05/21/2026
Repost plantbasednews Dr. Neal Barnard explains why you should ditch dairy...
Full-fat dairy products are a source of saturated fat. Experts such as the American Heart Association (AHA) and the NHS in the UK recommend that people reduce sources of saturated fat to avoid heart disease. Dairy products that are high in saturated fats include cheese, cream, ice cream, sour cream, butter, and ghee.
Casein is the main protein (80 percent) in cow’s milk. When humans digest casein, it releases casomorphins, which are opioid peptides. Our bodies contain opioid receptors that bind to casomorphins and exert opioid-like effects on the nervous and gastrointestinal systems.
A 2021 review suggests that casomorphins in dairy are linked to type 1 diabetes, heart disease, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), decreased cognitive processing, gut conditions, and autoimmune diseases. The authors suggest there is a complex interaction between casomorphins, the microbiome, and someone’s genes that determine their diverse effects.
Some research suggests a strong link between dairy consumption and breast cancer. For example, a 2020 observational study of 52,795 females who consumed both dairy and soy products found an increased risk of breast cancer with dairy but no association with soy. The strongest rise in risk was associated with consuming only up to two-thirds of an eight-ounce cup of milk.
On top of all of this:
Dairy cows are farmed against their will, and it is arguable that they suffer among the worst of any animal used for food.
They are forcibly impregnated each year via artificial insemination. Each time they give birth, they have their calves taken from them so that humans can drink their milk. Mother cows have been known to cry out and bellow in apparent distress for days after they’re gone.
Dairy cows will also end up in the slaughterhouse when their milk production is no longer profitable for the farmer.
