Inaccuracies in The Milk Book?

[Guest guest]

I have a question for those who have read The Milk Book by

s. In another group that I subscribe to, there was a short discussion

about the book, and one of members listed some of what she thought were

inaccuracies in it. I am reposting (with her permission) what she wrote below,

and I would like to know if other people here agree with it and have noticed

other problems with the book. It appears that WAPF is so pro-milk that they will

allow serious inaccuracies in books that promote raw milk.

Here's her message:

" But, for instance, the author asserts that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a result

of eating cooked dairy and thus can be cured with raw milk. I actually HAVE

Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (the name that most doctors are

trying to have replace CFS) and I assure you that it is not a result of drinking

cooked dairy. It's a complex illness involving immunosuppression,

neurotransmitters, and mitochondrial chemicals. It is related to some

environmental factors and possibly to some environmental ones.

I actually gave up dairy altogether for over a year, because I have IBS

(commonly found in people with FMS and CFIDS, as all are related to skewed

neurotransmitter levels) and I was not miraculously healed.

Oh, and here's another one I remember: the author theorizes and then asserts as

fact that SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) is caused by lactose intolerance.

His theory is that lactose intolerant infants vomit up small amounts of milk in

the night, then choke to death on the vomitus. He recommends putting infants to

sleep on their stomachs, and not feeding them formula made from milk, to avoid

SIDS.

He doesn't take into account several things: number one, SIDS happens to infants

who are breast fed as well as to those who are formula fed. Number two, in the

1990s a long-term study concluded that infants who sleep on their stomachs are

more likely to die of SIDS than are those who sleep on their backs.

While this information only became available AFTER his original book was

published, the copy which I read was a recent re-issue with a new introduction

by the author; the new information about SIDS has now been available for a

decade and a responsible physician would have taken it into account & revised

his text. Instead of doing so, he instead made a recommendation which increases

the danger to infants. (New information on CFIDS has also been available for at

least 5 years now.)

Also, the so-called experiment on which he based his findings was one in which

the subjects (guinea pigs) were anaesthetized to prevent them awakening while

choking to death on milk introduced to their tracheas using a straw. He

completely overlooked the fact that a)general anaesthesia is NOT the same as

natural sleep; it's not possible to awaken from general anaesthesia, whereas

people who choke in natural sleep awaken and b)introducing a fluid into the

trachea with a straw through the nostril guarantees choking, while vomiting does

not.

These are medical issues, and they are issues of which a physician should be

aware. While his book may contain some truths, if it contains such gross

medical inaccuracies as these, I am not quick to trust anything else he says

without verification from an independent source.

Then we have the section entitled " A Cow is Not a Cat. " In this section, he

goes on and on about what filthy creatures cows are, and how they have no care

for their own hygeine. He speaks of them standing in the piled-up shit in their

stalls. The inaccuracy here is clear to anyone who has had close contact with

cows that are NOT locked in stalls. Cows stand in shit because humans give them

no other choice, not because they are inherently filthy creatures. Like most

animals, cows like to be clean and cows which have freedom of movement wash

themselves and one another as best as they can.

Yes, I have of course found inaccuracies in other books. However, when a

physician is writing about matters of health, he should take care to be

accurate, rather than evangelize unreasoningly. "