Dairy For The Plastic Sensitive

[j.]

I'm sensitive to plastic, to the extent that water from a plastic bottle tastes disgusting to me and can't drink it. There are studies showing water from plastic containers is estrogenic.

I have two tips to consume dairy from plastic containers.

1. Make farmers cheese

When I make farmers cheese with milk from plastic bags, I feel no discomfort. I think the estrogenic substances go with the whey. Farmers cheese is an easy way to get a lot of protein for the plastic sensitive.

2. Make greek yogurt

If you buy an unflavored, additive-free yogurt, you can thicken it by leaving it on a colander with a coffee filter. The whey will drip, and the yogurt will thicken after letting it stand for hours in the refrigerator.

I think that just like farmers cheese, the estrogenic substances go with the whey which can be discarded.

 

[andvanwyk]

What's the best way to make farmers cheese?

 

[j.]

I boil salted milk. Once it boils or a little before, I add lemon juice, which immediately forms curdles. Then I put the contents in a colander. The whey can be discarded, and the cheese stays on top of the colander.

The next step is to remove the liquid from the cheese, which contains whey, lemon. Some people use a cloth to cover the cheese and then press it. After the liquid is removed, one can eat it. (I don't use a cloth. I put the cheese without the whey back in the container where I boiled it, and then add water. I think that removes some lemon from the curdles. Then I put the cheese on a colander with a coffee filter, and with a spoon I press the cheese against the coffee filter.)

I use non-iodized salt (Morton's).

I think salt is important because I believe it raises the pH of the cheese. Otherwise, maybe it's a big burden to the kidney to keep the pH of the body within range, if you consume a huge amount.

I think leaving the liquid in the cheese might be dangerous, if one eats a lot, because the substances typically used are very acid forming or very alkalizing (white vinegar and lemon, respectively). And that can be a burden to the kidney. The most dangerous combination I think would be using unsalted milk, using white vinegar, and not pressing it, because all these three factors make the final cheese more acid forming, or so I believe. But maybe leaving the lemon would be too alkalizing, so I just remove the liquid in all cases.

 

[j.]

A note for the plastic sensitive

I recall that there were periods when I was able to consume even like 5 liters of milk from plastic containers without problems. I think that happened when I had access to good orange juice (consumed many liters some days), and ate the raw carrot regularly.

Since plastic is estrogenic, and orange juice and carrot are anti-estrogenic, it makes sense.

 

[jyb]

I'm surprised that a bit of lemon juice (not that much used to start with, and even less after discarding the liquid) could be an issue.

Maybe fat content can be a factor in the leaching. Usually, studies look at exposure to acid, heat, UV... In any case, using bigger size (2 quarts or more) makes the surface / volume smaller so less leaching.

 

[j.]

I'm surprised that a bit of lemon juice [...] could be an issue.

I was wildly speculating without evidence/studies.

 

[CellularIconoclast]

Different plastics have different health effects, but I generally consider polyethylene aka HDPE (what most milk jugs are made from) to be the only 'definitely safe' plastic. Polyethylene is just fully saturated long carbon chains, essentially extremely large saturated fats. It's very chemically stable, and is widely used in chemistry and biology research as it generally doesn't leach chemicals or react with things.

I use soft opaque white (HDPE) water bottles, as many transparent plastics (like polycarbonate) do leach endocrine disruptors.

Polyethylene structure:
[img=left]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Polyethylene-repeat-2D-flat.png/251px-Polyethylene-repeat-2D-flat.png[/img]

Polycarbonate structure:

 

[charlie]

CellularIconclast, thanks for posting that info!

 

[j.]

What's your take on stuff that looks like this?

That's Sancor Milk from Argentina. They've been advertising they improved their containers.

 

[CellularIconoclast]

What's your take on stuff that looks like this?

I'm not sure, but if you're looking for polyethylene containers look for the number 2 or number 4 recycle logos. If you don't see one of those, it's probably some other plastic.

 

[gretchen]

Just the sight of the plastic container makes me happy.

 

[Mittir]

According to this study HDPE does not look so safe and these HDPE are not
100 percent ethyelene and there can be toxic additives in HDPE.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3222987/

 

[CellularIconoclast]

According to this study HDPE does not look so safe and these HDPE are not
100 percent ethyelene and there can be toxic additives in HDPE.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3222987/

Wow, interesting.

 

[jyb]

Those milk jug smell like plastic, once emptied and left at room temperature for a little bit. So for sure they do leach at least something.

 

[j.]

I'm not sure, but if you're looking for polyethylene containers look for the number 2 or number 4 recycle logos.

It has the 4 logo.

 

[honeybee]

You can still buy milk in cardboard containers.

 

[Lin]

The cardboard containers are coated with something to make them waterproof... Does anyone know what this is? And does it leach anything?

 

[pboy]

its generally just a plastic, from my research. The govt and more established agency's say that you shouldn't reuse plastic bottles because they might leach over time, but that the first time you use it it isn't a problem. I don't think that's always the case because you can often taste it even upon the first use...particularly with water bottles. But I think they blow the plastic for water bottles just before use, which is a terrible idea and doesn't allow the plastic to fully set before its filled. With most cartons or milk this isn't the case. I don't like it, and I cant really taste it, but because its the only option available, I buy milk in a carton...though they use good plastics in organic products generally that have a less likelihood to leach. With water though, I pretty much just always go with glass. Once you get into the habit of buying things in glass you realize how much waste we needlessly accumulate... things that people consistenly buy like spring water or milk should be available, if you ask me, locally and fresh, and you should be able to bring your own jug. Im pretty sure this is how people did things before plastic was invented. I cant hate on plastic totally because of the freedom of commerce it allows...but when it comes to food or drink, its not really ideal and I only accept it because its so prevalent, but if theres a glass option I always choose it first

 

[Filip1993]

What about tetra pak?

 

[j.]

What about tetra pak?

I think it's less, maybe a lot less estrogenic.