Dairy products

I eat a lot of cheese and drink a lot of milk...didn't know I wasn't supposed to?

Monsanto quit the rbGH biz as too many people clammered they wanted rbGH-free milk.

Cheese should be my middle name....I do eat a lot of goat and grass fed cow milk cheese.

At Sloan-Kettering, the dietician said that while there's no proof that growth hormones can cause cancer, she advises getting hormone-free dairy products. She also suggests low-fat for dairy.

I am er pr positive and my Oncologist never said to quit eating cheese or dairy of any kind...my cholesterol is high though so I watch it...

Besides the huge amount of fat, the other reason to avoid cheese is that casein, which is the main protein in cheese, is thought to promote the growth of cancer.  This was shown in lab studies, but not in clinical trials, so you won't hear it from doctors or dietitians.  And it probably never will be proven that way - really, who is going to pay for a study that shows we should stop eating cheese?  No one stands to benefit financially from that information.  The research was done by T. Colin Campbell and is covered in his book The China Study.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/a-cure-for-cancer-eating_b_298282.html

I've also seen studies that show that whey protein, which is the other protein in milk, actually inhibits cancer growth.  If you do start eating whey protein for that reason it should be cross-flow microfiltered (CFM) whey isolate.  Jay Robb brand is processed that way.  Every morning I have a smoothie made with organic frozen berries, strawberry flavor whey, greens powder and matcha (green tea powder).  It's good and just feels like a health bomb to start the day!

I don't eat meat and relied HEAVILY on cheese for years - I loved it!  I would eat cheese sometimes at every meal.  I quit cold turkey last summer and I don't really even miss it that much now.  If I do want a cheesy subsitute there is a new one available in regular grocery stores called Daiya.  It's pretty good, and it's made from tapioca, not soy, which I know a lot of us want to avoid as well.

Just some additional info on hormones,dairy etc.. The hormone concerns arent just for non organic meat, dairy etc.. Cows are usually milked most while theyre pregnant which means they have the highest levels of estrogen at that time.. That natural estrogen is passed on to the milk and then we ingest it. Our liver may not always be efficent enough to filter the estrogen properly therefore alot of it is absorbed and makes our hormones spike.. Thats the reason for no alcohol.. alcohol inhibits the liver to do its job properly and it isnt as efficient in filtering the toxins etc that we take in. Whether organic or not, dairy DOES contain natural hormones. What ive done is limit my dairy to treats and get alot of protein from soy products. any animal protein is going to contain natural hormones. Organic meat and products just dont have extra injected into the animals..  Hope this helps a bit..  Healing thoughts for all! XOXOXO

I know that here in Canada, dairy cows are not treated with hormones, so our dairy products are hormone free.  In any case, as I understand it, the hormones used on cows are growth hormones, designed to make beef cattle grow faster so that they can be processed at a younger age. 

HI, All. I"m so new at this, it feels funny to be weighing in on something, but this dairy issue is something I feel strongly about. I had a hysterectomy 2.5 years ago due to a mammoth fibroid that was impacting urination. Then comes this BC dx. I then reread in a book I've had by Dr. Andrew Weil (you can google him, I like his health and nutrition advice) about eating right, where he says that hormones in dairy products MAY contribute to these estrogen driven abnormal growths. I didn't need to hear more than that and it was the first time post diagnosis that I actually felt angry. I know there is no proof of a cx connection yet, but adding hormones to dairy products is purely profit driven on the part of the diary industry (to produce more milk faster) and it may have been at our expense. I would be surprised if there is no connection to those of us who may be more sensitive to additional estrogen. I've been buying organic dairy products since then. One of the best gifts I've given myself since this diagnosis is the ability to spend more money on food. I'm willing to forego other luxuries but not things that go into my body. I've been buying all kinds of expensive organic yogurts, milk, cheeses, etc. (Truth is I'm making more fresh food and saving money on processed food, so maybe it balances out?) This whole experience made me feel so out of control that controlling this one little thing, even if I may be wrong, has been some comfort to me.

I heard the same, about avoiding dairy that has been "contaminated" with hormones being put in the cows' feed.

I have switched to organic milk and 1/2 & 1/2 and am buying Cabot brand cheese if it's not organic. I'm not sure if it's true but was told Cabot doesn't use hormone laced milk. 

So probably those big ol' bags of shredded cheese that are so reasonably priced at Walmart are to be avoided?

http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/12.07/11-dairy.html

I saw this link in another discussion - if it doesn't make you reconsider dairy products I don't know what will...