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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 517
Location: New Jersey | I am wondering if anyone can give me a little advice. My grandmother is 86, and for the most part wheelchair bound, although she can move around a little bit. I do most of her food shopping, and try to always get her 1% milk. She does not eat alot, and has a bit of a sweet tooth, so she tends to each alot of chocolate. My aunt and I disagree on the milk issue. I think that she shouldn't be consuming that much saturated fat, which whole milk has alot of, and she should get her fat from other sources that are a little healthier. Is whole milk that bad for her? Is it really better to consume lower fat milks or at her age does it really matter at all? Thanks! Samantha
Edited by samantha77 2007-05-24 8:50 PM
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| I grew up on a farm, so I may be a tad bit partial in the matter, but I believe that milk is best in it's natural form (or as close to it as possible).
But I really think that your grand mother should decide what she likes best, I think that should be a right to have at 86.  |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 517
Location: New Jersey | Isola - 2007-05-24 9:03 PM But I really think that your grand mother should decide what she likes best, I think that should be a right to have at 86. This is true Thanks for the advice! |
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| In addition to your question... if she's finding the immobility affects her ability to digest, try switching to goat's milk. It tastes very similar to cow's but is easier to digest. It has a slightly higher fat content so I buy the semi-skimmed version which I find retains more of its flavour than cow semi-skimmed.
http://askdrsears.com/html/3/t032400.asp
Fee |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
    
| sam - at 86 I think she has earned the right to eat what tastes best and is satisfying. Some whole milk might satisfy the craving for chocolate by being more filling and enjoyable. I have switched to 3.5% yogurt lately and it is so much better tasting and filling, I eat significantly less of it.
Mostly I think she needs to eat well and enjoy her food as much as possible. I'll never forget seeing my mother, who was bloated up from steroids when she was dying of cancer, eating horrible diet food. She had always been a hearty eater and it seemed a d@mned shame to see her not enjoying food in the last months because she didn't want to be "fat."  |
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| Hi Samantha,
Here's a little experiment that you might be able to do with your aunt... Use an expresso maker and steam in turn some whole milk, some skim milk, some soy milk, some rice milk. Observe the residue left on the streamer after each use; notice how easy or hard it is to clean each residue. You'll find that only the rice milk leaves virtually no residue. This is the same residue that accumulates internally.
The protein in cow's milk is so much larger than human protein that it is treated as an antagen, or foreign body, and efforts are made by the body to protect itself from it. In most cases, it is an abundance of fluids that try to separate the protein from the body. We experience it as post-nasal drip or phlem in the throat or mucus in the bowel. Sometimes the residue forms on the inside of the bowel and can be found completely covering the inner lining. Processing cow's milk helps breakdown the protein, so fermented dairy products are easier on us. Goat's milk is a good alternative as the protein is more 'human size' and less antagenic. Basically, cow's milk is for baby cows.
But, I agree that if she wants cow's milk, it should be her choice.
Michael |
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| chocolate milk?
or chocolate soy milk, which is pretty much like dessert...might satisfy the sweet tooth
Edited by aystam 2007-05-25 11:56 AM
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 517
Location: New Jersey | Thanks for your advice, everyone. I agree that it should be her choice what she drinks. The debate is mostly between me and my aunt. I've been buying my grandmother 2% and I haven't heard anything about it from her. My plan was to gradually switch down to 1%, but I'll talk to her about it first. I just get nervous when it comes to her health! Thanks again, Samantha |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| samantha - I meant to say that if you are worried about her arteries, if there is damage done, it was done years ago. I don't think what she eats in the next few years is a problem, you know? Ask her what she likes and buy that. And maybe a little shot of good single malt scotch in the milk a couple of times per week as a bonus |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | You know what?? If you're going to drink milk, you should drink pure 100% Whole Milk from the Farmer's Creamery. You haven't lived until you've taken the top off and eat it like butter.
