There are two main reasons why I think today's cows' milk is not appropriate for humans: First, cows' milk contains estrogens and progesterone in large quantities. Second, cows' milk contains too much calcium, amounting to 125 milligrams per 100 milliliters, which is about 4 times more than that of breast milk.You may say that you have been drinking milk and eating dairy products for several hundred years without any apparent harm. No. You ought to know that today's milk is harmful because dairy farming practices have greatly been changed since the 1920s or 1930s. Beginning about 80 years ago, pregnant cows and especially those in the latter half of pregnancy have come to produce a greater proportion of the milk that is consumed. Pregnancy increases the production of female sex hormones, and these hormones are in the same or much higher range in the milk than in the blood of pregnant cows. This is why so many Western people are afflicted with breast cancer (women) and prostate cancer (men). I would like you to understand that today's milk is vastly different from the milk your ancestors consumed 80 years ago. Consumption of dairy products is too excessive in developed countries, a trend that started lately in the 1940s and 1950s.

Contents

History of Milk
by Maria Rollinger
From "Milch besser nicht" by Maria Rollinger
JOU-Verlag, Second Edition 2007 ISBN 978-3-940236-00-5
Cows' milk has become a basic food in northern Europe only since the1860s or 70s. Before, there was a rural milk-production everywhere, but only with the main intent to produce butter and some cheese from the sour-milk leftovers. Only after World War I in the 1920s and 1930s milk-consumption was wildly pushed and promoted by politics as a normal and healthy food for everybody.
Up to World War II milk-consumption steadily increased but stayed low compared to today. Butter and self-made sour-milk and a little cheese stayed the main milk-products.
For print
(June 22, 2007)

Hormonal Effects of Cows' Milk on Human Health
You may say that you have been drinking milk and eating dairy products for several hundred years without any apparent harm. Today's milk is harmful because dairy farming practices have greately changed since the 1920s or 1930s. Beginning about 80 years ago, pregnant cows and especially those in the latter half of pregnancy have come to produce a greater proportion of the milk that is consumed. Pregnancy increases the production of female sex hormones, and these hormones are in the same or much higher range in the milk from pregnant cows than in the blood of pregnant animals. I would like you to understand that today's milk is vastly different from the milk your ancestors consumed 80 years ago. Consumption of dairy products is excessive in developed countries, a trend that started lately in the 1940s and 1950s.
For print
(April 4, 2007)

Cows' Milk is Responsible for Human Reproductive Disorders
The role of environmental compounds with estrogenic activity in the development of male reproductive disorders has been a source of great concern. Among the routes of human exposure to estrogens, we are particularly concerned about cowsﾕ milk, which contains considerable amounts of estrogens. The major sources of animal-derived estrogens in the human diet are milk and dairy products, which account for 60-70% of the estrogens consumed. Humans consume milk obtained from cows in the latter half of pregnancy, when the estrogen levels in cows are markedly elevated. The milk that we now consume may be quite unlike that consumed 100 years ago. Modern genetically-improved dairy cows, such as the Holstein are usually fed a combination of grass and concentrates (grain/protein mixes and various by-products), allowing them to lactate during the latter half of pregnancy, even at 220 days of gestation. We are certain that milk is responsible, at least in part, for some human reproductive disorders.
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(April 23, 2007)

The Experience of Japan as a Clue to the Etiology of Breast and Ovarian Cancers: Milk and Dairy Products are Causatively Related to Both Malignancies
Although breast and ovarian cancers are rare in Japan compared with other developed countries, the death rates for both are increasing. In Japan, dramatic lifestyle changes occurred after World War II. Over the past 50 years (1947-1997), the age-standardized death rates of breast and ovarian cancers increased about 2- and 4-fold, respectively, and the respective intake of milk, meat, and eggs increased 20-, 10-, and 7-fold. The increase in the annual death rates from breast and ovarian cancers might be due to the lifestyle changes (increased consumption of animal-derived food) that occurred after 1945. Among the food, milk and dairy products should receive particular attention since they contain considerable amounts of female sex hormones.
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(June 9, 2007)

Milk from Pregnant Cows Is Responsible for the Development of Breast, Ovarian and Corpus Uteri Cancers
The continued increase in incidence of some hormone-related cancers worldwide is of great concern. Although estrogen-like substances in the environment were blamed for this increase, the possible role of female sex hormones in milk from pregnant cows have not been widely discussed. Commercial milk, 75% of which come from pregnant cows, contains considerable amounts of estrogens and progestrone. The correlation of incidence and mortality rates with environmental variables in worldwide countries provides useful clues to the etiology of cancer. In this study, we correlated incidence rates for breast, ovarian, and corpus uteri cancers with food intake in 40 countries. Meat was most closely correlated with the breast cancer incidence (r=0.83). While stepwise multiple-regression analysis (SMRA) identified meat as the factor contributing most to the incidence of breast cancer ([R]=0.86), the dietary factor identified as the most significant contributor to the mortality was milk plus cheese ([R]=0.81). Milk was most closely correlated with the incidence of ovarian cancer (r=0.78). SMRA revealed that milk plus cheese make the greatest contribution to the incidence of ovarian cancer ([R]=0.78). Milk was most closely correlated with corpus uteri cancer (r=0.81), followed by cheese (0.79). SMRA revealed that milk plus cheese make the most significant contribution to the incidence of corpus uteri cancer ([R]=0.86). In conclusion, increased consumption of animal-derived food may have adverse effects on the development of hormone-dependent cancers. Among dietary risk factors, we are most concerned with milk and dairy products, because the milk we drink today is produced from pregnant cows, in which estrogen and progesterone levels are markedly elevated.
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(April 28, 2007)

