milk Archives - Hormones Matter

Hydration, Thirst, and Drinking Water

Published on July 5, 2023

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Most of us equate the expression “hydrate extra” with drinking more water but – unfortunately – this is incorrect. In any online dictionary “to hydrate” means to create “…a substance that is formed when water combines with another substance…” In other words, water alone is not a hydrating fluid but it must be combined with something to become one. We do not have water in our body on its own; we have a substance we call electrolyte. I wrote substantially on the topic of hydration, mixing water with minerals, as part of the protocol that prevents migraines. However, a new problem has surfaced: when to drink water? Several articles have recently published water drinking instructions on the internet. Most of these articles consider it bad practice to drink water when one is not thirsty and recommend drinking water only when thirsty. There are several serious flaws with this argument.

Sweat

The first flaw is that most research is aimed at athletes, but athletes are not representative of the majority of the population. Furthermore, athletes should not be drinking “water” to hydrate. Drinking water cannot be absorbed by cells without adequate sodium to hold onto it. When athletes sweat, the content of sweat is not water but electrolyte. Many sports drinks aim at re-hydrating athletes but their problem is their sugar or sugar substitute content, defeating the purpose — see how much sports drink one needs to drink to make up the content of sweat for an athlete. Then add up the sugar in a typical sports drink: 1 teaspoon of sugar is 4 grams of carbs. An average serving of a typical sports drink provides between 14 grams to 54 grams of carbs, all sugar, which converts to 3.5 to 13.5 teaspoons of sugar per serving. Drinking sugar substitutes is even worse because sugar substitutes fool the body like it is receiving glucose so insulin spikes but there is no glucose. This creates insulin overflow in the blood causing you to become hungry! Sugar substitutes may lead to obesity and metabolic syndrome. Drinking sports drinks with sugar substitutes actually reduces muscle energy.

Moreover, anything that converts to glucose in the body removes both water and sodium from the cells¹ so drinking/eating sugar with sodium (salt is the form in which sodium is available to us) and water is worse than not drinking anything at all. Many athletes have smartened up and drink pickle brine rather than water. Pickle brine is great, assuming the brine is of salt and water and not vinegar. Vinegar is fermented ethanol (alcohol). Thus, drinking vinegar-processed pickles will dehydrate further. Look for pickles made with salt rather than vinegar.

Best Hydrating Fluid

Whole milk is an ideal hydrating fluid because it has a perfect electrolyte balance in sodium, potassium, water, blood sugar (lactose), calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and protein. Whole milk is THE perfect electrolyte. Some athletes drink water and take salt pills (also called electrolyte pills). That is also a great option, particularly since they are easy to carry around and take when needed.

The second flaw in the argument of “drink water when thirsty” is that many people feel thirst after eating sugar when it is the least advisable to drink water. Since about half of sugar converts to glucose, and glucose pulls water and sodium out of the cells¹, if one is thirsty after eating sugar and drinks water, the metabolic process will remove more water from the cells. This can cause edema. Although most articles today blame salt for causing edema, the opposite is true.

While sodium retains water inside the cell, glucose removes water and sodium from the cell and forces the water to be retained in extracellular space². Eating salt when one has edema reduces edema by the sodium bringing water back into the cell. This was easily demonstrated by a previous article showing how this works.

The problem with most studies that blame salt on retaining water is that no studies have ever controlled for both salt and sugar at the same time in the same experiment. All studies I could find only looked at the effects of salt on the body regardless of the amount of sugar, water, or protein the subjects had consumed before the experiment. Since the body can easily be tipped out of balance and is never in a vacuum for a pristine controlled experiment, one cannot say with certainty that one element makes a particular change without looking at what else is affecting the body. No such studies exist except in my migraine group where we control for all variables. We found that being thirsty often means the person does not have enough salt to keep water where it belongs³. A migraineur should never drink water when she is thirsty, particularly not if carbohydrates were consumed.

The final problem with only drinking water when thirsty is the population of people who have diabetes 2; they are always thirsty. Being thirsty can be a sign of diabetes mellitus and not the need for more water.

Should You Wait Until You Are Thirsty Before You Drink?

Absolutely not, and for sure drinking water alone will not get you hydrated. How much water you should drink is a question I will address in another article. Drinking the minimum 8 glasses of water is a myth; people vary in size, age, and activity, implying that each person needs a different amount of water. Many online water calculators go into detail of weight, climate, activity, altitude, your health, pregnancy, nursing, etc. For each person the amount of water and thus hydration needed (not just water) will differ and for that hydration level you need to make sure you drink adequate amounts of water as part of your hydration protocol.

