We all live with erroneous beliefs that can ruin our lives... One of the most persistent has been induced by official media and advertising, as well as by the traditional healthcare system, since our earliest childhood. We're talking about beliefs about cow's milk.

These beliefs can be expressed in several ways:

• milk is good for you!
• milk provides calcium and strong bones!
• to grow well, you need milk...

However, the simple observation of human physiology should make us realize that milk is a food only for infants. And even then, they should only be given the milk of their own species, i.e. breast milk.

Indeed, from a physiological point of view, to digest the lactose present in dairy products, the body needs lactase. Lactose is a sugar found in milk. Thanks to the action of lactase (a digestive enzyme), lactose is broken down into glucose and galactose through a process of hydrolysis (dissolution in water). The milk is then ready to be assimilated.

However, from the age of 18 months to 4 years, 90-95% of this enzyme disappears, and studies show that by adulthood only 25% of humans still possess a little lactase.

In the absence of lactase, other actions are taken by the body to digest lactose. In this way, the sugar is transformed by bacteria in the digestive system, resulting in the production of hydrogen. This can lead to bloating, intestinal cramps, stomach pains and/or diarrhoea. Lactose intolerance is then considered to exist.

But there are other components of cow's milk that are problematic: proteins, the best-known of which is casein. It causes health problems that are often more serious than those caused by simple lactose intolerance. In this case, we can speak of genuine allergic phenomena, allergies that can manifest themselves simply as the presence of mucus, sinusitis, coughing or recurrent ENT and respiratory infections. This is something to keep in mind, not only for the very young, but also for adults.

As with lactose, the main protein in milk, casein is also not digested by the human body. Unlike cattle, for whom this milk is intended, humans have no need for casein. Neither adults nor babies possess the enzymes needed to digest this complex molecule. It is estimated that only 50% of casein is digested (children and adults combined). Once again, this is an enzymatic incompatibility. The same incompatibility occurs in some people with gluten, or rather with gliadin and glutenin, complex proteins found in many cereals (wheat, barley, oats...). Peptidase (DPP4) is responsible for reducing complex molecules into simple ones so that they can be assimilated by the body. This natural process is necessary to extract nutrients from ingested foods.

Due to a variety of factors, this enzyme is often deficient. As a result, these complex proteins are not completely broken down, and residues remain in the body. These residues can enter the bloodstream as a result of the increased intestinal permeability that has become commonplace in our populations. These waste products clog up the body, irritating tissues and creating sensitivity to this type of toxicity. Over the years, sensitivity to certain allergens can worsen and extend to other natural elements: other foods, but also dust, pollen, animal hair, etc.

A concomitant phenomenon to the non-assimilation of lactose and casein is the excessive production of mucus by various body tissues. This is a normal inflammatory or immune reaction, designed to protect the body from aggressive agents. These viscous secretions are intended to drain or carry away dust and microbes.

Over the long term, these repeated reactions lead to inflammation and chronic immune reactions (autoimmune reactions). Naturopaths are well acquainted with excess mucus. They constitute what they call colloidal overload. These overloads clog up the body and are difficult to eliminate by the eliminatory organs known as emunctories.

Large quantities of secreted mucus or glues accumulate in the body, eventually invading the sinus, nasal and even lung cavities, where they need to be evacuated.

Animal-based dairy products (especially cow's milk, but also goat's milk and sheep's milk) are incredible mucus generators. Pay attention to this the next time you consume dairy products... And make the connection with your runny nose when you don't have a cold, the "cat" in your throat that makes you "scrape" all night long, or the morning cough and sputum (= mucus) that you expel because your body is trying to get rid of what's disturbing it.

Mucus production tends to aggravate allergic phenomena, as well as asthma, eczema, bronchitis, sinusitis, ear infections and recurrent ear infections.

Studies conducted in the United States by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology confirm this assessment. According to Dr. Frank Osi, in the USA, cow's milk is the leading cause of food allergy in children, to the extent that almost half of them develop an allergic reaction to it. The same is obviously true worldwide.

So if your children, or the children around you, frequently suffer from blocked noses, colds or chest infections, consider advising them to stop consuming products based on animal milks. As for adults suffering from osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, inflammatory problems or any other chronic or auto-immune disease, abstinence from dairy products can only be beneficial.

Today's organic and health food stores offer a wide range of alternatives based on the following ingredients plant milks. And rest assured, many vegetables, as well as the dried fruits from which these plant milks are made , are excellent sources of calcium.