Cow's milk is typically regarded as a prime factor in keeping a balanced American diet. From the very start of our lives, we are told that it is important to drink milk in order to maintain good, strong bones and grow up to be healthy. However, have we taken enough time to think about how healthy cow's milk truly is? This is a major misconception that Americans typically have in regard to how good for you cow's milk is. There are plenty of alternative milks that can replace the use of dairy milk such as coconut, almond, rice, hemp, and soy that are better choices for your body.

1. Antibiotics

Oftentimes, cows are injected with antibiotics in hopes of increasing the quality of the milk. However, the addition of antibiotics to the cow actually does more harm than good as this has the potential to instill antibiotic-resistant bacteria that could lessen the effectiveness of the antibiotics that humans take.

2. Lactose

There is a sugar in cow's milk called lactose which can be difficult for humans to digest.

3. Pesticides

Cows are exposed to harmful pesticides that are, in turn, introduced to their milk production. Why would you want to drink pesticides?

4. rBGH

A genetically engineered Bovine Growth Hormone called rBGH is injected into cows to increase milk production. This synthetic hormone increases the insulin growth factor in humans and has been linked to some cancers.

5. Respiratory conditions and allergies

Since milk products are pro-inflammatory and mucus producing, then they increase the risk of the potential for respiratory conditions and the development of allergies.

6. Not a hearty source of calcium

Due to the pasteurization process, only a small percentage of the calcium originally in milk is actually able to be absorbed into the body.

7. Acne

The risk of acne issues increases when the consumption of dairy milk.

8. Gut health

Pasteurized milk contains proteins that make digestion more challenging.

9. Increases calcium loss

Ironically, milk actually increases the loss of calcium in bones rather than increasing the production of calcium-rich bones. Since milk acidifies once in the body, and the best acid neutralizer found in the body is calcium, then drinking milk results in the utilization of the calcium from our bones to neutralize the milk's acidifying effect.

10. Milk is a processed product

The process of pasteurization alters the composition of dairy milk and increases the acidifying effects of the drink when compared to the actual raw product.

11. Harmful to the environment

The dairy industry negatively impacts the environment in the sense that it increases the amount of climate-warming gases as a result of manure, feed production, and milk processing that come from cows.

12. We aren't cows

Cow's milk is meant for turning a newborn calf into a 400-pound cow after the first year of life. The extreme amount of protein, mineral content, and essential fatty acids are necessary for the growth of calves into strong adult cows.