Sources

Longo DL, Fauci AS, Kasper DL, Hauser SL, Jameson JL, Loscalzo J. Harrison’s Manual of Medicine 18th Edition. New York: McGraw Hill Medical; 2013.
Millar T. Biochemistry Explained: A Practical Guide to Learning Biochemistry. Vol reprint edition: CRC Press; 2002.
Stanton, Angela A. Fighting The Migraine Epidemic: A Complete Guide: How To Treat & Prevent Migraines Without Medicine

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Happy Ending to Migraines: The Benefits of Milk

by Angela A Stanton, PhD

Published on May 25, 2016

10321 views

Migraines and Electrolytes

In late June of 2015, I received a PM (personal message) on Facebook from a husband of a migraineur. The husband introduced himself and explained that his wife “suffered with migraines for 15 years (Oct. 2000) after hitting her head under a bathroom cabinet.” She had been through all kinds of typical migraine treatments – just about everything under the sun possible to try, including a neuronal stimulator placed in via surgery – but nothing has worked. As he was sitting in the hospital waiting for some results, he found me on Facebook and asked for help.

I have a standard questionnaire that I ask all migraineurs to fill and send the answers to me via PM so I can see what may be wrong. The first thing that hit me was that she was drinking 256 oz (32 glasses) water a day when the calculator suggested that her petite figure needed only 66 oz (just over 8 glasses) so something was terribly wrong. She also took a ton of medications, though the list he sent was already greatly reduced. Even with these medications, she suffered debilitating migraines every day.

The migraineur was Kristen Cassimatis. Her recovery was covered recently by a local television station on their news. You can watch it here: Raw milk helping woman relieve migraine pain.

What Do Electrolytes, Whole Milk, and Migraines Have in Common?

A lot actually. The very first article I published at Hormones Matter was on the importance of proper hydration to the body. Hydration is not water but a mix of electrolyte minerals with water, of which sodium and potassium (in proper balance) are the most important. An article I wrote somewhat later describes what excessive thirst means for the body and that sugar is really bad for you. Thus, if you look through some of the articles I published, you can see that a meal that is hydrating, contains no added sugar, has protein and some minimal carbs, electrolytes, and fat. Fat is good for you. I have also published several academic journal articles on the cause and treatment of migraine, based on statistical findings in the migraine group on Facebook.

I have not yet discussed fat and cholesterol in great detail but an article shall come about that in the near future. For now, since whole milk is full of saturated fat and cholesterol, I just want to mention a few important findings. It is important to note that over 70% of our brain is fat and 25% of all cholesterol in our body is found in our brain (1) in what is called the white matter where voltage transmitting axons are coated with cholesterol (myelinated). Thus, cholesterol and fat are important for us.

While there is a huge controversy over the benefit versus harm of saturated fats and cholesterol, more studies now show that saturated fats and higher levels of cholesterol are actually better for us, particularly for women. In fact, saturated fat is not associated with heart disease as suggested by many studies.

To add insult to injury, cholesterol is not actually made from fat but from acetoacetyl-CoA (2) by a 19-step process in the liver. We can choose to eat cholesterol but if we don’t eat enough, the liver has to make cholesterol. When we don’t eat cholesterol, the liver makes less cholesterol than each person’s optimal level (2). The only bad cholesterol our liver makes are triglycerides that do clog up arteries but they are made of sugar and under special circumstances. Thus, regardless in what stage studies are at now, something that every single cell is made of in our body – the membrane of each human cell is made of lipid bilayer – cannot possibly be bad for us: we are made of the stuff.

As in the story above, someone who feels the urge to drink a lot of water is usually not getting enough or the right balance of electrolytes. Moreover, the act of drinking too much water is harmful since it dilutes electrolytes. Drinking whole milk, which is full of electrolytes, on the other hand, is good for us migraineurs and others alike. Few people realize that milk is a great source of electrolytes, protein, and good cholesterol. Most of us were told from early on in our lives that milk is for cows and not people; milk is bad for us; it has puss in it; it causes puss; it makes one phlegm up; it makes us fat; it has too much fat; etc. We have been told not to drink milk, and as a result, many folks are having difficulty managing electrolyte and cholesterol balance.

I think that milk is a perfect food, assuming of course, that it is organic, whole milk, not treated with hormones and antibiotics, as in the story above. Raw milk is not legal everywhere so while drinking safe raw milk is healthier, it may not be available to everyone. Reduced fat milk does not have the benefits of whole milk and also contains added sugar and proteins that are not all that great for you. In fact, if you have no time to eat a meal, be it breakfast, lunch, or dinner, a glass of whole milk is an ideal replacement.

So, as Kristin recovered from her migraines and is also preparing to have her brain stimulator surgically removed, she joined the thousands of migraineurs who have joined our migraine community on Facebook. Enjoy Kristen’s story and join the several thousands who have been able to stop all their medicines and remained migraine free.

