Filed under: Disease
from Robert Cohen
Yesterday, I received an EMAIL request from Jack, one of my readers.
“An outstanding local 17 year old male athlete, and partial vegetarian is anemic. I could use some backup on the exact detrimental effect that milk consumption has on causing iron deficiency anemia.”
Here’s information for Jack and millions of Americans who suffer from anemia:
The most common cause of anemia is iron deficiency. Red blood cells have a life of about four months, and lack of iron leads to an inability to manufacture new cells. Hundreds of ailments can result from too-little iron, and milk consumption has been shown to cause intestinal bleeding, which ultimately results in lowering one’s hemoglobin count. The result: weakness, depression, irritability. The cure: NOTMILK.
The May, 1995 issue of the Townsend Medical Letter reported that cow’s milk causes hemoglobin loss.
In 1990, the Journal of Pediatrics (Vol. 116) reported:
“Cow’s milk can cause blood loss from the intestinal tract, which over time, reduces the body’s iron stores. Blood loss may be a reaction to cow’s milk proteins.”
Eight years earlier, Pediatrics (1982; 89 ) reported:
“Babies who are fed whole cow’s milk during the second six months of life may experience a 30% increase in intestinal blood loss and a significant loss of iron in their stools.”
THE CURES
Here’s the good news, as reported in the October, 1999 issue of the Journal of Pediatric Surgery:
“Cow’s milk-induced intestinal bleeding is a well-recognized cause of rectal bleeding in infancy. In all cases, bleeding resolved completely after instituting a cow’s milk-free diet.”
Here’s a better cure:
Soymilk contains eleven times the amount of iron as does cow’s milk. A 100-gram portion (3.5 ounces) of cow’s milk contains 0.05 mg. of iron. The equivalent portion of soymilk contains 0.58 mg. of iron.
Reprinted with permission of the author. http://www.notmilk.com