On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 38

bone.
Thebestinsuranceagainstosteoporosis
appears to be frequent exercise of the
bones that we want to keep strong, and a
well-rounded diet that is rich in vitamins
and minerals, moderate in salt and meat,
and includes a variety of calciumcontaining foods. Milk is certainly a
valuable one, but so are dried beans, nuts,
corntortillasandtofu(bothprocessedwith
calciumsalts),andseveralgreens—kale,
collards,mustardgreens.
MilkProteinsBecomeSomethingMoreWe
usedtothinkthatoneofthemajorproteinsin
milk,casein(p.19),wasmainlyanutritional
reservoirofaminoacidswithwhichtheinfant
buildsitsownbody.Butthisproteinnow
appearstobeacomplex,subtleorchestrator
oftheinfant’smetabolism.Whenit’s
digested,itslongaminoacidchainsarefirst
brokendownintosmallerfragments,or
peptides.Itturnsoutthatmanyhormonesand


drugsarealsopeptides,andanumberof
caseinpeptidesdoaffectthebodyin
hormone-likeways.Onereducesbreathing
andheartrates,anothertriggersinsulin
releaseintotheblood,andathirdstimulates
thescavengingactivityofwhitebloodcells.
Dothepeptidesfromcow’smilkaffectthe
metabolismofhumanchildrenoradultsin

significantways?Wedon’tyetknow.
MilkBiology
andChemistry

HowtheCowMakesMilk

Milkisfoodforthenewborn,andsodairy
animalsmustgivebirthbeforetheywill
producesignificantquantitiesofmilk.The
mammaryglandsareactivatedbychangesin
thebalanceofhormonestowardtheendof
pregnancy,andarestimulatedtocontinue
secretingmilkbyregularremovalofmilk