice thick milk mustache. As an intermittent vegetarian since the age of 14, I relied heavily on dairy for protein and, of course, calcium. But for me, dairy was more than just nutrition, it was a complete sensory experience. (Laughter) The creamy mouthfeel of whole milk in a bowl of crunchy raisin bran, the chunk of greasy mozzarella on a New York-style pizza, and the occasional decadence of an entire pint of Häagen-Dazs chocolate after a long day of work. - occasionally!

But on December 31, 2012, I swore I would never eat dairy again. And on that fateful day I tearfully devoured my last pint of Häagen-Dazs chocolate. Why would he torture me? Well, a few months before that, a couple of vegans came into my life. Let's call them Jennifer and Anna, because those are their names. (laughs) Now, vegans, to be sure, don't need anything that comes from animals. No meat, no dairy, no eggs, nothing. Naturally, I thought Jennifer and Anna were crazy about chocolate buns, but I grilled them with questions. And you know what? They convince me. I had to become vegan.

Now, to be completely transparent, it wasn't because of anything they said, but I just looked at them and they were hot. And I say this platonically: I'm married, but I had just turned 40 and I also wanted to be sexy. (Laughs) Within three months of becoming vegan, I lost 15 pounds and needed two hours less sleep each night, that is, without any physical exercise or other lifestyle changes. The biggest change I made was cleaning my milk mustache. Now, I'm not here today to impose my vegan agenda on you (whispering), not one bit, but I am passionate about making sure you are advocates for your own health.

Let's dispel some big

myth

s about milk and look at the science behind them. First, there is calcium. We need calcium to survive. We need it for our bones, muscles, nerves and, thank God, for cows, because for a long time I thought calcium came from cows. In fact, it should just be called "cowcium." (Laughs) Okay, I was wrong. It turns out that calcium is an element on the periodic table and is formed during supernova explosions in space. It is also the fifth most abundant element in the Earth's crust. Okay, so how do cows get calcium? The calcium is in the soil, it goes up to the plant, the cow is hungry, it eats the plant, the calcium goes into the bloodstream, through the mammary glands and comes out in the form of milk.

Well, suppose they are udders; It's the closest thing I have. I'm sorry. (Laughs) Is that okay? (Laughter) So, okay, in that case, then... the cow is actually the middleman, right? Why not just eat the plants? - Makes sense. In fact, there are many plant sources that are denser in calcium than milk. For example, fresh and dried herbs such as basil, parsley and thyme, sesame seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds, almonds, tahini, tofu, garlic... yum! - Brazil nuts, molasses and also many dark green leafy vegetables. Now, there's more to look at than calcium levels: there's also calcium absorption.

And this is where scientific findings depend entirely on people's agendas. If you ask virtually any vegan and many non-vegan nutritionists, they will tell you that calcium has much higher absorption rates when it comes from most plant sources. Dairy producers and others will say otherwise. Who do you believe? One thing is for sure. Countries with the highest rates of dairy consumption generally have the highest rates of osteoporosis. These include Finland, Sweden, England and... woohoo! - USA Aren't we proud? (Laughter) Countries with the lowest rates of dairy consumption generally have the lowest rates of osteoporosis. Take China, for example.

There are a billion people living there who eat a virtually dairy-free diet, and you don't see them go home breaking bones every day. They seem to be doing well and don't have the rates of osteoporosis that we have here in the United States. To be fair, there are other factors that contribute to osteoporosis, such as vitamin intake levels and physical activity. But let's look at global trends. Beyond calcium. Did you know that humans are the only species that drinks breast milk from another species? It's creepy, I think. (Laughter) Mammals produce milk for their particular offspring, for their species.

For example, human breast milk is designed so that a human baby grows physically slowly compared to other animals but has rapid brain development. Cow's milk, on the other hand, is designed to take a nice calf and raise it to almost 1,000 pounds in its first year of life. No wonder when I stopped drinking milk I dropped two dress sizes. Now, another distinction we humans have: we are the only species that drinks milk after weaning. Milk is intended for babies. Most humans after the age of 5 lose the ability to digest lactose, which is the sugar found in all animal milk.

When I say most humans, I mean three-quarters of the world's population, or five billion people, mainly in Asia, Africa and South America. Now, if you're wondering, I happen to be in that quarter of the world's population. How did that happen? Archaeologists attribute it to a genetic mutation that occurred thousands of years ago in dairy communities. So if you can drink milk without problems, you can proudly call yourself a genetic mutant. Yeah! (Laughter) Add to that other things like antibiotic residues, recombinant bovine growth hormones, toxic residues, and that whole milk and cookie disease we hear about today, and you wonder: Why does the USDA recommend three servings of dairy products? for adult men and women as part of a nutritious and healthy diet?

Remember that the USDA stands for United States Department of Agriculture and has more than one mission. One is certainly to provide nutritional guidelines, but another is to support agribusiness, and they make this completely public. In fact, the USDA has an agricultural marketing service and has a dairy program as part of it. The goal of the dairy program - and it's on their website - is basically to help American dairy producers efficiently market their products and ensure that American consumers have access to a sufficient supply of these products at all times. That's practically word for word. So obviously you can't be an advocate for consumers and the people trying to sell to them at the same time.

Now, today we're not going to be able to dismantle the USDA or transform an entire nation's mindset about milk, but we can make a difference one glass at a time. So, the next time you are about to pour a nice glass of milk for yourself or your kids, ask yourself: Is milk really good for the body? I dare you to pour that milk down the drain, get in your car, go to the grocery store and get some almond or soy milk. They also make pretty milk mustaches. Thank you. (Applause)