Commercial Low-Fat Milk Markedly Stimulates Mammary Carcinogenesis in Rats
Commercial cowsﾕ milk contains considerable amounts of estrogens. This study assessed the effect of commercial low-fat milk on the development of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary tumors in rats. Eighty six-week-old female Sprague-Dawley rats received a single oral dose of 5 mg DMBA. Twenty-four hours later, the animals were divided into 4 groups of 20 animals each and given one of four test solutions for 20 weeks as their drinking liquid: low-fat (1%) milk (M), artificial milk (A), estrone sulfate solution 100 ng/ml, E), or tap water (W). The artificial milk was formulated to supply essentially the same calories as the milk. The low-fat milk contained 378 pg/ml estrone sulfate. Tumor incidence, the cumulative number of tumors, and the sum of tumor diameters were higher in the M and E groups than in the A or W groups. Overall, the development of mammary tumors was in the order: M = E > A = W. Whereas the plasma 17b-estradiol concentration in the M group was the second highest after the E group, the plasma level of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) was significantly higher in the M group than in the other three groups. In conclusion, commercially available low-fat milk promotes the development of DMBA-induced mammary tumors in rats. The degree of the promotion is almost comparable to that of 100 ng/ml estrone sulfate. The high estrogen content in the milk may be responsible for the promotional effects, acting in concert with other hormones such as IGF-I.
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(May 3, 2007)

Commercial Cows' Milk Has Estrogenic Activity as Revealed by the Hypertrophic Effects on the Uteri of Young Ovariectomized Rats and Immature Rats
Cowsﾕ milk has considerable amounts of estrogens, mainly in the form of estrone sulfate. To determine whether the commercial milk has any biologically significant hormonal effects, two series of uterotrophic tests were performed, one with young ovariectomized rats and the other with sexually immature rats. Thirty-six rats were divided into 3 groups of 12 animals each, and were kept for 7 days on powdered chow with one of three drinking solutions: low-fat milk (experimental), artificial milk (negative control), or artificial milk containing estrone sulfate at 100 ng/ml (positive control). In each test, the weights of the uteri in the Low-Fat Milk group were significantly greater than those of the respective weights in the Artificial Milk group (p<0.01). Furthermore, in ovariectomized rats, the uterine epithelial-cell height in the Low-Fat Milk group was significantly greater than that observed in the Artificial Milk group (p<0.01). The uterotrophic effect of 100 ng/ml Estrone Sulfate solution was greater than that of Low-Fat Milk in immature rats (p<0.01), whereas the effect of the solution was almost comparable to that of Low-Fat Milk (p>0.05). In conclusion, commercially available low-fat milk has uterotrophic effects in both young ovariectomized rats and sexually immature rats.
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(May 8, 2007)

The Experience of Japan as a Clue to the Etiology of Testis and Prostate Cancers: Milk and Dairy Products Are Causatively Related to These Malignancies
In Japan dramatic lifestyle changes occurred after World War 2. To examine the experience of Japan as a clue to the etiology of testis and prostate cancers, trends in the mortality rates of these cancers from 1947 to 1998 were related to changes in dietary practices. The male population born before 1945 had a peak in death from testicular cancer in their thirties or forties, whereas those born after 1946 had a peak in their twenties. The death rate of prostate cancer increased 25-fold almost linearly after the war. The intake of milk, meat, and eggs increased 20-, 9-, and 7-fold, respectively, after the war. In connection with the development and growth of testicular and prostate cancers in Japan, particular attention should be paid to milk, because the increase in its consumption in this country is a recent occurrence and because milk contains considerable amounts of estrogens plus saturated fats.
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(May 11, 2007)

Incidence and Mortality of Testis and Prostate Cancers in Relation to World Dietary Practices - Dairies are Causatively Related to these Malignancies
The incidence and mortality rates of testis and prostate cancers in 42 countries were correlated with the dietary practices in these countries using the cancer rates provided by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the food supply data provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Among the food items we examined, cheese was most closely correlated with the incidence of testis cancer, followed by animal fats and milk. The correlation coefficient (r) was highest (r = 0.804) when calculated for maternal or prepubertal cheese consumption. Stepwise-multiple-regression analysis revealed that milk + cheese made a most significant contribution to the incidence of testis cancer (standardized regression coefficient [R] = 0.654). Concerning prostate cancer, milk was most closely correlated (r = 0.711) with its incidence, followed by meat and coffee. Stepwise-multiple-regression analysis identified milk + cheese as a factor contributing most to the incidence of prostate cancer (R = 0.525). The food that was most closely correlated with the mortality rate of prostate cancer was milk (r = 0.766), followed by coffee, cheese and animal fats. Stepwise-multiple-regression analysis further revealed that milk + cheese was a factor contributing most to the mortality of prostate cancer (R = 0.580). The results of our study suggest an important role of milk and dairy products in the development and growth of testis and prostate cancers.
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(May 18, 2007)