Ray Peat

Ray Peat on Milk and Dairy

By OxidativeState · · 38 articles · 15 studies

Short answer: Milk and cheese were central foods for Ray Peat. He wrote that they protect against chronic stress-related disease through their calcium and protein, that most lactose intolerance and milk allergy has other explanations, and that milk works best together with fruit.

What Ray Peat wrote about milk

He wrote that the regular use of milk and cheese can prevent many chronic stress-related diseases. Source: Milk in context: allergies, ecology, and some myths

He questioned genetic lactose intolerance. The belief that some ethnic groups cannot digest milk sugar rests on tests he considered misleading, and he described the gut adapting when milk is used regularly. Source: Milk in context: allergies, ecology, and some myths

He blamed additives for many reactions. Carrageenan, a thickener in many milk products, causes colitis, and reduced-fat milk must have vitamins added whose carrier and contaminants can be allergens. Whole milk is the most likely to be free of them. Source: Food-junk and some mystery ailments: Fatigue, Alzheimer's, Colitis, Immunodeficiency, Milk in context: allergies, ecology, and some myths

He was honest about limits. Milk is made for growing animals, so its methionine and tryptophan are higher than ideal for adults, and its phosphate is slightly high relative to calcium. Source: Milk in context: allergies, ecology, and some myths

Combining milk and cheese with fruit adds to the anti-stress effect. The sugar and potassium let the milk protein be used more efficiently and hold down cortisol and parathyroid hormone. Source: Milk in context: allergies, ecology, and some myths

He retells a 1938 experiment in which a man lived six months on sugar syrup, a gallon of skim milk a day and a little orange juice. His weekly migraines stopped and his metabolic rate rose. Source: Sugar issues, Phosphate, activation, and aging

He noticed on his travels that people in countries with plenty of milk and cheese tended to be slender. Source: Milk in context: allergies, ecology, and some myths

What he suggested in practice

  • Two quarts of milk and a quart of orange juice a day is the pattern he mentions.
  • Whole milk without additives. Check labels for carrageenan.
  • Milk and cheese together with fruit.
  • Calcium carbonate, from eggshell or oyster shell, with vitamins D and K for a quick anti-stress effect.

Where he wrote about it

This topic comes up in 38 of the articles on his site. These are the most relevant ones:

My take

I tolerate lactose well and I think it has a good effect on the microbiome. My staple is warm milk with 20 g of beef gelatin, sugar and calcium, morning and night.

Quick answers

What did Ray Peat say about milk?

That milk and cheese protect against chronic stress-related diseases through their calcium and protein, and are best combined with fruit.

What did Ray Peat say about lactose intolerance?

He doubted the genetic explanation, pointed to additives such as carrageenan as a cause of symptoms, and described the gut adapting to regular milk use.

Which milk did Ray Peat prefer?

Whole milk, because reduced-fat milk has added vitamins whose carrier and contaminants can cause allergic reactions.

15 studies Ray Peat cited on milk

  1. Acute allergic skin reactions and intestinal contractility changes in mice orally sensitized against casein or wheyInt Arch Allergy Immunol · 2008 · PMID 18520157 · cited in Cascara, energy, cancer and the FDA's laxative abuse
  2. Improved lactose digestion and intolerance among African-American adolescent girls fed a dairy-rich dietJ Am Diet Assoc · 2000 · PMID 10812376 · cited in Milk in context: allergies, ecology, and some myths
  3. Fecal hydrogen production and consumption measurements. Response to daily lactose ingestion by lactose maldigestersDig Dis Sci · 1997 · PMID 9052518 · cited in Milk in context: allergies, ecology, and some myths
  4. Human milk compounds inhibiting adhesion of mutans streptococci to host ligand-coated hydroxyapatite in vitroCaries Res · 2009 · PMID 19390191 · cited in Milk in context: allergies, ecology, and some myths
  5. Effects of dairy products on intracellular calcium and blood pressure in adults with essential hypertensionJ Am Coll Nutr · 2009 · PMID 19828899 · cited in Milk in context: allergies, ecology, and some myths
  6. Milk products, dietary patterns and blood pressure managementJ Am Coll Nutr · 2009 · PMID 19571168 · cited in Milk in context: allergies, ecology, and some myths
  7. Dairy calcium supplementation in overweight or obese persons: its effect on markers of fat metabolismAm J Clin Nutr · 2008 · PMID 18842771 · cited in Milk in context: allergies, ecology, and some myths
  8. Lactose intolerance symptoms assessed by meta-analysis: a grain of truth that leads to exaggerationJ Nutr · 2006 · PMID 16549489 · cited in Milk in context: allergies, ecology, and some myths
  9. The myth of increased lactose intolerance in African-AmericansJ Am Coll Nutr · 2005 · PMID 16373956 · cited in Milk in context: allergies, ecology, and some myths
  10. Milk-derived fatty acids are associated with a more favorable LDL particle size distribution in healthy menJ Nutr · 2004 · PMID 15226461 · cited in Cholesterol, longevity, intelligence, and health
  11. Maternal breast milk long-chain n-3 fatty acids are associated with increased risk of atopy in breastfed infantsClin Exp Allergy · 2004 · PMID 14987297 · cited in The Great Fish Oil Experiment, Unsaturated fatty acids: Nutritionally essential, or toxic?
  12. Protection of adrenocortical activity by dietary casein in ether anaesthetized ratsIndian J Exp Biol · 2003 · PMID 15255650 · cited in Milk in context: allergies, ecology, and some myths
  13. Lipid content and fatty acid composition in foods commonly consumed by nursing Congolese women: incidences on their essential fatty acid intakes and breast milk fatty acidsInt J Food Sci Nutr · 1998 · PMID 10367004 · cited in Vegetables, etc. — Who Defines Food?
  14. [Effects of calcium supplementation using AAACa or milk on nocturnal bone resorption in young women]Nihon Ronen Igakkai Zasshi · 1997 · PMID 9430987 · cited in Osteoporosis, aging, tissue renewal, and product science
  15. Effect of prolactin on galactose cataractogenesisOphthalmic Res · 1987 · PMID 3039435 · cited in The transparency of life: Cataracts as a model of age-related disease

Open these in the database →

Not affiliated with raypeat.com. This page describes Ray Peat's published articles in our own words and links to the originals. Educational content, not medical advice.

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