Does Milk Do a Body Good or is Milk Bad for You?

Oh the milky upper lip. It is so attractive, but does milk really do a body good?  Or is milk bad for you?

Well maybe it is the people, but the point is milk has a very positive image. There are a lot of good things you get from milk like calcium and vitamin C. It doesn’t seem to have the sugar that those sugary drinks have.

So it should be good right? (Dah-dah-dah) Uh…oh…

Hard to doubt Rihanna…

Is Milk Bad for You?

In our article on dairy we talked about how milk can not only cause gut irritation like grains do, but also can spike insulin levels too. So is cow milk bad for you?  Other than grass-fed dairy on occasional basis, there are better choices out there.

Why is milk bad for you? Milk keeps weight on at the very least. Being it is a liquid, it spikes insulin even more than other dairy sources like cheese. So yes you have your hands full with milk.  Is skim milk bad for you?  Yes there is very little different.  Yes there is less fat, but it still has all of the insulin spiking properties and gut irritation issues that we have talked about before.

Is milk really bad for you if you are a kid? Well that is a bit different, children’s bodies are growing at such a rapid rate that they can handle the sugar and proteins while taking advantage of the nutrients that help build a young body.

The same thing happens with animals. A dog for instance should have milk while they are younger and then eventually it becomes healthier to drink water. The same thing starts to happen as we grow into our teenage years. Water should be the primary option as we grow and especially as we get into our twenties.

Coconut Milk: A Better Option

Yes I am going to give you a nice alternative. I know you are shocked that I am giving some options, but this one is good. Here is a new friend named Coconut Milk. So when some of you hear coconut milk, you may get concerned about coconut being it is high in saturated fat. Well it is true.

Before your eyes start to twitch, remember we talked about in our fat series that saturated fat creates the good LDL, which is known as large, buoyant LDL. This type of LDL particle doesn’t get plaque stuck to your arteries like the small, dense LDL that is created from sugar (yes milk). At the same time coconut milk also raises HDL, or the generally considered the “good cholesterol”.

Coconut milk, with it’s short-chained and medium-chained saturated fats does a great job of hugging your insides and healing that same gut irritation that is brought on by grains and dairy. It almost acts as an antioxidant that can take care of the free radical oxidation that happens in your body from eating grains and sugar.  So is drinking milk good for you or is all milk bad for you?  Well there is one exception, it is fine if it is coconut milk.

FYI, this doesn’t justify coconut ice cream you sneaks. There is still a lot of sugar in those guys. Sorry there is no loophole there.

What Coconut Milk Options Do I Have?

So Delicious lives up to it’s name.

The So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk is a solid choice that I commonly drink. You can also get canned milk like Native Forest Coconut Milk and Aroy-D 100% Coconut Milk. These options don’t come with a lot of the additives like Guar Gum or the potential for a chemical BPA that can lead to some crappy diseases. I won’t get into the details, just know they are good.

Well test it out for yourself and see how it works for you. The cans tend to be cheaper and with higher amounts of fat, which is a good thing.

Remember that you can’t substitute this for water.  I am getting ahead of myself, but keep that in mind as you add in coconut milk.

What’s On Tap?

Ok after telling you a bunch of things you can’t drink; it’s time to give you something you can drink as much as you want. Here is a hint…the world and your body are made up of mostly this substance.

About Cade

Cade is the founder of Know My Body. Sorry...no doctor degree, fancy gym, multi-million dollar fitness program, or label as a self-proclaimed health guru of biblical proportions. He is a common guy just like you. Maybe that helps him get you a bit better.

He has worked the past several years trying to get a grasp of "health knowledgeries" from the perspective of a person working a 9 to 5 job and dealing with the normal and not-so-normal challenges that life gives. Visit our About Page to chew on some more knowledge about Cade and how we want to help you at Know My Body.