Even if you grew up drinking milk, eating cheese, and occasionally indulging in a pint of ice cream, there are plenty of reasons to give up dairy. The latest research is becoming more critical of this food group, and arguably dairy consumption is responsible for many of the chronic health problems we face. If you’re still on the fence about giving up your beloved dairy products, keep these seven reasons to give up dairy in mind.

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1. Antibiotics

One of the most highlighted reasons to give up dairy is the potential antibiotics that are in products like milk and cheese. Cows are regularly fed steady doses of antibiotics to prevent them from getting infections and other illnesses. But do you think those antibiotics simply stay in the cow and don’t go into any of the cow’s byproducts? It’s not crazy to think that some of those antibiotics leak into the milk these cows produce. You can abstain from unintended exposure to antibiotics by eliminating dairy from your diet.

2. Hormones

Cows aren’t just fed antibiotics-they’re also fed hormones to help them grow bigger and produce more milk. Although the FDA argues that it’s perfectly safe to drink milk from cows that have been treated with growth hormones, I’m not taking any chances. New studies show that consuming synthetic hormones like the ones fed to cows can lead to hormonal imbalances across the board ranging from thyroid disease to diabetes and pancreatic cancer.

3. Cow Pus

I know this one sounds a little gross. But did you know that there’s a high likelihood your next glass or milk or slice of cheese has trace elements of cow pus in it? Try as they might, farmers can’t create a perfectly sanitary environment for their animals (it is a bar, after all). And don’t think that pasteurization is cure-all. Not only does pasteurization sometimes fail to kill all the bad bacteria in milk, it also destroys all the beneficial enzymes prevalent in raw milk. Do yourself a favor and cut the dairy before you get sick!

4. Lactose Intolerance

Did you know some studies indicate as many as 75% of people are lactose intolerant? If you often suffer from abdominal pain or other stomach issues after consuming dairy, you could have an intolerance. Remember that intolerances don’t just leave you with a stomach ache. Over time, they can lead to villi destruction of the small intestines and malabsorption problems. Opt out of dairy if you fall into this category.

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5. Animal Cruelty

You don’t need to be a PETA member to be conscious of animal cruelty. Many milk-producing cows are slaughtered for beef after a mere five or six years when their milk production declines. Keep in mind wild cattle can live well into their 20s. When it comes to food, your dollar is often your vote. If you don’t like the way cows are being treated in the meat and dairy world, you can abstain from buying these products.

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6. There Are Other Forms of Calcium

Don’t think that milk is the only way you can get enough calcium in your diet. Dark, leafy greens like kale, spinach, Swiss chard, collard greens, and dandelion greens are all rich in calcium, especially when you purchase these foods organic! If you’re cutting out dairy, don’t neglect other plant forms of calcium that can help you meet your daily calcium requirement.

7. Unnatural

One final reason to consider dropping dairy is the theory that consuming dairy is unnatural for humans. Cows ultimately produce milk to feed their young-not us! That’s why many vegetarian and vegan advocates argue that drinking cow’s milk or consuming other forms of dairy is unnatural for humans.

At the end of the day, your decision to eliminate dairy from your diet is a personal choice. What are some of your reasons for giving up dairy?

Sources: pbs.org, pcrm.org, and hsph.harvard.edu

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Where Thoughts and Opinions Converge

I lost weight when I gave up dairy. I made no other changes and dropped a few pounds!

If you drink organic milk it's completely fine and healthy they don't add anything to it

A lot of people say that milk actually draws calcium away from your bones, "Look at the U.S., we are one of the top countries that consume dairy, and a big percentage suffers from osteoporosis" Personally, I only eat a plant based diet, and I feel much better than ever. Whitney mentioned that our bodies adapt to what foods we feed them. Sure, and based on the SAD (Standard American Diet) a lot of people's bodies have "adapted" to their diets and became obese. We don't need animal products to survive, there are a lot of vegans that have increased and maintained their health for years. There are even some that were born and raised vegan, and even raw vegan. Anyway, everyone is free to eat whatever they want in the end, and we shouldn't get mad just because people share their point of view on the subject.

Whats wrong with the world ... Than DONT give hormons to the cows so ppl can enjoy normal food

usually I tend not to comment on articles that I have an opposing view towards; however, your reasons suck for arguing your point. if you were a science major or subject-matter expert, you'd point out that humans are the ONLY ANIMAL (not even mammal) to continue to drink any sort of milk past infancy. we have adapted to maintaining a foster mammal's milk to supply our nutritional intake. That simple, yet undeniable fact would be a sole reason and argument for why someone should ditch dairy. now believe me, I am not agreeing because i use to drink atleast two gallons of milk a week by myself. I was a "milk-aholic". I then traveled more than I would've liked and went a couple weeks without milk. boy did I learn my lesson. your body adapts based on what you feed it, nothing to do with antibiotics/hormones included. those are extremely important factors to look at once you are looking at the fine details. you seem passionate as a writer and activist; however, to write such a controversial article it would be in your best interest to do the thorough research to get your views and message portrayed as accurate as possible. on that note, kudos to you for taking the risk to publish such a heated article. overall, great creative thinking and personal perspective that you included. keep up the awesome and raw work!!

Great article if people don't like it then they should stop writing novels about it and not read it it's pretty irky

I agree with Whitney and Iridescent. None of this crap about dairy being bad was ever an issue even a decade or so ago when farmers were very well using "hormones" etc. I'm sure some ppl are allergic to dairy and lactose so I'm not including them in my argument However, some ppl are just way too quick to jump on the latest fads and news and "Dr. Oz" types who will just ditch anything that a few non-scientific "sources" say is bad for them. Humans have been drinking milk for centuries and centuries. Come on ppl: don't just believe the shit u read and see. If you're not allergic to milk then don't stop drinking it! Same for gluten. Becuz if you dont have any tolerance issues to those and you do stop consuming those then u will have problems for sure becuz your body will stop producing the enzymes necessary to break it down...... It's not always bad UNLESS you clearly have negative reactions

giving up dairy was the best thing I've done ever for my body . it will be a year since I had that last drop of milk and I can say that it help clear up my face a lot because I used to get cystic acne which was the worst and painful someone can have and ever since I gave up milk I don't get those painful bumps anymore so this was a personal choice for me and I will continue not to drink milk.

The protein in milk is very unhealthy, this is also the case with organically produced milk. Green leafy vegetables contain more calcium than milk. Besides, if you don't consume animal protein, you need that much calcium in the first place. Good article .