Cow’s milk has always been considered one of the best milks we can drink. Full of nutrients and above all with a high calcium content, it has always been said that cow’s milk is essential in our diet since childhood, but also over the years it has been discovered that many people have intolerance to one of its component: lactose. Let’s now find out more about cow’s milk: myths, advantages and disadvantages.
Cow’s milk: myths, advantages and disadvantages
Cow’s milk has been drunk, men, since the dawn of time , and since the days when man went from hunter-gatherer to farmer. This food, together with eggs, legumes and cereals , has contributed significantly to favor the development of human society.
For a long time, however, compared to cow’s milk there are other types of milk or actually vegetable drinks that are also usually recommended for their many properties. This is the case of soy, hazelnut, rice or almond drinks, but unlike cow’s milk, they do not have calcium (although they can add it in their formula), their taste is different and they also do not have Animal protein, so despite being a good alternative if you are lactose intolerant , many people believe that only cow’s milk is the one that provides great benefits to our body, when in fact, the mentioned drinks are also good.
On the other hand, there is also the belief that by drinking cow’s milk, we are taking food or sustenance from the calves when in reality this is not exactly the case. A cow produces 35-40 liters of milk a day and a calf, which weighs 35 kilos, needs about 3.5 liters a day so it will never drink it all. We also do not believe that calves are starving because of our consumption of milk, since they receive their daily milk ration and furthermore, the EU enacted a law years ago according to which calves could not be fed only with milk. (in general it was customary to feed them only with milk) but they should also eat hay for proper body development.
Advantages and disadvantages of cow’s milk
Having analyzed and dispelled some myths about cow’s milk, let us now know the “pros” and “cons” of this milk, given that from a very young age we are used to drinking cow’s milk and hearing that it is good for the body due to the intake of calcium
However, despite the fact that calcium is its great advantage, this milk has two harmful nutrients: lactose (which is found in large quantities in this milk) and a protein called casein .
Lactose is a carbohydrate present in large amounts in milk, particularly cow’s milk. You should know that our body needs an enzyme (lactase) to properly digest lactose. But our body stops secreting this enzyme around 3-4 years. Unable to properly digest lactose in adulthood, the body does not eliminate this large amount of sugars properly . It is this lactose that is probably deposited in the prostate in men and in the breasts in women and that can predispose to cancer . Lactose can also promote diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
As for casein , we must consider that it constitutes 82% of the proteins found in this milk but only 42% of those found in breast milk. In fact, it is a protein that was originally intended to support the growth of an animal that will gain a few hundred kilos in a few months, so it is not too well digested by our body in adulthood either.
In summary we can say that it is more than evident that cow’s milk is good if we consider that it is the richest source of vitamins and minerals . However, its consumption should be done with concern, especially in the case of those people who have lactose intolerance for whom plant drinks or milks could be a good alternative.
