Q. What is more important to omit from your diet in relation to breast cancer and cancer in general: dairy or meat or both? -Sharon

Hi Sharon,

The simple answer is dairy.  I would not avoid meat. 

I would encourage you to eat organic, grass fed beef which is a totally different nutritional experience than traditional beef.  

Getting the antibiotics and hormones out is very key but beyond that there are still concerns about the casein protein in dairy.  Once you have removed the hormones and antibiotics from the beef then there really isn’t anything harmful left behind. 

Grass fed beef have more omega 3 fats and very little saturated fats.  When it comes to animal fats there are studies showing increased cancer rates that correlate to increased animal fat consumption but a true causal tie has not been found. 

I think there is slightly more evidence that milk has a greater tie to cancer but again the causal link is weak with the strongest evidence being that casein protein may be a cancer promoter. 

Eat organic, grass fed beef.  If you chose to eat dairy keep the amount to a minimum and be certain that it is organic.  You’ll be fine as long as the rest of your habits and choices support your health.

Sincerely,
Dr. Gary Huber

Comments

1. Jennifer Hoke says:

   January 3, 2011 at 8:51 pm

   We have switched to grass fed beef and the taste is amazing! But eliminating dairy has been much harder. Our 3 boys love milk, cheese, and yogurt and have multiple servings a day. How can we ensure that they are getting enough calcium to support their growing bones? They are good veggie eaters. What can we feed them and how much? I guess the same question would apply to any female trying to avoid osteoporosis as she ages.

   Reply
   • Dr. Gary Huber says:

     January 5, 2011 at 8:26 pm

     Hi Jennifer,

     Welcome to Healthy Alter Ego! The topic of “milk & kids” is a recurrent theme that causes concern for many American mothers. I say American because we are one of the few nations on the planet that have built an entire industry based on bad information. Milk is not good food and it does not provide you or your children with valuable amounts of calcium. That’s shocking for most moms. If you go to our “Search for” window in the upper right corner of the webpage and enter the word MILK, you will be served up at least 4 articles that discuss the very issue you present. I’ll give you the bottom line right here but still encourage you to take the voyage and read the fun stuff provided on the site.

     Multiple clinical studies have shown time and time again that kids that drink milk have no stronger, and in many cases weaker bones than kids that do not drink milk or eat dairy products. The reason for that finding takes longer to explain and is contained in the articles aforementioned. So forget the cute milk mustaches and give your kids lots of vegetables which is where the most bioavailable calcium really comes from.

     After a little perusal of the site if you have a follow up question to milk I would be happy to answer it. Cheers.
     Dr. Gary Huber