No milk today...

It’s about a year now that I abstain from milk and milk products. As it has affected (positively) my wellbeing so dramatically, I strongly recommend to generalize the concept - It is worthwhile to search ones roadblocks for health, in situations where ones efforts to heal do not result in contentment.

Losing weight is my personal issue of life (also my scientific field of study), so for years I eat “right” as well as smartly exercise daily, and yet it was milk abstinence that enabled the 17kg weight loss this year. In the chart below (my "excess kg") you may see that in the previous year I have lost 5 kg with the same exercise & diet but with milk and its products (cottage cheese and yogurts). So milk abstinence enabled over 3 times faster weight loss. Pls note that the no-milk diet is not poorer in calories as instead I eat a lot of almonds which have higher caloric value.

It has also (even before the weight loss was manifested) balanced my morning blood sugar levels (I am diabetic II) and now my HbA1c is balanced - 5.6 (it used to be 6.8 regardless of my very low carbohydrates consumption).

One of my articles on obesity, defines 2 urges to eat - the need to eat as well as satiety, are regulated by these two unrelated urges. One urge is activated by our daily energy expenditure and the other by the need to accumulate energy for the future (activated by the degree of our bodily worry). I have also explained how satiety of the second urge is critical for a healthy weight loss. A US team indeed found levels of white blood cells were highest in men who were unfit and overweight. High levels of white blood cells can be a sign of inflammation/body worry.

Indeed I’ve found that I show Lactose Intolerance and I guess this was a main body-worry which inhibited my health as well as my weight loss. It is intersting to note that in the ESHG 2009 meeting, a study demonstarted that the variant responsible for lactose intolerance among Europeans was also associated with higher BMI.

But milk is not the only generator of worry, e.g. exposure to insecticide may cause such a worry and thus can play role in obesity… as well as other chemical exposures.

Milk damage might not be related only to Lactose Intolerance, e.g. it was shown to be related to cancer progress via its N-glycolylneuraminic acid.

And more:

1- French study demonstrated increases in weight with high dairy calcium intakes in normal-weight women, and positive relations between milk consumption and waist circumference change in overweight women.

Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, 2008; 88(5), 1248-1255

2- Milk products appear insulinotropic.

Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, 2001; 74(1), 96-100

3- High intake of various food groups such as red meat, fried potatoes, cheese, and cottage cheese is associated with risk of type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes Care, 2009, 32, 263-268

4- In kids (age 9-14), dietary calcium and skim and 1% milk were associated with weight gain, but dairy fat was not.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005;159:543-550

5- Children in Crete with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, consumed more dairy products and less meats and cereals.
Ann Nutr Metab. 2008 Aug 19;52(4):308-314

6- The majority of current evidence from clinical trials does not support the hypothesis that dairy consumption aids in weight or fat loss.

Nutrition Reviews, 2008, 66(5),272-297

7- A family diet rich in dairy products during childhood is associated with a greater risk of colorectal cancer in adulthood.

Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, 2007, 86(6), 1722-1729

8- The intake of dairy products may be associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer.

Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, 2005; 81(5), 1147-1154

Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(4):930–7

9- Milk-the promoter of chronic Western diseases

Med Hypotheses. 2009, 72(6), 631-639

10- Cow's-Milk-Free Diet as a Therapeutic Option in Childhood Chronic Constipation.

J. Pediatr. Gastroenterol. Nutr. 2010, May 4 e-pub ahead of print

and last, milk may also help bacteria survive against low levels of antibiotics.

It is worth a trial to avoid milk consumption …

Did you ever try the Paleo diet?

Chinese 5 Elements Mark Johnson's Questionnaire

If the question sounds a lot like you, put +2
If it is somewhat like you, put +1
Put a 0 if it is neutral
-1 if it is not much like you
-2 if it is nothing like you


If you hate questionnaires and refuse to do it, you are more than likely a "Wood" person!

Phase IAre you a natural born initiator?
Do you have problems with authority figures?
Do you suffer from migratory pains?
Do you act assertively and confidently?
Does other people's slowness and clumsiness irritate you?
Do you like struggling against great odds to prove to others you can do it?
Are you frequently doing something or going somewhere?
Do you have high blood pressure?
Have you often been told you don't compromise much?
Do you have to be the first and best?
Does confinement and sitting quietly drive you crazy?
Do you get frequent muscle cramps?
Do you like to make the rules and then break them?
Are you passionate about everything you do?
Do you pioneer new trails wherever you go?
Do your nails alternate between hard and thick and dry and brittle?
Are you impatient with uncommitted people with no direction?
Are you afraid to show vulnerability?
Have you ever had tendonitis?
Do you love speed and adventure?
Do you tend to manipulate people and situations to get what you want?
Is controlling your anger one of your biggest problems?
Do you find any kind of restraint insufferable?
Do you do your best work under pressure?


