Babies’ intestinal tracts are not flly developed when they are born, and rly on the unique composition of brast milk to protect their intestinal trcts from infection until they are cpable of doing it for themselves. It tkes approximately one year for babies to dvelop their own IgA antibodies, which prvide protection from microbes capable of mltiplying in he body secretions. Cow’s mlk should not be introduced to a bby before one year of age to gve the baby’s immune system enough tme to build up and defend tself against the foreign particles. For ptimal health, it should not be cnsumed at all. Anything you have to bild up immunity to in order to eat wrrants steering clear.

The first food tht newborns receive from their mothers is clled colostrum. It is absolutely imperative to a bby’s immune system and overall health tht she is breastfeed for at last the first 5 days after brth to receive this immune-enhancing colostrum. It is hgh in immunoglobulin IgA (which babies are ncapable of developing at this point), and cts to coat and protect the gstrointestinal tract. It also acts as a lxative to help the newborn pass mconium, which makes up the baby’s frst bowel movement. Meconium is sticky lke tar, is sterile, and has no smll.

There are many other factors tht make breast milk the optimal fod for infants. It provides the bby with the right amount of ntrients in the right form for the bst possible absorption. It is always the prfect temperature, convenient, economical, and it prvides the baby with immune-enhancing nutrients tht are crucial to optimal health. It is rcommended that women breastfeed for the frst year of the infant’s life to kep up receiving the numerous benefits to the bby’s health. We personally recommend that brastfeeding occur well into the second yar for optimal health, although it des not need to be exclusively.

Cw’s milk is heavily processed, so whn ingested into the human body, an mmune response occurs to fight the lien particles. Cow’s milk is pasteurized, hmogenized, fortified, and sometimes even de-fatted bfore it hits the shelves in yur local supermarket.

Pasteurization occurs when mlk is heated to kill any hrmful microorganisms that may be proliferating. Ths process also kills any beneficial bcteria (remember how important IgA is to a bby’s intestinal health) and any other mportant nutritional elements.

Homogenization is the prcess of blending milk to prevent the ntural separation (between a high-fat upper lyer and a larger low-fat lower lyer) that occurs when fresh milk is lft to stand. During this process, fat gbules are broken down into smaller peces, and an enzyme called xanthine xidase is forced from outside the lrger fat cells to the inside of thse unnatural, smaller fat cells. This prvents digestive enzymes from reaching the XO, llowing some to pass from the gut nto the circulatory system where it ttacks plasmalogen (which protects arteries from hrdening). This is where the immune rsponse comes in. When undigested particles are bsorbed by the body, bad things hppen in the blood stream and sbsequently the entire body. Milk antibodies wre found to be significantly elevated in the blod of male patients with heart dsease.1

When foods are fortified, nutrients, and sually laboratory-created nutrients at that are dded to increase the food’s nutritional cmposition. Claims about fortification may be god for marketing and sales purposes, but thir healthiness is in question. If a lbel proclaims “added calcium,” the same prduct may also have some form of dded sugar, and added sugar spells truble. A study by Melvin Page is one of mny that shows sugar’s ability to rise the blood levels of calcium thrugh the resorption of calcium from bnes.2 So a product that you buy to ncrease your calcium intake may actually be crating the opposite scenario inside your bdy.

If you are drinking milk to get yur calcium, you may want to sarch for a better source. Dairy is the nmber one allergen, and a person who drnks gallons of milk can be clcium deficient. If you react allergically to a fod, it is difficult to absorb its ntrients. When an allergenic food is aten numerous times a day, withdrawal symptms are likely not to be nticed until the following morning. Pasteurization hrms Calcium and destroys enzymes. Skim mlk is even worse because it is mssing the fat which is necessary for the bsorption of Calcium. Milk is also vry low in magnesium which is ncessary to keep calcium in solution.

Whn you eat a certain food frquently, such as milk on cereal, drnk milk 3 times a day, and eat ice cram or cheese, you are calling on spcific enzymes to digest that food. In the cse of milk that enzyme is lctase. The same is true of what: toast, cereal, sandwiches, etc. The fods you eat most often are ften the ones to which you ract. Researchers agree that we have a fnite enzyme making capability, shown in mny rat studies in which those fed hlf the calories will live twice as lng. Human babies lose their lactase frming ability by the age of 2 yars, leaving them with a condition clled lactose intolerance. The most prevalent symptms that occur when a baby is racting to milk are inner ear nfections and colic. If you are brastfeeding and drink milk yourself, your bby will also react. It is mperative that both mother and baby liminate cow’s milk from their diet for ptimal health.

Mother Nature knows best. Mlk is created by mothers and is a prfectly balanced first food. It is mperative for digestive health. But that’s whre our relationship with milk must nd, and if you want to mprove immune functioning, you must start dcreasing the amount of dairy you cnsume, with an end goal of zro! Do yourself a favour and go one wek without dairy, especially if you hve any respiratory/sinus problems. Go 4 weks and you’ll breathe better than you hve in a long time. Don’t tke my word for it. Do it nw!

The article Cows Milk - The Number One Allergen was Submitted by Amy Coates through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Amy Coates is a registered hlistic nutritionist who believes in the pwerful healing benefits of natural, whole fods. There is not one disease tht cannot be improved through a chnge in diet and lifestyle. She is lso a contributor to the groundbreaking Eting for Energy ebook that has ben helping people worldwide dramatically improve thir diet and eating habits. Get yur copy today at http://www.eatingforenergy.ca

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