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Without disputing the researchers' work, I think that one would be unwise to discount the rapid increase in dairy consumption, particularly cheese products.
In 1970, the dairy industry produced 2.2 billion pounds of cheese. The population of the United States was 203 million, which translates to 10.8 pounds of cheese per person. By 1990, America's population had grown to 248 million, but Americans were eating more cheese, 6 billion pounds worth! That's an average of 24 pounds per person. In 1994, according to the USDA, the average American consumed 27.7 pounds of cheese. America's rate of cheese consumption is skyrocketing. As we approach the new millennium, America's per-capita cheese consumption will break the 30-pound per person level.
(from The Dairy Education Board)
Every sip of milk has 59 different powerful hormones. Which ones do you want your little girls to take? Estrogen, progesterone or prolactin?
Since the government was strong-armed by Monsanto to approve BGH and to discourage labeling, consumers generally have no idea how widespread the use of BGH is and where it can be found. (FDA approved Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rbGH) for cows on February 4th, 1994. Remarkably, milk from rbGH-treated test herds was allowed into America's milk supply seven years before actual approval.)
The following ten references provide converging lines of evidence that focus upon one central point.
There are hundreds of millions of different proteins in nature, and only one hormone that is identical between any two species. That powerful growth hormone is insulin-like growth factor, or IGF-I. IGF-I survives digestion and has been identified as the KEY FACTOR in breast cancer's growth.
IGF-I is identical in human and cow.
If you believe that breast feeding "works" to protect lactoferrins and immunoglobulins from digestion (and benefit the nursing infant), you must also recognize that milk is a hormonal delivery system. By drinking cow's milk, one delivers IGF-I in a bioactive form to the body's cells. When IGF-I from cow's milk alights upon an existing cancer...
"Human Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) and bovine IGF-I are identical. Both contain 70 amino acids in the identical sequence."
Judith C. Juskevich and C. Greg Guyer. SCIENCE, vol. 249. August 24, 1990.
"IGF-I is critically involved in the aberrant growth of human breast cancer cells."
M. Lippman. J. Natl. Inst. Health Res., 1991, 3.
"Estrogen regulation of IGF-I in breast cancer cells would support the hypothesis that IGF-I has a regulatory function in breast cancer."
A.V. Lee, Mol-Cell- Endocrinol., March, 99(2).
"IGF-I is a potent growth factor for cellular proliferation in the human breast carcinoma cell line."
J.C. Chen, J-Cell-Physiol., January, 1994, 158(1)
"Insulin-like growth factors are key factors for breast cancer growth."
J.A. Figueroa, J-Cell-Physiol., Nov., 1993, 157(2)
"IGF-I produces a 10-fold increase in RNA levels of cancer cells. IGF-I appears to be a critical component in cellular proliferation."
X.S. Li, Exp-Cell-Res., March, 1994, 211(1)
"IGF-I plays a major role in human breast cancer cell growth."
E.A. Musgrove, Eur-J-Cancer, 29A (16), 1993
"IGF-I has been identified as a key factor in breast cancer."
Hankinson. The Lancet, vol. 351. May 9, 1998
"Serum IGF-I levels increased significantly in milk drinkers, an increase of about 10% above baseline but was unchanged in the control group."
Robert P. Heaney, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, vol. 99, no. 10. October 1999
"IGF-1 accelerates the growth of breast cancer cells."
M. Lippman Science, Vol. 259, January 29, 1993
(also courtesy of the Dairy Education Board)
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