Charles Alban said:

I think this is perfectly reasonable. There is no evidence that fermented
milk products are harmful in any way. Obviously the French are great
believers in cheese (600 different varieties, was it?), and their heart
attack rate is one-third the US rate, so if it's good enough for the French,
it's good enough for me.

Actually, there is evidence that if the milk is pasteurized and/or
homogenzied, even if it is fermented, it can pose health problems.  The
French still make and eat a lot of raw milk cheeses.  These are far more
digestible and healthful than pasteurized cheeses and other processed milk
products.  (You can find raw milk cheeses and pasteurized milk cheeses in
health food stores; you have to read labels to tell which is which.  They
taste different and many find that the digestibility is different as well.)

If you are going to consume dairy products go for yogurt and kefir made from
unpasteurized raw milk; these are preferable to those made from pasteurized
milk or pasteurized, homogenized milk.  You can learn more about this by
reading William Campbell Doughlass' book, The Milk Book, and also Ron
Schmid's book, Traditional Foods Are Your Best Medicine.  Also, if the milk
is not organic, you risk taking in large amounts of hormones and antibiotic
residues.

There are studies implicating even cultured milk products with higher
disease rates.

Rachel