Sam, why don't you go get your poor Grandma this brand of pure, un-homoginized 100% Whole Milk..it'll do her body good,  Sorry, could not resist.
I can't tell you how many times I've felt bad over the past 10 years about not letting my Mother smoke her cigarettes while on her death bed. You have all these friggin control freakin' nurses surrounding you and not letting you do the things you know inside your heart is right. Anyway, IMO, whole milk is much healthier than that watered down crap.
Edited by Cyndi 2007-05-27 2:41 PM
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| Cyndi - I agree about the milk, for sure. But I was angry at the docs who let my mom start smoking again. She had totally quit after her surgery and I think, although she liked being able to smoke again, she felt guilty about it right up to the end. It also was really hard on my kids who were too young to understand why it was ok for Grandma to smoke again. But yeah, in principle, I agree. We need to have some small pleasures in that stage of life, healthy or not. My Grandmother was furious that the care home my grandfather was in wouldn't give him a shot of Scotch every evening like he had a at home and I agreed with her. |
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| Since birth I could not drink breast milk or cows milk. I grew up on soya milk and the flavors that are available today will provide the required protein and the chocolatey sweetness anyone would love. As others have stated ... at 86 I definately would want my way and enjoy all that I wish to eat. If your grandmother is happy GO GRANDMA! |
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| My grandfather is 93 and his sister is 95. I believe they've earned the right to do as they please. He's fond of one of those canned drinks. I am not. We do discuss the relevance of cholesterol meds at his age but the bottom line is he thinks it improves his quality of life.
From the Purna Yoga perspective, the gauge is what whole milk does in your grandmothers body. If it is good for her, nourishing for her, and it helps to provide her a quality of life then it does not matter whether a better source of calcium is kale or not.
My personal opinion is that milk is best in formative years. Beyond that my sense is that it is well marketed but not nutritionally essential (for already developed bodies) when a balanced diet is present. |
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| Old people are like children sometimes. They like to be Spoiled and don't like to be forced. It seems more like a psychologic problem. I think the most important thing is to make them happy and comfortable. You can give them advice, but let them to choose. |
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| I totally agree with Cindy. My mother's a doctor so from the medical point of view, we only drink whole milk in our family. We also try to buy it from peasants and then boil it (since it's not sterile from them, but this is another business). Unless your grandmother loves low-fat milk, you should definitely give her whole milk, since the fat it contains isn't bad. high cholesterol is more often caused by heredity causes than by our ways of eating (i speak from my own experience in my family). people can die at 60 with bad congenital cholesterol and live till 100 eating healthy food and drinking whole milk, even if they eat everything fatty!
besides, psychology plays an important role in elderly. if you make her feel happy, she'll live a happier and longer life.
another point would be that old people usually tend to drink very little, which is not healthy for them. the best way to help them keep drinking a fair ratio each day is to give them what they like (if it's not alcohol).
good luck! |
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| I don't think I've ever heard modern people be called peasants before. Where are you from?
I've got a question for Cindy and the rest of the United States-ers.
I agree with your statement about Non-homoginized whole milk being the best option (in a quantity that reflects its increase in calories) but I'm wondering what your thoughts on pasturization are. In Canada pasturization is mandatory, however from the reasearch I've done I would believe this is unfortunate. Valuable enzyimes are destroyed in the pasturization process that helps the digestive process of breaking down of milk proteins (this is one of the big reasons that so many people have a tough time digesting milk).
Do any of you drink un-pasturized dairy products and are they legal in your area. |
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| we don't do pasturized dairy here. it's all raw.
but, it is illegal in some states. the best way to get it is through cow shares in such instances. basically, a group of people "buy" a cow and "hire" a farmer to keep the cow, and then they go and get the milk from the cow on a daily/weekly/whatever basis. this has been the way around the law, because it is such a small operation.