Phase II
Would you describe yourself as an introspective "loner"?
Do you have an exaggerated sex drive?
Is the search for TRUTH a prime motivator in your life?
Do you hate superficiality in people?
Are you creative, imaginative and original?
Are you modest and fear being in the limelight?
Are you self contained and self sufficient?
Is deterioration of teeth and gums a problem?
Do you seek the deep mystery in everything?
Are you out of touch with your emotions?
Do you suffer with backaches frequently?
Are you tactless and even rude occasionally?
Do you have a very penetrating and critical mind?
Do you hate waste and conserve everything?
Is stick-to-ativeness one of your strongest virtues?
Do you have hardening of the arteries?
Is it hard for you to share with others?
Do you suffer with isolation and loneliness?
Are you afraid of loosing yourself in others?
Are you considered enigmatic and eccentric by your friends?
Do you have remarkable powers of concentration?
Are you awkward in social circumstances?
Do you have trouble conforming?
Have you had kidney or bladder problems?
Are you watchful and objective with other people?


Phase III
Do you spend a lot of time and energy consciously seeking the divine?
Do you have an enlarged or weak heart?
Are you charismatic?
Do you have an extreme aversion to pain?
Do you love drama, performing and being in the limelight?
Are you often spontaneous?
Do you get sores on your tongue and around your mouth?
Can't say NO to anyone?
Do you tend to be more sensual than your friends?
Do you love to give your opinion?
Do you fear separation above all else?
Are you clever on your feet?
Do you desire fulfillment more than almost anything?
Do you bore easily with the dull and ordinary?
Do your cheeks turn red easily?
Could you be described as extravagant?
Are you bright and scintillating at social gatherings?
Do you have eczema?
Do you have trouble with boundaries?
Is the need for intimacy a strong motivation with you?
Does sharing come easily?
Are you mostly optimistic and enthusiastic about life?
Are you strongly empathetic?
Do you suffer from anxiety and insomnia?


PHASE IVAre you a "law and order' person?
Do you hold righteousness and virtue in high regard?
Are rituals important to you?
Do you have stiff joints and muscles?
Is chaos your enemy?
Do you have no time for nonsense?
Do you hold very precise standards?
Are you really sensitive to temperature changes?
Are you intolerant of disorder and dissonance?
Is your skin and hair really dry?
Do you fear intimacy?
Do you have a strong aesthetic sense?
Does carelessness in others drive you up a wall?
Are you considered cool, dispassionate and distant?
Do you have a tight chest with dry coughing?
Are reason and high principles your guiding light?
Are you a little too strict and nit-picky?
Do you have refined tastes?
Have you been called self-righteous?
Do you have a lot of moles and warts?
Is social involvement on the bottom of your list of important things to do?
Do you have sinus problems?
Does your constant self control drive your spontaneous friends crazy?
Are you into changing other people?
Do you suffer from constipation?


PHASE VDo you see yourself as a service oriented person?
Are you working on being more self-reliant?
Do your friends often use you as a negotiator?
Is bloating and water retention a problem?
Do you struggle with inertia and feel "stuck" sometimes?
Does nurturing come easy to you?
Are you haunted with self-doubt?
Do you like to be in charge, but not in the limelight?
Does your efficiency leave something to be desired?
Does your need to be accommodating result in conformity?
Do you often go through an identity crisis?
Is a need to belong strong in you?
Do you suffer with muscle tenderness?
Are you referred to as a "peacemaker" by your friends?
Do you regard loyalty as being one of the more important traits in a person?
Are you quite conservative in your thinking?
Do you have a strong need to be needed?
Are you often involved in everybody else's business?
Do you suffer with swollen glands and other lymphatic disorders?
Would you like things more predictable because things are changing too fast?
Do you tend to be overly protective?
Do unrealistic expectations leave you disappointed much of the time?
Do you try to be all things to all people?
Is there a deep "emptiness" in the pit of your stomach?
Do you have a squarish, solid physique?

__________________________

Phase I is the WOOD phase
Phase II is the WATER phase
Phase III is the FIRE phase
Phase IV is the METAL phase
Phase V is the EARTH phase

Now add up each phase by subtracting the negatives from the positives and
see which ones have the highest numbers. Often you will have a phase or
phases that are negative. This is OK. The phase with the least amount of
negatives is your dominant phase. We are all a mixture of these phases so
it is the PROPORTION between them that is important. More than 25 points
between the highest and lowest is a sign of imbalance.

For instance from dominant to weak might look like this...
WOOD +18, FIRE +9, EARTH -9, METAL -10, WATER +5 This is a WOOD person
with a weak EARTH phase. To balance them, strengthen Fire
or...WOOD -25, FIRE -16, EARTH -13, METAL 0, WATER -9, This is a METAL
person with a week WOOD phase. To help them, strengthen their WATER.
or...WOOD +6, FIRE +4, EARTH +1, METAL -1, WATER -2, This person is
balanced and all they need do is maintain that balance!