Sources

Perlmutter D & Loberg K (2014) Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar – Your Brain’s Silent Killers (Hodder & Stoughton).
Dr. Kendrick M (2007) The Great Cholesterol Con; The truth about what really causes heart disease and how to avoid it (John Blake Publishing, London, England) p 270.

Think and Drink Outside the (Milk) Box

by Elena Perez

Published on July 25, 2012

2090 views

Mark Bittman shared how milk affects him and found that there are a lot of people that also suffer a number of symptoms after consuming dairy products. The list of ailments includes irritable bowel syndrome, heartburn, migraines, acne, gall bladder issues and a slew of other health issues.

The Problem: Limited Options

Doctors don’t have much to say about milk, and the answer to your ailment is usually in the form of a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) prescription. You know, that little drug that magically stops your body from producing stomach acid.

Well, not so magically, it’s more like a wrench in the chemical cogs of your body. The proton pump inhibitor inhibits the proton pump (hence, the name of the drug), which secretes hydrogen ions into the gastric lumen – thereby thwarting the final step in the production of stomach acid.

The Problem with PPI

The problem is that we have stomach acid for a reason: Stomach acid helps us digest proteins and absorb nutrients; and the acidic environment is also necessary for maintaining a healthy stomach. Hypochloridia, or low concentrations of stomach acid, can result in infections.

Before accepting a solution that may lead to other problems, consider drinking outside the milk box, it may be the more affordable way of treating your symptoms.

PPI Could Stand for Pretty Penny Industry

As in, that industry makes a pretty penny. We want more from doctors, but so do pharmaceutical companies. The cost of PPI prescription drugs ranges from $19 to $267 per month, and we have spent $13 billion on PPI in 2010 alone.

It seems that more emphasis should be placed on health care, as opposed to drug distribution. It’s possible that doctors are overwhelmed with too little time and too many patients, but are drugs always the answer? Well, of course not (unless you’re a drug trafficker).

The (Possible) Solution: Think/Drink Outside the (Milk) Box

The results aren’t the same for everyone, but it doesn’t hurt to eliminate your dairy intake and see if the change in your diet mitigates any symptoms you have been experiencing. Some even claim that the type of milk affects your health, so check out Where is My Milk From? and determine if these changes help.

Try drinking outside the milk box. Let Lucine know, did it work for you? Do you wish the pharmaceutical companies would refund your money? Share your story.

Where is My Milk From?

by Lisbeth Prifogle, MFA

Published on July 25, 2012

2007 views

With all the controversy over hormones and antibiotics in milk, whether or not organic milk is really organic, and if your milk is from cloned or genetically modified cows, it’s becoming easier to just pass on dairy. However, what about those dishes that just need cheese for that finishing touch, or creamer for coffee, or yogurt (oh I LOVE yogurt) and what childhood summer day isn’t complete without ice cream? Clearly, my Indiana roots have ingrained a love for milk/dairy in me.

There has to be a better way than putting small family dairy farms out of business by boycotting dairy altogether, right? Yes! Now, thanks to the ingenious website, Where is My Milk From? you can use the dairy code listed by the expiration date and search the online database to find exactly what farm your milk, cheese, yogurt, etc., came from. Enter the code by the expiration date, for example 06-01 (the code on my organic half and half), and the site does the rest, in my case it brings up H. P. Hood LLC in Sacramento, California.

When you enter your milk code, it will bring up the name of the dairy as well as a map. I just wrote them an email suggesting they include a link to the dairy’s website if available. On the site, you can also search for local dairy farms if you want to support local farmers or take your family on an educational farm trip. My grandparents had a dairy farm – very cool field trip idea, but always check with the farm owner to set up a time to check it out. Buying local or at least from small, family owned dairies is the best way to beat industrial farms. Check it out, sit with your kids and make a game out of seeing where your dairy products come from. Wouldn’t it be great if we could do this for all our food, not just milk?! Go ahead, ask Where is my Milk From?

For more information on antibiotics, hormones and milk from cloned cows check out the article, Milk it Does a Body Good?

Milk it does a Body Good?

by Lisbeth Prifogle, MFA

Published on April 16, 2012

4218 views

Recently, I bought a lunch-box sized container of Horizon organic milk. I don’t use milk regularly, but do use other dairy products like cheese, sour cream, and butter often. I was a bit disturbed when I noticed something on the label that I had not seen on other dairy products: “Our farms produced this milk without the use of antibiotics, added hormones, pesticides or cloning.” I’d heard of the dangers of growth hormones in milk, but decided to do some research into what’s really in our milk, if they use cloned cows or if that’s just another advertising scam and if current regulations really protect the consumer.

