There is surprising news on the benefits milk may bring to our diets. Dairy products have received much criticism for the contribution to heart disease and obesity in America. In spite of advertisements to compensate for the drop in milk sales, milk continues to get a bad rap. Why? Here is a brief recent history.

Not long ago, cow milk became recognized in the top three allergic foods, right up there with wheat and corn. Because of this, goat, soy and rice milk began its entrance into the American fridge. Many tried these alternatives to milk to replace the allegedly unhealthy fat product. The not-so-brave may have bought 2% milk in an attempt to reduce the harmful effects, but the real fat lovers could not be tempted with this watered down version. The conspiracy against dairy farms accelerated with media claims such as: "Cow’s milk is made for calves not humans;" "Heart disease in America began its climb with the homogenizing of milk;" and "Pasturization kills all the good stuff too and raw milk is better for you."

More recently, the nutritional industry capitalized on the extras that consumers weren’t being told about the American staple. It is a fact that most store-bought milk is loaded with hormones and antibiotics. Let’s face it: store-bought milk may be the best undercover junk-food of the ‘90s. Cow milk now comes packaged with lots of extra goodies not on the label, many of which are worse than those tasty trans-fatty acids we pay high dollar for at fast food joints or the chip isle. In addition, if the FDA were doing their job, all ingredients would be listed on milk cartons. For example, "Cow’s milk: processed by homogenization; 14 grams of saturated fats per serving; may contain undetected parasites, pesticides, growth hormones, and unknown amounts of antibiotics." Is it possible that the critics of milk are correct in blaming the widespread resistance to antibiotics on our consumption of them in the recommended daily allowance of the creamy white stuff?

Did you know that conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) was recently discovered in cow milk? In addition to being a natural anticarcinogen, CLA is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in many foods and is especially high in milk and meat from ruminant animals. The acid is produced by bacteria in the rumen. The only way humans can get CLA is by consuming dairy products and beef! Studies show that CLA slows the progress of some types of cancer and heart disease. It also appears to actually help reduce body fat and increase lean muscle mass. Once again, we need to remember that not all fats are bad.

Let us consider that it is not the cow milk that is the problem. Humans were made to consume animal products. But, humans weren’t supposed to load animals with drugs that make them grow faster or keep them from dying from infections. Better yet, they were not supposed to cage the poor critters so they never set foot on a pasture. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that how we care for and what we feed an animal will eventually affect our health. Like most of the foods in our diet that have become "bad" for us, it’s not the cow’s milk that is bad, it is how we are producing it. Consuming fresh milk and butter is indeed healthy if it is from grass-fed animals, not drug dependent or growth-induced animals.

So go ahead milk lovers, drink up. Just don’t expect to find the healthy milk in a plastic jug next to the hormone and antibiotic-laced eggs.

Esther Chiappone has her masters in Special Education, is a home manager and the mother of four children. She writes about topics that concern her, hoping that someone else besides her kids will listen.