Concern has arisen over the safety of dairy products and their effect on your health, mainly because they are made from processed milk (pasteurised and homogenised). Considering that processed milk can potentially be harmful to your body, it makes sense that dairy products made from it could be just as harmful. As a matter of fact, some researchers believe that dairy products may be a hidden cause of aging.

Why you should try to avoid Processed Milk

Processed milk has been linked to interrupting the body’s acid-alkaline balance, which can lead to any of the following:

• Weak bones
• Increased risk of fracture
• Osteoporosis
• Increased risk of early death from heart disease or cancer

As you may have already thought, most of these risks are exactly what milk was once believed to fight off. However, the health benefits of processed milk are in fact all a myth.

Beware of Sugar!!!

We have said it before, and we must say it again. Sugar is found in some of the most unsuspecting foods—and milk is one of them! As your body digests milk, it naturally breaks down the sugar found in milk to a form called D-galactose. In high doses that can easily come about from regular milk consumption, that very D-galactose produces aging effects in your body. These effects include:

• Altered gene expression
• Chronic inflammation
• Decreased immunity
• Oxidative damage
• Neurodegeneration

All those activities serve as a recipe for not only aging, but also early death. So, what can you do to reverse the damage?

Reverse the effects of Dairy with Fermented Foods

While milk consumption has been found to increase risk of fracture and osteoporosis, consuming fermented foods has been found to decrease the occurrence of fracture and early death. Some fermented foods you should consider are organic butter, cheese, sour cream, yoghurt and fermented vegetables (available at Mr Vitamins) ‘Ask a Naturopath’ about other fermented foods you can try as well as how to go about making your own fermented foods at home.