Pesticides, Antibiotics and Hormones in Milk

If you are a woman and you have ever been prescribed an antibiotic or medication of any type, your doctor or pharmacist most likely asked you if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Why? Because the medications come through the mother’s milk. Why would this be any different in animals? It’s not.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, commercial dairy farmers feed cattle corn silage, alfalfa or grass silage, alfalfa hay, ground or high-moisture shelled corn, soybean meal, fuzzy whole cottonseed, and perhaps commodity feeds (corn gluten, distillers grains, soybean hulls, citrus pulp, etc.), instead of grazing on grass in a sunny field. It might be cheaper up front, but the feed is likely genetically modified (GM) to withstand dangerous pesticides that the animals then digest and process into milk. The feed is a very unnatural food for the cows, wreaking havoc on their poor digestive systems. This makes them susceptible to various pathogens, such as E. coli, mastitis and other diseases contracted through their diet and poor living conditions. Farmers give cattle antibiotics throughout their life, when all they need to do is let them graze on grass to balance the pH level of their stomach and give them better living conditions in general. These antibiotics are found in milk we consume.

In order to increase the production of milk the cows are injected with the bovine growth hormone rGBH. While labels state, “No significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rGBH-treated and non-rGBH-treated cows,” the truth is out there. Investigative journalists, Jane Akre and Steve Wilson, tell their story on PR Watch about how Monsanto, former manufacturer of rGBH, lawyered-up and hid their revealing report on the dangers of rBGH in milk. According to the Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research (2003), there are at least 16 different harmful medical conditions for dairy cattle treated with rGBH, including:

40 percent increase in infertility
55 percent increased risk for lameness
Shortened lifespan
Hoof disorders
Visibly abnormal milk

It also increases the levels of Insulin Growth Factor -1 (IGF-1) in the cows as well as their milk. In this important report on the link between breast cancer and milk from cows treated with rGBH, Dr. Mercola explains that “IGF-1 is a potent hormone that acts on your pituitary gland to induce powerful metabolic and endocrine effects, including cell growth and replication. Elevated IGF-1 levels are associated with breast and other cancers. When cows are injected with rBGH, their levels of IGF-1 increase up to 20-fold, and this IGF-1 is excreted in the milk.”

In addition to the added hormones, we have to deal with the natural hormones in milk. Cows are now milked 300 days of the year, including entire pregnancies. According to Ganmaa Davaasambuu, who holds a Ph.D. in environmental health and is a current fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, “Milk from a cow in the late stage of pregnancy contains up to 33 times as much of a signature estrogen compound (estrone sulfate) than milk from a non-pregnant cow.” What does this mean to the consumer? Studies are not revealing that the increase in sex hormones are linked to cancers including prostate, breast and endometrial. According to Dr. Davaasambuu’s research, “One study compared diet and cancer rates in 42 countries. It showed that milk and cheese consumption are strongly correlated to the incidence of testicular cancer among men ages 20 to 39. Rates were highest in places like Switzerland and Denmark, where cheese is a national food, and lowest in Algeria and other countries where dairy is not so widely consumed. Butter, meat, eggs, milk, and cheese are implicated in higher rates of hormone-dependent cancers in general. Breast cancer has been linked particularly to consumption of milk and cheese.”

Cloning

Companies use different claims to appear more desirable to the health-conscious consumer. I have seen products labeled as non-GMO when the ingredients have not been genetically modified in general, yet. So, are cows really cloned, or is this a marketing ploy as well? The truth is stranger than fiction, I’m afraid. In 2008, the FDA approved the use of cloned animals for both meat and milk. Similar to genetically modified food, there are no regulations that cloned animal products have to be labeled and are thought to be safe. Personally, I’d rather not be the guinea pig to find out the safety of these products.

Regulations

Does the USDA and FDA protect the consumer? Well, I’m not so sure I’d consider rGBH or cloned animals safe. The FDA seems to be going out of their way to limit the sales of raw milk lately. However, consumers have been fighting for their right to buy and consume raw, organic milk so much that states have been forced to change their laws and allow the sale of it (Click here to see if raw milk is legal in your state). Meanwhile, the FDA continues to send SWAT teams out to arrest Amish farmers and the USDA allows the largest “organic” dairy companies to sell questionably organic products. The Cornucopia Institute is filing a formal legal complaint in an attempt to immediately halt the USDA from allowing factory farms producing “organic” milk from bringing conventional dairy cattle onto their farms. Cornucopia claims the practice, which places family-scale farmers at a competitive disadvantage, is explicitly prohibited in the federal regulations governing the organic industry.

milk

Sweat

Best Hydrating Fluid

Should You Wait Until You Are Thirsty Before You Drink?

Sources

We Need Your Help

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Migraines and Electrolytes

What Do Electrolytes, Whole Milk, and Migraines Have in Common?

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The Problem: Limited Options

The Problem with PPI

PPI Could Stand for Pretty Penny Industry

The (Possible) Solution: Think/Drink Outside the (Milk) Box

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Pesticides, Antibiotics and Hormones in Milk

Cloning

Regulations

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