Cow, Goat, Sheep or Oat - Which Milk is Better?

Open your fridge, or that of pretty much anyone, and what’s the one thing you’re guaranteed to find? You’ve got it - a bottle or a carton of milk.

In days gone by, the debate might have been over whether it was full fat or semi skimmed, or perhaps from a cow vs a goat. But in this modern day of alternatives, the debate isn’t about which animal it comes from - instead it’s whether it’s from an animal at all.

In this Article

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Dairy Milk?
Hormones, Antibiotics and Fats
Some People Say Dairy is Scary - Is This True?
What About Other Animal Milks?
Plant-Based, Dairy-Free Milk Alternatives - in Their Droves!
Choosing the Best Milk, and Mixing Things Up a Little

Milk alternatives made from nuts, seeds and other plants are ubiquitous and claim to have just as many nutrients, if not more, than traditional cow's milk.

So what’s the truth? Is one milk better than another? Let’s take a look.

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Dairy Milk?

Let’s look at one simple fact - humans are the only species to drink the milk of another species. That’s right, no other species would drink the milk of another species. A puppy wouldn’t naturally suckle from a mother cat* just like a baby giraffe in the wild wouldn’t drink from the teat of a wild antelope mother. (*Unless via human intervention such as a kitten, puppy or other companion animal being given cow’s milk by their owner.)

Yet for thousands of years, it has been accepted practice to feed human babies and children the milk of a mother cow.

Cow’s milk and other dairy products such as cheese and yoghurt are full of nutrients and are rich in protein that helps youngsters grow and develop normally and that nourish fully grown adults.

But there’s also a well-known saying - “If you’ve got milk, you’ve likely got a host of health problems awaiting you too”.

So, why is this? Why is cow’s milk sometimes considered bad for us? There are various reasons…

Hormones, Antibiotics and Fats

As well as beneficial vitamins, minerals and protein, milk from cows also contains various hidden extras…

Hormones

Dairy milk naturally contains hormones, including oestrogen and progesterone - two female sex hormones. Studies suggest a possible link between these hormones from cows being linked to cancers of the breast, womb and prostate.

Oestrogen is a fat soluble hormone and is therefore found in higher concentrations in full fat milk than semi skimmed or skimmed. On the plus side, some people are concerned about growth hormones in dairy milk - but the use of growth hormones in dairy herds is banned in the UK.

Acid Forming

Another potential issue is that when we consume animal products such as meat and dairy, our body produces acid. Calcium, an important mineral for the health and strength of our bones and teeth, as well as for muscle function, is an effective acid neutraliser.

Therefore, when we consume dairy, calcium from the dairy product as well as calcium from our reserves is used to neutralise the resulting acid, taking it away from its important job of keeping the bones strong.

Which is ironic, given that the dairy industry has for decades used clever marketing tactics to convince us that drinking milk is the “best” way to keep our bones healthy. In fact, studies show that those who consume the highest amount of dairy products actually also experience higher rates of bone fractures.

Antibiotics

In addition to hormones, dairy milk often contains traces of antibiotics, used to treat an infection of the udders called mastitis (see below). These antibiotics are not used in the UK in order to increase milk yields, but they are problematic when they inevitably enter the human food chain.

Antibiotic resistance is an increasingly worrying problem (the antibiotic apocalypse is said to be the next major threat to humankind). On an individual level, this means we might need stronger and stronger antibiotics to cure a simple illness such as a bacterial throat infection or urine infection. On a community, national and global level, antibiotic resistance is worrying on a much larger scale.

Fats

Full-fat dairy products including full-fat milk and yoghurts as well as all types of cheese contain high levels of saturated fat and cholesterol. Consuming high levels of milk and dairy products can therefore lead to weight gain, obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart disease. Adding to the problem is the high level of sodium, or salt, found in cheese.

Carcinogens

As if all that isn’t enough, it's been said (by biochemist T Colin Campbell) that “casein is the most relevant carcinogen ever found”. Casein is the main protein found in milk and whilst studies are still looking into this claim, research shows that “casein promotes the proliferation of prostate cancer cells”. That is, it encourages cancer cells in the prostate to grow and divide, causing tumours to also grow.

Acne causing

Our skin doesn’t escape either, with numerous studies linking the consumption of milk and dairy products with an “increased prevalence and severity of acne” in teenage females and males.

Intolerances and Allergies

Lactose intolerance or an intolerance to the sugar naturally found in dairy milk is also an increasing problem. This can result in symptoms including headaches, bloating, stomach cramps, nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting.

Worse than this, a milk allergy, that is, a potentially severe allergic reaction to milk, including anaphylaxis, especially in young children is also a very real problem for many.

