Anna Abrante wrote:

"The difference between say, yogurt, and milk, is like night and day
chemically.  Is there research anywhere indicating that this form of milk is
bad for us?"

I'm glad you unearthed Todd's earlier idea about dairy foods.... it's such a
great topic, and it might have been lost forever beneath a mountain of
subsequent postings.

As for fermented milk products, I'm afraid I have some bad news.  See, the
trouble with milk can't be blamed solely on the lactose and other
carbohydrates that are largely removed by fermentation.  Proteins in the
milk of other animals (besides humans), left nicely intact despite
fermentation, are thought to be foreign enough to the human body to disturb
our immune systems.  One such protein is an enzyme called xanthine oxidase
(go to link below).  I know people who eat lots of fermented dairy, seem to
digest it very easily, and never have any discomfort, health problems or
symtoms of any kind that they can directly associate with their dairy
consumtion.  However, like most people, many of these dairy eaters have one
or two anoying ailments like rhumatoid arthritis (worse than anoying),
occasional headaches, frequent sinus infections, allergies etc., and I can't
help but wonder if any of this could be related to their diet.  What would
happen if one of my ailing friends didn't eat any dairy whatsoever for a
month?  Even for those who generally feel fine (no noticeable ailments),
would they wind up feeling even better after quitting dairy foods?  Check
out some of the discussions in the PALIODIET archives on the subject of
dairy or milk.


Here's one in wich Loren Cordain discusses several issues.  Look at item #7.
It's about dairy, and although it doesn't mention fermented dairy, it
touches on proteins, mimicry and autoimmune responses and thus applies to
fermented as well as non-fermented.
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?A2=ind9710&L=paleodiet&P=R706

Also, although I havn't read it myself, Dr. Cordain recommends the following
book in another of his postings:
Oski FA. Dont drink your milk. Syracuse, N.Y., Mollica Press,
Ltd., 1983.

By the way, I couldn't locate my source that links dairy to IDDM, so if
anybody is curious, I apologize.

B. Lischer