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NO MILK for ulcers
To better understand why milk for ulcers is not a good idea, you should familiarise yourself with the concept of acid and alkaline. Learn more by clicking here.
This article forms part of a series based on macrobiotic lectures that Herman Aihara gave in Singapore in 1995. Following that, I published an entire issue of The Good Life, summarising his key teachings in Singapore. Herman Aihara passed away on 25 February 1998 and Cornelia Aihara passed away exactly eight years later, on 25 February 2006.
Milk is often recommended for people with gastric pains and stomach ulcers – conditions caused by excess stomach acids. Milk provides quick relief as it neutralizes stomach acids. Milk is officially classified as an alkaline-forming food, since it is rich in calcium and other alkaline forming elements. However, milk is also rich in both fat and protein. Fats are “fatty acids”. When we eat a high-fat diet, some of the excess fat remains undigested and this produces acidity. Moreover, excess fats clog up the capillaries and stop the supply of nutrients to cells. The cells die and turn to acid. Protein, when it is digested, produces uric acid. At the same tie, acids are needed to digest protein. When a person takes a lot of milk, meat, and other high-protein foods, the stomach produces more acids. So milk is actually “acid-producing”. It will worsen the condition of persons suffering from gastric pains and stomach ulcers. This is why milk will ultimately worsen, rather than heal, gastric pain and ulcers.
Additional input: November 2007: Another reason to avoid milk for ulcers is food sensitivity, or food intolerance. Many people in modern societies are sensitive or intolerant to certain foods, especially to gluten (grain protein) and casein (cow's milk protein). In such people, milk intolerance can directly cause ulcers in the intestines. This, in turn, leads to internal bleeding and some people develop anemia when they drink milk excessively. Click here to read more about the harm of milk. |
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