While growing up, I was told that milk was the essential drink to stay healthy. Today, the advertisements from milk producers boast of vitamins, minerals, and, of course, calcium, calcium, calcium. Dairy producers, of course, have a vested interest in seeing that as many people as possible become lifetime milk consumers. In nature, animals drink milk only in infancy. And in many parts of the world, people react with disgust to the idea of drinking milk as adults.
Milk is indeed a source of protein and calcium that some people do well on.
But many adults have problems with one or more of its components. As they grow out of childhood, they stop making the enzyme that breaks down lactose during digestion. When lactose-intolerant people drink milk, they experience digestive upsets such as gas, cramps, or diarrhea. Butterfat, the fat in milk, is the most saturated fat in the American diet. Milk fat is a principal contributor to high cholesterol and artery-clogging atherosclerosis.