Dairy products and athletic performance - good or bad?

Dairy products and athletic performance - good or bad?

Dairy products and athletic performance - good or bad?

Milk, cheese and yoghurt have been at the centre of our diets for so long the assumption they are good, natural and healthy products goes almost without question, particularly when so many dairy industry marketing campaigns like ‘Got Milk?’ in the US and ‘Make Mine Milk’ in the UK reinforce this positive messaging. Yet for serious performance and serious health, evidence against dairy is stacking up fast, meaning that when it comes to the issue of dairy products and athletic performance, the answer is increasingly showing that dairy should be avoided.

 

Dairy and athletic performance cows

What are moo looking at? Cows set to party as dairy consumption drops

Dairy products and athletic performance: drugs, hormones & illness

Industrially produced milk - which is 95% of the milk on the market - comes from sick animals loaded with antibiotics to keep them functional in crowded, unsanitary conditions, and hormones to keep them permanently pregnant and producing milk.

These antibiotics and hormones then end up in your milk/cheese/yoghurt. Even if you do stick with milk and dairy, this alone is reason enough to make any you do consume certified organic.

Dairy products and athletic performance: links to serious disease

There have been major studies showing strong links between dairy consumption and cancer since the 1970s, with particular focus on prostate cancer. One study indicated dairy consumption can lead to a 34% increase in the likelihood of a man getting prostate cancer.

There is also a strong link between dairy and dairy foods, and incidence of autoimmune diseases, particularly arthritis with milk proteins - whether from milk, yoghurt, cheese or whey protein - being one of the biggest culprits.

Cancer and arthritis never made anyone faster, unless we’re talking about a race to the nearest hospital ward that is.

Dairy products and athletic performance: milk doesn’t build bones

Milk = healthy bones, right? After all, bones like calcium and milk has calcium. Therefore, duh, more milk means more strong bones? Logical sense for sure, but science is increasingly leaving this one in tatters.

Among the torpedoes taking this one out are a study showing increased milk consumption is linked to increased bone fractures, plus the damning evidence that the regions in the world with the highest levels of dairy consumption (North America, Northern Europe) also have the highest levels of osteoporosis, while those with the lowest dairy use (Africa, India, Japan) have the lowest rates of osteoporosis.

A large part of the contribution to this is the fact dairy products contains high levels of D-galactose, which in animals has been proven to accelerate ageing, chronic inflammation and decreased immune response while shortening life span.

 

Dairy products and athletic performance

Ditch the dairy and jump for joy as power and performance step up, while illness risks go down. Boom!

Conclusion

The conclusion for us is simple: cut dairy completely wherever possible, and go certified organic with it everywhere else. The risks to performance today and lifelong health tomorrow with dairy consumption just aren’t worth it. It’s also really easy to avoid - check out our tips below to make simple shifts for your own health and performance.

Reduce or cut dairy consumption in four easy steps:

1 Swap all milk for milk substitutes: this covers the biggest hurdle most folks have to dropping milk in one swoop and means breakfast cereal, porridge, tea and coffee can all be sorted in seconds. Better news, all milk substitutes work brilliantly in our Pre and Post Workout Shakes.

Dairy and athletic performance 33shake pre and post workout shake new

Make your 33Fuel Elite Pre and Post Workout Shakes with almond, soy or oat milk to max out your plant-powered nutrition hit without sacrificing any of the luxurious taste

The alternative milk sector is booming as more and more folks swap out their dairy for a better alternative so tracking down soy, almond or oat milk is now no longer a chore involving a clandestine trek to the one random health food store in 100 miles for a shady deal with some beirdie weirdie in sandals with a ‘creative’ approach to hygiene.

Nope, all you have to do now is take your pick from the supermarket shelf. Much easier.

2 Go nuts with the blender

Look on the ingredient labels for almond milk and you’ll find the ingredients are, basically, water and almonds. If you’ve got a reasonably powered blender at home you can easily make your own almond milk by putting water and almonds in the blender, blitzing for 30 seconds and… that’s it, you’re done!

Plenty of almond milk recipes go on about straining it through cheesecloth and all manner of assorted hassle, but life is really too short for that. Go for approx 5 almonds per cup of water, blitz, pour and you’re sorted.

3 What about the cheese?

Swapping out cheese is probably the toughest challenge anyone moving away from dairy faces, but even this is getting way easier nowadays with major sandwich chains like Pret a Manger offering tasty non-cheese vegetarian sarnies based around hummus, avocado, etc, and even mainstream restaurants like Pizza Express firing out non-cheese pizzas as demand booms.

 

Dairy products and athletic performance 2

The humble avocado, a rocking substitute for cheese in veggie sandwiches and snacks giving a hearty and healthy hit of calories and great fats. Mmm, hmm, tasty

4 Whey protein?

Just think of this as ‘no-whey’ protein as in ‘no way am I eating that’. 

Formerly a by-product of cheese production that cost the dairy industry thousands to dispose of as it polluted rivers, it was first turned into cattle feed to save disposal costs before someone worked out athletes would pay much more for it. Powdered and processed to within an inch of its life and packed with added sugars, sweeteners and other junk, this stuff is plain toxic.

Swap yours instead for great whole food sources like nuts, legumes, seeds, and oats, or animal sources like quality meat and fish.

And if you're worried you’re not getting enough regular protein, remember it’s unlikely. 

As all whole foods contain protein, the average UK adult is already eating 74 grams daily against a recommended adult intake of 55g. When you’re training simply being conscious of needing more and focusing on whole foods that deliver just that will do the trick nine times out of ten.

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