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Dioxins are man-made chemical by-products caused by factory waste, incineration, traffic pollution, industrial emissions, fires, and many other chemical and industrial processes. Dioxins are deadly and are known to be the most potent carcinogen ever tested.

Studies show that dioxins cause many serious diseases in humans, such as a range of cancers, kidney disease, birth defects, illness and premature death.

Dioxins are very pervasive and get spread everywhere. They get carried by the weather, by rain and wind, and by ocean currents to all parts of the world. Dioxins then settle on land, pastures, and plants and become part of the food chain for animals and humans.

Although there is little we can do to escape dioxins altogether, we can minimize the amount that goes into our body by avoiding certain foods. Dioxins are found in equal measure in both organic and non-organic food. Dioxins do not come from pesticides or fertilizers - they come from the environment at large and even from the water supply.

On the whole, our bodies can deal with a low level of dioxins. Some will get excreted instead of being absorbed into the body to cause illness. To some extent we can reduce the level of dioxins we absorb by avoiding foods high in dioxins.

Which food is highest in dioxins? Dairy milk has a higher amount of dioxins than any other food or drink, weight for weight. All mammals produce milk for breastfeeding to their young (including humans). Dioxins consumed by the mother get concentrated in her breast milk. This occurs, because all nutrients (including dioxins) get concentrated in breast milk as a way of providing rich nourishment to the new born.

This means human babies get concentrated dioxins from their mother’s milk. Mercifully, a baby stops breastfeeding after a few months so the level of dioxins received by the baby drops off. Also, human milk has a lower concentration of dioxins compared to dairy milk.

For a milk consumer it’s a different story. The daily consumption of dairy milk will result in a dangerous build up of dioxins in the body, causing below-par health, serious disease, and premature death.

There is plenty of research (too much to list here) showing that dairy milk has the highest concentration of dioxins compared to just about any other food product.

‘Dioxins penetrate the environment via air, water and soil and are then incorporated in food chains. The major source of human exposure to dioxins (90%) is consumption of .dairy products.’ (Professor Rocz Panstw, Zakl Hig, 1999, 50:3).

‘The primary source of dioxins is food, especially .dairy products.’ (Chemosphere, 1998 Oct, 37:9).

‘The lipophilic nature of dioxins.may result in relatively high concentrations of dioxin contamination in dairy products.’ (Journal of Animal Science, 1998 Jan, 76:1).

‘Cows’ milk is ideal for assessing levels because these compounds adhere to fat and are transferred to and eliminated in the milk of the lactating animal.’ (Linda Fitzpatrick, Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment, 2005).

All types of dairy milk contain dioxins in varying amounts, including organic milk. But over eighty percent of organic milk sold in the world is UHT milk (Long Life milk). In the Americas and most of Europe just about all organic milk is UHT milk.

With UHT milk you receive significantly more dioxins than regular pasteurized milk because more dioxins become absorbed instead of being excreted. This happens because the micronized fat globules in UHT milk are very much smaller than in non-UHT milk. Consequently, more dioxins from the milk get into the bloodstream. See below to find out more.

Last 5 posts by Russell Eaton

• Best Air Travel Tips - June 8th, 2008
• Why Organic Milk is Worse for Diabetes - May 18th, 2008
• Milk increases chances of multiple birth - May 4th, 2008
• American Milk Consumers Being Deceived by Mislabelling - April 9th, 2008
• Why Lactose-Free Milk Should Always Be Avoided - April 1st, 2008

Tags: Health