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC |
Edited by Cyndi 2008-02-19 10:55 AM
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Tombo,
I always choose Raw Milk, but that is very hard to do. You have to know and like a dairy farmer in order to get the best quality - organic is a rare find. My husband says in Nepal, every family in the countryside has their own cow. They actually bring their milk to a boil before they drink it. Here in the states there is one milk company that vat-pasturizes their milk. It's done at the lowest possible temperature, which I would consider the same as bringing your milk to a boil on your stovetop.
Personally, I'm allergic to milk and only drink small quantities of it. When I do drink it, I either drink raw (slightly boiled - raw is best if you don't have a problem with it), or the vat-pasturized one from the Amish Dairy. Sometimes I drink Lactose Free (Organic Valley now has one but it is homogonized and ultra pasturized) - 100% Whole Milk. I do not like fat-free anything. While I was in Italy, the milk was totally different. It was very good and I digested it fine. I think that whatever they do to the milk here in the states is what causes all the digestive problems.
Did anyone watch the news yesterday about the beef recall??? This has totally disturbed my mind about the cow industry - period. They were showing these cows being abused as they were going to the slaughterhouse. I saw one cow being literally pushed down by a forklift truck. They were poking at them in the eyes and shoving them. Some of them were sick and could not even walk. They were dragging them in. It was HORRIBLE. I wish they would arrest everyone in that company and give them the same treatment. These people were murderer's as far as I'm concerned. Then they recalled 143 million or billion pounds of beef. What a friggin waste of lives. This was so very disturbing. The most sad part is that CNN asked a question to vote on their home page. The question was, "Does this change the way you purchase your food". Over 80% of the voters said NO. That is incredible. Talk about denial.
For the record...this is why I do not eat beef, for this very reason. |
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| Cyndi - 2008-02-19 10:54 AM
Tombo,
I always choose Raw Milk, but that is very hard to do. You have to know and like a dairy farmer in order to get the best quality - organic is a rare find. My husband says in Nepal, every family in the countryside has their own cow. They actually bring their milk to a boil before they drink it. Here in the states there is one milk company that vat-pasturizes their milk. It's done at the lowest possible temperature, which I would consider the same as bringing your milk to a boil on your stovetop.
Personally, I'm allergic to milk and only drink small quantities of it. When I do drink it, I either drink raw (slightly boiled - raw is best if you don't have a problem with it), or the vat-pasturized one from the Amish Dairy. Sometimes I drink Lactose Free (Organic Valley now has one but it is homogonized and ultra pasturized) - 100% Whole Milk. I do not like fat-free anything. While I was in Italy, the milk was totally different. It was very good and I digested it fine. I think that whatever they do to the milk here in the states is what causes all the digestive problems.
Did anyone watch the news yesterday about the beef recall??? This has totally disturbed my mind about the cow industry - period. They were showing these cows being abused as they were going to the slaughterhouse. I saw one cow being literally pushed down by a forklift truck. They were poking at them in the eyes and shoving them. Some of them were sick and could not even walk. They were dragging them in. It was HORRIBLE. I wish they would arrest everyone in that company and give them the same treatment. These people were murderer's as far as I'm concerned. Then they recalled 143 million or billion pounds of beef. What a friggin waste of lives. This was so very disturbing. The most sad part is that CNN asked a question to vote on their home page. The question was, "Does this change the way you purchase your food". Over 80% of the voters said NO. That is incredible. Talk about denial.
For the record...this is why I do not eat beef, for this very reason.
Thats horrible I wanna cry! |
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Member
Posts: 46
| Milking is artificial. Naturally, we all should have stopped drinking milk at the age of one. PETA even tried to convey this by using human milk in ice-creams.
Drinking milk may harm your physical health. But being happy about an animal being milked and tortured, is asking for suffering, karmically. Before the industrial revolution cows weren't tortured and milked the way they are today.
This way you shouldn't be eating even honey; though it is very good for health. |
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Whole Milk?
