Haven't we all been told that milk is an essential part of our diet? I used to feel guilty that I didn't drink enough milk. I was so pleased that Jacob seemed to never get enough milk and that satisfied me because he was/is so little. Even our much loved and adored pediatrician was happy to know that Jacob joyfully guzzles milk all day long....my problem still however was that he wouldn't eat anything else. He's the sweet boy that doesn't cry or demand food but would rather just not eat what you put in front of him....so his diet primarily consisted of cereal, waffles, milk, bananas, organic chicken nuggets, baked french fries, yogurt and fishies..yep that pretty much sums it up....I knew I was a mama that needed help, maybe even a divine appointment.
First Wednesday of every month I have a company wide staff meeting to attend, we have never cancelled for as long as I've worked there, which all put together is 6 years. First Wednesday of every month at our church is Mom2Mom (which is like MOPS) a group of moms get together and we get blessed by a great speaker! So wouldn't you know I was beyond excited to be able to participate in what will probably be my last Mom2Mom meeting in a long time :)
Our speaker was a very special, world known expert and leader in the nutrition / diet arena...all the way from South Africa! What are the odds, definitely my divine appointment! She had so much wisdom, facts, research and information to give us that I was overwhelmed by it all but blessed to be present to receive it!
Getting to the Milk part......I got to spend a few minutes talking with her about Jacobs diet and my concerns...she immediately told me to cut dairy not only from his diet but our entire family....AFTER I did some more research. She will never advise you to do something unless you have been able to research and gather facts...and for that I am grateful! (She even provides the research material and 10 year studies straight from Harvard and Cornell University)
After the kids were tucked in for the night John and I began our research, we watched a DVD she provided us with that is not only her research but is documented and gives more references then you could spend time looking up (we did look up quite a few). These references aren't selling anything, they aren't telling you to go buy anything they are just sharing the facts of their years of research. Their findings aren't even a theory...which is frightening in itself!
I'm just going to randomly share some facts that jumped out at us both and led to our families decision to eliminate dairy from our diet.
* "Isn't dairy where we get our calcium?" Actually if you break down all forms of milk, organic, non-organic, soy, rice milk...etc....there can't be more than 2 parts phosphorus to 1 part calcium in order for the body to digest it. Well there is so much phosphorus in cow's milk that the small amount of calcium in there can't be absorbed. Your better off giving your child a small glass of fresh orange juice and they have rec'd more than enough calcium for the day!
* Dairy is the leading cause (specifically milk and cheese) of any mucous draining, allergy, rhinitis ailment. Seriously give it a trial...stop dairy for a couple weeks and watch rhinitis, allergies, ear infections..etc all clear up!! They showed study after study, after study..it was pathetic!
* Cows milk has a specific enzyme in it (organic and non-organic) (and I can't remember the name right now but I can get it for you) its the same enzyme that your body needs to produce insulin in your pancreas. So when you are adding this specific maker/enzyme into your body, it recognizes it as a duplicate..thus stops production all together and you end up or your child ends up with Diabetes Mellitus Type 1 (childhood diabetes). This is proven time and time again by Harvard and Cornell and yet it's hidden from consumers because of the monumental calamity that would happen if all this came out.
* Cows milk is the leading cause of Auto Immune Diseases, Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, etc...
* Cows milk is proven to contribute to Osteoporosis...ironic isn't it??
* Cows milk/ dairy is pretty close to being proven as a leading contributor to Breast Cancer, Ovarian Cancer and Prostate Cancer.
Studies show that America is the leading country in consumption of dairy/cows milk...its actually not even leading..no one else is even close to our consumption. In other countries you won't see that 1 in 3 people will be diagnosed with cancer, 1 out of every 2 women will be diagnosed with osteoporosis, our children are consumed with allergies, asthma, ear infections and ailments their whole childhood. What are we doing differently then all these other countries...consuming dairy just like our doctors tell us to! Why don't our doctors know this?? The nutrition experts and doctors of medical research explain that out of 7 years of medical training they do less than 2 days of nutrition training. They are doctors of medicine, doctors of disease and treatment, not doctors in preventative treatment, healing...etc.
Their recommendation is that once a baby is weaned from breastfeeding their is no need at all for dairy in their diet, they don't need to be transferred to milk as a substitute. Their are alternatives and better ways to give your child Calcium, Vitamin D and many other of their essential nutrients.
So that's my brief synopsis of our research so far and were not done were just beginning, because who doesn't want the absolute best for their kids. It seems 1 out of every 10 blogs I run across is a family fighting childhood cancer and disease..don't you think there is something wrong with that, why is it everywhere?? Could it be what we are feeding our kids??
I won't say that my kids won't ever have ice cream, frozen yogurt, pudding...etc, because that would be foolish and unrealistic, but I can tell you that as for The Pascua house were going non-dairy for the most part and are loving Trader Joe's...not that we didn't already!! :)
A couple tips she had for Jacob in case you have an eater just like him!
- smoothies (praise God he loves smoothies) preservative free frozen strawberries, pineapple (excellent source of Vit C), mangos, banana's in a blender, add 1 tsp flax seed oil, a handful of cashews or almonds, filtered water and you have a delicious protein rich smoothie that he loves!! I swear he had 2 today, 1 yesterday and its probably the most protein this little guy has had in one day!! I'm just praising God for His divine intervention and appointment for this little guy's mama!!
- he loves his cereal (sugar free) instead of milk we..which means mama throws a banana in the blender with some filtered water and you have banana milk (fresh, wholesome) which he loves with his cereal and sometimes with his lunch!
- were waiting because we were advised once we get the dairy out of his system and substitute rich proteins and fruits were going to see a different appetite a willingness to try different things and a changed diet for our boy!
"GOD GIVEN BODIES - GOD GIVEN FOOD - GOD GIVEN HEALTH"
makes sense doesn't it?? God gave us bodies He formed to live an abundant life, a joyful life, not battling sickness, aches and pains and we have chosen so many other food varieties that plainly stated aren't GOD GIVEN FOODS, no wonder our country looks like it does and feels like it does...makes sense to us!
Let me know if you want all the research sites, DVD and diet that were following!
