What milk is the healthiest for you?

I just want to add to what Rotten said. Mothers Milk isn’t necessary the best for newborns. Some babies are actually intolerant to mothers milk and require special milk. But generally this is a true statement. Also I suggest milk alternatives. Our bodies aren’t made to really process lactose. Most people have some sort of sensitivity to it, it could even be something as simple as struggling to lose weight. Rice milk or soy milk is definitely a better option in my opinion.

I’d say no milk besides mother’s milk. Cow milk is meant for baby cows, not humans. But I’m being kind of a hypocrite because I LOVE milk >_<

Personally I think dairy is the most unhealthy thing in our diet. Humans are the only specie that consumes milk as adults and the only one that customarily consumes milk from another specie. Most human beings loose the ability to digest lactose as toddlers; it is actually a gene mutation that allows some people to digest milk as adults. Most Caucasians do have this mutation though most people of Asian or African heritage do not. Type I diabetes may be caused by an autoimmune response to dairy protein. Countries with the highest consumption of dairy also have the highest rates of osteoporosis. High consumption of dairy is associated with higher rates of ovarian, breast, and prostate cancers (note that the IGF-I thought to be the culprit here is also in soy so soy milk may not be a good substitute). I haven’t completely eliminated dairy (let’s face it, diary does taste good) but I avoid most dairy most of the time. About the only thing I use milk for is with cereal and here I actually prefer almond milk to cow’s milk.

To expand upon Filletofspam’s post… Fasting can actually reduce levels of Insulin-like Growth Factor-1. Do bear in mind that high levels of IGF-1 have only been ‘correlated’ with increased speed of cancer growth, and that a causal relationship is only tentatively suggested at this stage. If you love dairy, but are fearful that dairy intake will increase your risk of cancer, you can counteract the IGF-1 increases from dairy intake through such methods as intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting - or rather fasting in general - is often recommended to cancer patients by doctors to complement chemotherapy. This is a topic of great interest to the fitness community, seeing as the most popular fitness supplement - whey protein - is a milk product. I disagree with the notion that milk is bad for us… Milk is high in calcium, protein, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, and so on. It is also great for post-exercise rehydration and recovery. While I agree that evolutionarily, we are supposed to drink no milk at all as adults - indicated by decreasing levels of lactase in accordance with aging - I don’t think this should be interpreted as meaning that milk is unhealthy. After all, even if milk does cause cancer, so does the Sun..?

You guys are nuts. I drink upwards of 10 cups of milk a day, usually about 5 cups minimum. Milk is a complete source of protein, carbs, and fats, which are all essential in a healthy diet. I don’t recommend drinking as much as me unless you’re trying to gain weight, but 1-2 cups of 2% milk a day would do wonders in keeping up a good diet. If you get your fat calories without milk, you should go for skimmed milk.

Almond milk is pretty good for you. Soy milk usually has lots of sugar in it but if you can find one with no sugar or hardly it wouldn’t be that bad. Cow’s milk isn’t all that great for you. It can give us acne because of hormones in it, it can be high in sugar, and it can be hard on the digestive system.