On May 24, 2006, The Vegetarian and Vegan Foundation will be launching White Lies, a campaign to raise awareness of the health risks of consuming dairy products. Why You Don't Need Dairy, an event to mark the beginning of the campaign, will feature Heather Mills McCartney as a speaker who will call for milk to be dropped from the nation's diet. At the same time, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, PCRM, a nonprofit health organization comprised of physicians and nutritionists, will be asking consumers to eliminate dairy from their diet for three weeks to see if they notice an improvement in health. In three short weeks, PCRM is confident those who take the dairy-free challenge will notice immediate benefit in better digestion, easier breathing, better sleep, a lessening of headaches and for sufferers of acne or dermatitis -- clear skin. Health benefits that are not immediately noticeable but of significant value is a reduction in the risk of prostate and ovarian cancer. Research had proven the link between dairy and these two cancers. Because dairy products such as cheese, ice cream, milk, butter, and yogurt all contain high levels of fat, it is reasonable to assume there might be a dairy link to other cancers as well.
The Nutrition Resource Centre of the Ontario Public Health Association, has published Non-Dairy Sources of Calcium, available as a PDF document online, with food suggestions that offer plenty of calcium.
1. I believe it is so important that people begin to understand that the marketing for dairy has so impacted our belief about a "need" for it. People need to begin to understand that we do not need the infant juice of another species to have good health, and in fact, it may cause health problems. Thank you!
Posted at 11:38AM on May 31st 2006 by Deb Harano