dairy

One thing to watch for when you don't drink milk

If you're giving up milk or have already quit, congratulations.

You've taken a big step in the right direction -- because dairy is responsible for more food sensitivities than anything else out there.

But new research reveals one thing you need to watch out for: Common milk substitutes don't contain nearly enough iodine, which means you can fall short in this essential element.

Iodine doesn't get much attention, but it's critical to thyroid function.

When you fall short, you end up feeling tired and weak, with both sore muscles and "brain fog." You might feel cold, even if you're in a warm room.

And ordinary milk can have up to 60 times the iodine of what's found in soy and nut milks, according to the analysis by the University of Surrey.

But that's not the only nutrient to watch for when you quit the moo juice.

Cow's milk also contains higher levels of vitamin D than many milk substitutes, and some of those replacements use synthetic D2 instead of natural D3.

These aren't reasons to continue drinking milk, of course. There are some very good reasons to quit, starting with the biggest of all: Odds are, your body struggles to digest it.

The U.S. National Library of Medicine -- about as mainstream a health body as you'll find -- flat out states that "65 percent of the human population has a reduced ability to digest lactose after infancy,"

That's a fact. There's no debate over it, yet it's rarely mentioned by health officials -- no doubt because the powerful dairy industry resists any move to issue warnings, cautions, or guidelines that would in any way encourage people to quit or limit dairy.

The result?

Just going by the U.S. National Library of Medicine's numbers, more than 200 million Americans have lactose problems. Yet, based on current sales figures, most of them are still drinking milk.

Many don't even realize they have a problem with milk, because the effects aren't always immediate or obvious. Instead, they brush off minor problems -- especially digestive conditions and regular battles with diarrhea -- as something they ate.

Or, even worse, they're so used to the problems that they think that's "just how it is" and live with it.

But there's an easy cure.

If you have some mystery ailments of your own, try giving up dairy for a while and see how you feel.

Even if you don't, consider giving it a shot.

You might be surprised at how much better you'll feel.

As the new study shows, just be sure to make up for your lost nutrients in other ways.

Consider a D3 supplement... as well as a thyroid support formula that includes both the iodine you need and the amino acid tyrosine, which helps your body to put that iodine to use.

Everyone's terrified of trans fats these days, and it's not hard to see why: They've been so vilified that some places are actually banning them.

Must be something to it, right?

There is -- because the trans fats that come from hydrogenated vegetable oils are every bit as bad as their reputation, and then some: They'll up your odds of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, dementia, depression and more.

Avoid them like the plague, and I'll tell you how in a moment (it's not as easy as it sounds).

But there's another type of trans fat -- the trans fats found in fresh meats and dairy. And the latest research confirms that not only is this stuff harmless, but you want to go out of your way to get it.

Researchers put 61 women onto a diet rich in these natural trans fats for a month -- something the health officials who are issuing blanket trans fat bans would have you believe is a recipe for disaster.

No disaster here.

In fact, according to the study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, these women had no increase in any of the traditional mainstream risk factors for heart problems -- including no changes to their levels of LDL cholesterol or triglycerides.

And for a month, they got to eat some actual fresh, natural fats -- something more of us could use these days, since natural meats and dairy are some of the healthiest foods around.

Unfortunately, most people don't get their trans fats from natural meats and dairy. They get them from fast food, snacks and even so-called "healthy" alternatives like margarine.

And spotting these food by checking the nutritional labels isn't as easy as you might think. Believe it or not food companies are allowed to round small amounts of trans fats down to zero, as if they don't exist at all.

Meanwhile, all it takes is just a few servings for that little bit to turn into too much -- a little supermarket coffee creamer and some margarine each day, for example, and you could actually exceed the recommended daily intake for these deadly fats.

The fact is you can't trust the "ZERO TRANS FATS" package blurbs or even the nutritional information tables. Go right to the ingredients label instead -- and if the product contains any partially hydrogenated vegetable oils at all, put it back.

That's a sure sign of trans fats -- and even if it was truly trans fat free, odds are it's something you shouldn't be eating anyway.

And really, let's get real here; is there anyone who actually likes the taste of margarine?