Some People Say Dairy is Scary - Is This True?

Some people have an inherent dislike of the dairy industry in general and have no official “health” reason for avoiding cow’s milk. Rather, it’s the health of the cows that causes the issue.

This isn’t meant to be a Dairy Industry Bashing article, but in a nutshell, it goes something like this - In order for a dairy cow to produce milk, she needs to have had a calf. In order to have a calf, she needs to become pregnant. In order to become pregnant, she needs to be inseminated with bull sperm.

This pregnancy generally doesn’t happen as a result of a romantic pairing in a field - instead, she’s forcibly impregnated by human hands and cold, harsh instruments whilst being forced to stand in a metal crate called a cattle crush.

She then goes through nine months of pregnancy (the same as a human mother) before starting to produce milk to feed her baby. 36 hours after giving birth, her calf is then removed from her - if the calf is female, she’ll end up assigned to the same fate, if male, he’ll either become veal after a couple of months, or he’ll be destroyed at birth, useless to the dairy industry.

The mother cow will then go on to both cry and scream as she hunts for her baby, and produce milk for another ten months, the milk pumped from her teats on a daily basis by machine, to feed humans rather than baby cows.

After ten months, she’ll have a month or so grace, before forcibly being made pregnant again. This cycle begins when she’s 15 months old and will continue every 12 months for four years.

Under normal circumstances, i.e. if a mother cow had a calf and they were allowed to roam fields together, she would carry around two litres of milk in her udders in order to keep her baby fed and nourished. However, it can be “normal” for a dairy cow to carry a whopping 20 litres in one go, forced to do so by dairy farmers under pressure to make money.

These overfull udders can then lead to a painful infection called mastitis and even cause her to collapse and experience lameness. If she becomes lame, or when she’s no longer useful as a dairy cow, she’ll be taken to a slaughterhouse and turned into burgers or baby food.

If she survives mastitis and lameness, at around six and a half, she’ll meet the same fate - burgers or baby food - way before the lifespan expected for a non-dairy cow - around 25 years - as she’ll no longer be useful as a dairy cow.

What About Other Animal Milks?

Dairy milk doesn’t just come from cows. Some people prefer to drink milk that has come from other animals such as goats or sheep.

These milks still have the same or similar reasons not to drink them as cow’s milk due to how their milk is produced, but there are some reasons why goat or sheep’s milk may be better for you.

• Sheep’s milk contains easier to digest fats and goat’s milk contains less lactose
• Some of the micronutrients in sheep’s and goat’s milk are more bioavailable meaning that they’re easier to absorb
• Sheep’s milk and goat’s milk are higher in calcium than cow’s milk
• Sheep’s milk is richer in vitamins B12 and C
• Goat’s milk is richer in zinc and selenium
• Sheep’s and goat’s milk causes fewer intolerances and allergies

But what if you want to avoid milk from an animal altogether? Well, you’re in luck!

Plant-Based, Dairy-Free Milk Alternatives - in Their Droves!

With the advent of the vegan or plant-based diet becoming more mainstream, food manufacturers, both old and new, are cottoning on.

This means that there are now a plethora of plant-based alternatives to meat - the humble bean burger has come a long way, with textured plant-based proteins being used to reimagine everything from steaks to pulled pork.

These plant-based innovations also mean that milk and dairy product alternatives have come a long way from just soya milk.

Now, we can choose from a range of dairy-free milk including oat, almond, pea, hemp, tiger nut, rice, coconut and even potato milk (make of that what you will). From an alkaline angle, we advocate almond, oat and coconut as the best.

Each non-dairy, plant-based milk has its own naturally occurring nutrient, and some are more protein-rich than others. Some will also contain added vitamins and minerals. They also suit different uses, for example, oat milk is good in coffee, almond not so much as it often splits (unless it’s a barista version). Coconut milk has a creamy, distinct, sometimes overpowering taste, whereas oat milk is pretty much indistinguishable from cow’s milk.

So make yourself plant-based milk savvy by becoming a label reading pro and experiment until you find your favourites.

Choosing the Best Milk, and Mixing Things Up a Little

Humans have evolved to only truly tolerate the milk of one animal - humans. Human breast milk contains everything a baby needs in order to grow, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that babies are breastfed until they’re two years old for this reason.

Adults wishing to consume milk in keeping with their evolution should therefore arguably only consume plant-based milk.

But mixing things up and having different kinds of milk for different uses such as for hot drinks, for smoothies and for cereal, could well be the answer for you.

Plus, if you love cheese, a word of warning - as much as vegan cheeses have come a long way, unlike dairy-free milk they’re still nothing like the real thing.

References

This article is not meant to treat or diagnose. Please visit your doctor for advice about any health concerns you may have.