Milk Is Not Good For You Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Milk Is Not Good For You - Essay Example In fact, being critical of milk in the United States is akin to attacking motherhood, baseball, or even apple pie. However, this is exactly what this paper seeks to do. Basing on research, on milk, from various journals and using the study results of various experienced doctors, one is best advised to avoid completely milk and milk products. While everyone likes a good, cold ice cream, the effects that it has on one’s health should influence decision-making (DuPuis 22). This paper will seek to explore the documented ill effects of milk and provide reasons for the avoidance of milk at all costs. In the medieval times, in England, parents would fasten the feet of rabbits around the necks of their babies to ward off illness. The doctors also believed that spitting on the wounds of a patient worked since saliva supposedly had healing properties. In fact, history is filled with many health beliefs that are not founded on fact and, to the detriment of society; the myth on milk is a common myth that is the most tenacious (Casabona & Epifanio 33). Milk and milk products are more than a simple drink; they are a cultural phenomenon, which is traceable through the last thousands of years. The myth on milk’s unending benefits is still resonating loud and clear with the average child in the United States consuming at least 104 quarts of milk and milk products (Casabona & Epifanio 33). This myth on milk has spread across the globe, and it has been based on the belief that this drink, rich in calcium and protein is fundamental in support of good overall health and, particularly, the health of bones at all ages (Tremblay & Gilbert 96). This confusion with regards to the benefits of milk, imaginary or not, can be understood as stemming from the fact that milk contains around 300 mg of calcium per cup. However, scientific studies indicate that there are detrimental assortments of health effects, which can be linked directly to the consumption of milk. The most surp rising of these links is that taking milk, in particular milk that has been pasteurized, does not lead to absorption of the present calcium. In fact, making matters even worse, drinking pasteurized milk leads to loss of calcium from the bones, which is ironical (Tremblay & Gilbert 96). Calcium loss from bones happens in several ways. The most serious happens because milk, like all proteins from animals, leads to a drop in blood pH that, in turn, leads to a biological correction (Walker et al 1011). This is because, while calcium is a good neutralizer of acid and the biggest calcium store in the mammalian body is the bones, the calcium that is required by the bones in order to stay healthy is needed to correct the acidification caused by milk. When this calcium is removed from mammalian bones, even after neutralization is through, it leaves the blood through the urine and leads to a net result of a calcium deficit in the body. It is for this reason that countries with low milk consum ption like Japan have relatively lower incidences of fractures afflicting their population. The sad truth, however, is that the majority of healthcare practitioners tend to ignore facts such as these that are proven. This leads to doctors prescribing lots of milk for patients who suffer from osteoporosis, which leads to a worsening of the population’

Soul Food Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Soul Food - Essay Example hered steak; macaroni and cheese; egg custard; bread pudding; sweet potato pie; peach cobbler; pound cake; blackberry cobbler; Red Velvet cake; banana pudding; fried chicken; baked hen and cornbread dressing; okra, corn and tomatoes; and fried corn and fried okra, as well as fried green tomatoes, amongst hundreds of other variations of recipes using different meats, fruits and vegetables. Soul food, as we now know it, actually came from a combination of foods grown and raised in America coupled with an African and Native American "spin" on the style and methods of cooking. Much of this food was derived from the leftovers from the plates and tables of plantation owners in the south. For instance, slaves who prepared foods for the master's table had to prepare the "better" parts of a ham or chicken for the big house and often found themselves eating the parts of the animal that the master and his family and guests did not care to eat, such as the guts, skin, feet, neck and "cock's comb." The slaves has to find ways to improvise on what was given to them, so they found ways to dress it up and make it taste good. While it is true that much of soul food was prepared from poorer quality foods that were essentially "throw-outs" given to slaves (in much the same manner as the slaves would "slop" a hog or feed a dog by giving it table scraps), over time the quality got better. These days, soul food is made from much higher quality meats, as well as fresher produce, than the times in which it was derived. Methods of preparation African-Americans, just as did many white settlers, adapted much of their food prep and cooking methods from Native American tribes, particularly the Cherokee. Cooking in large community pots and digging pits for underground overnight roasting of pigs are still common ways of cooking for larger crowds in the Deep South. Also adapted were many methods of canning and preserving foods for the long hard winters when little was available, this is how "pickling" and jar foods came into existence.[1] Other methods, such as soaking, basting, and marinating different foods for flavoring also came from the Native Americans; however, it is important to remember that Africans imported to America from the Motherland did not routinely eat raw foods. African people were traditionally taught as youth the importance of using moist heat to keep meats tender and juicy, and of using many different kinds of spices or rubs to enhance the coloring and flavor on what may have been otherwise considered as " bland" unappetizing foods. The Culture of Soul Food Cooking A well-known saying is