Experts at Johns Hopkins suggest drinking milk to combat milk allergies
This past weekend The Baltimore Sun and probably several other media outlets reported on a research study detailed in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The really smart people over at Johns Hopkins, a well-respected university research center and teaching hospital, think the way to combat milk allergies is to give kids more milk. Come again? I wasn’t quite sure I read that right. But yes, it’s true. These well-paid, smart people conducted a “study” over 17 months to help children with sever milk allergies overcome them BY DRINKING MORE MILK.
The 18 children were given small amounts of milk on a regular basis to see if their bodies would begin to tolerate the beverage – which of course is not meant for them to drink in the first place. Hmmm … now I’m not a researcher but I do consider myself a somewhat intelligent person. And when I went to graduate school they motivated us to ask the tough questions like “Why do we exist?” I beg these researchers and this reporter to start over at the beginning, “Why do humans drink milk?” That might be a much more difficult question to answer than how can we make kids who are naturally intolerant to another species byproduct overcome their allergies by giving them more of the same byproducts?
What did the researchers, who were “encouraged” by the findings, discover? That “regular dairy use could help children become more tolerant and remain so”. Oh goodie! That means kids can drink more milk meant for calves not humans and the dairy industry can keep making lots of money. Yet all is not well with this scenario. Many of us are aware that cow’s milk does not come without cost. The raising of cows in this country is creating an environmental disaster. The cows are treated horribly, their babies are used for worse things like veal, and all of them eventually land in a slaughter house for a disrespectful end of life. Furthermore, the very smart researchers found that “for some children the allergies returned after they stop drinking milk”.
Now can I stand by and let this go without remarks? Not so much.
Dear miss reporter Kelly Brewington might I share with you my comments:
“Wow, I am shocked at this study. Did the very intelligent, well-educated, well-paid researchers ever consider that humans were not meant to drink the milk of cows? Cows milk is supposed to be for their calves not for us humans and our children. I won’t go into details about the horrific conditions these cows tolerate to create milk that humans consume or how study after study shows that animal products lead to heart disease and cancer.
There are so many great alternatives to animal milk such as almond milk, soy milk, hemp milk, and rice milk. Why would the researchers put children through this testing? Was this study funded by the dairy industry? Or could it be that even the smartest people in our society have forgotten to ask the simple questions like why is it that we drink milk in the first place?”
Please send your comments to Kelly kelly.brewington@baltsun.com and/or Dr. Robert A. Wood, lead investigator on the study http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/staffDetail.aspx?id=3152.
Sources:
The Baltimore Sun, August 2009, http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/health/2009/08/children_milk_allergies.html
While the article might be very informative, I believe your response is a little too uninformed.
You must understand that milk allergies are the inablility of the body’s immune system to milk protiens, and can be fatal. And it is not just cows milk that they are talking about, but all types of milk; this includes breast milk. And if you are not in favor of breast feeding your children or saving the lives of children with this particular affliction, then I guess this does not apply to you, and you can resume your moral high ground and think that this study is of no consequence to you, or, i guess to anyone.
If you are worried about the harm of “innocent” cows, let me put this to you in a way that you will undoubtedly deny as fact for your own selfish purpose. How would you feel if you found out that, every day beautiful, living creatures are plucked from their natural habitat, cut up, boiled or cooked, or just plain eaten alive without any remorse for their feelings or well being? You might want to think about that as you go for that “harmless” salad.
I am encouraged by the findings of Johns Hopkins. The idea of giving a subject small doses of a harmful substance in order to boost their immunity to that substance is not an uncommon idea. That is what a vaccine is.
I would also suggest that you do your research a little more thoroughly before jumping to rash conclusions that are solely based on speculation, propaganda, and subjective reasoning.
If you really care about the truth, you can look up the difference between milk allergies and lactose intolerance anywhere on the internet. I doubt you will as, just as you may think that this is an attempt at the dairy industry to increase milk sales, this is another attempt at an unaware individual to spin the “truth” to suit their beliefs
@Kevin I’m not here to argue with you … I’m just sharing my views in a peaceful way for people that are ready to make changes in their life that are better for themselves, the planet and the animals. You can find repeated sources that back up the idea that humans were never meant to consume milk from cows. Try Michael Pollan’s new book, In Defense of Food. He is a non-vegan who discusses the history of nutrition and even he says we were never meant to eat cows milk. In fact humans were never meant to drink any kind of animal milk after the first few years of life. I’m assuming in your statement about “living creatures” you are referring to plants. There are volumes of research that show plants do not have the ability to feel pain and to me that is what I’m concerned about … limiting the amount of pain I cause any sentient being on this planet. Plants are not sentient beings. I would urge you – before calling people uninformed – to think about how uninformed you might be about where your food comes from. I am not judging here … feel free to eat what you want. I’m just suggesting that you become educated as well. And likewise I will take your suggestion in making sure to research my posts well. Try watching Morgan Sperlock’s “30 Days” episode where a die-hard hunter learns about the treatment of animals on factory farms. I think you could relate to him. I wish you peace and happiness in your journey which ever way you decide to go. Just think about whether your journey means peace and happiness for the sentient beings in your path.
i also have lactose intolerance that is why i always avoid dairy products.“;
well we do have some lactose intolerance in our family and we just cut out on dairy products. ;-,
my sister has lactose intolerance and she can’t stand drinking too much milk..”