Regular pasteurized milk is problematic due to the presence of nucleic acids that are biologically active in humans. Fermented food products like yogurt are fine. UHT milk is OK.
> There is compelling evidence that human and bovine milk exosomes play a crucial role for adequate metabolic and immunological programming of the newborn infant at the beginning of extrauterine life. Milk exosomes assist in executing an anabolic, growth-promoting and immunological program confined to the postnatal period in all mammals. However, epidemiological and translational evidence presented in this review indicates that continuous exposure of humans to exosomes of pasteurized milk may confer a substantial risk for the development of chronic diseases of civilization including obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, osteoporosis, common cancers (prostate, breast, liver, B-cells) as well as Parkinson's disease. Exosomes of pasteurized milk may represent new pathogens that should not reach the human food chain.
No one thinks that peanuts and vegetable oil combine into some magic superfood, yet Plumpy'nut is concretely beneficial to keeping people fed and healthy. Now, consider this same rationale into to a kind of poverty close to home. There is plenty of evidence that milk in school lunches is often the only reliable daily source of calcium and protein for millions of impoverished children worldwide.
Contextualized one way, milk is a meal replacement or nutrition supplement, and one that is more practical than most other options. A serving of whole milk requires zero on-site prep time, is relatively portable once packaged, and perhaps more importantly, it is often the most palatable option for picky eaters. Public health is complicated.
