The Arrow #262 - Whole Milk and the Milk of Human Kindness

Hello everyone.

Greetings from overcast and chilly California and then sunny, mild Texas — who woulda thought? Sunday was the shortest day of the year, my least favorite. I yearn annually for the arrival of December 22 which signals that from that point forward every day will be just that much longer. Meaning of course more daylight to get in a full day’s work and still have time for a few holes at the course before dinner.

But not this year, MD and I headed back to Texas on the morning of December 22 to enjoy Christmas with the Dallas branch of the Eades clan this year. (We enjoyed an early Christmas with the California branch on December 21.) The next days are going to be quite busy for us, so my apologies that this Arrow will be abbreviated.

Before we get started, I need to apologize for the huge multi-paragraph duplication in the last post. Mea culpa! But the why of it is sort of funny, so I’ll share.

As you know MD makes a vetting run through each post with an eye for typos, finding a lot, missing some, too. The issue with her editing my stuff is much like trying to edit your own stuff — you know what it’s supposed to say and your eyes read it that way. Same for spouses of 45+ years. Her usually critical eye glazes right over sometimes, reading what she knows I meant to say, not what I actually typed. (And my appreciation to the sharp eyes of those of you who point them out so they can be corrected.)

In a modern move to circumvent that issue, I decided to run the post through the keen digital eyes of perplexity (my fave ai) asking it to find all typos or grammatical mistakes but not to tamper with content or style. Here’s my query and perplexity’s reply:

It then came back to me with this:

And then it listed them all with comments and corrections.

Typos and small corrections

1. "It just dawned on my that" → should be "It just dawned on me that"

2. "alone with those I really want" → should be "along with those I really want"

3. "It about a guy" → should be "It’s about a guy" or "It is about a guy"

4. "who who has ever been hasn’t" → remove the extra “who” → "who has ever been hasn’t"

5. "Most people who know of Tim Noakes now think of him a a low-carb" → should be "think of him as a low-carb"

6. "Tim’s researched demonstrated" → should be "Tim’s research demonstrated"

7. "from out brains" → should be "from our brains"

8. "Which his how my life crossed with his." → should be "Which is how my life crossed with his."

9. "who play just a hard don’t" → should be "who play just as hard don’t"

10. "Surely that were training regimens" → should be "Surely there were training regimens"

11. "hide bound" → should be "hidebound" (single word).

12. "rotatory" → technically correct but uncommon; "rotational" is the more standard form (only flagging for awareness, not correction since you asked for typos only).

13. "last maybe ten seconds" → should be "lasts maybe ten seconds"

It gave me this sort of list for each paragraph I submitted, and it was becoming tedious going through it. Somehow its spooky intelligence must have sensed my tedium, because then it asks if I would like it to automatically correct the things it found in my online piece. So I said, sure. Have at it. And it did. And in the process, all the paragraphs I had asked it to search and find typos and correct them got duplicated. That part I don’t understand, but suffice it to say, I will think of a different way to do it next time. And again, my apologies for your having to read it twice! Technology’s grand, but fallible apparently and as with most airline disasters owing to pilot error.

Got Milk?

It’s no secret that America’s children are among the fattest and sickest kids in the world, despite well-intentioned (but utterly misguided) efforts on the part of the ‘nutritional authorities’ to fix the problems by such ineffective means as mandating low-fat or skim milk in school lunches. (Granted it’s fine to offer sugar-laden chocolate milk, so long as it’s low-fat or skim.) Jesus wept!

MD and I have been advocates of full fat dairy for kids (and adults) for decades, believing that the jihad against saturated fat was not only misguided as it relates to cardiovascular disease (and now even the American College of Cardiology agrees it’s not a problem) but ineffective for weight loss. Going on low fat or skim options is distinctly unhelpful in the battle of the bulge.

And an article in AJCN in 2020 titled “Cows’ Milk Fat and Child Adiposity: a prospective cohort study” bears that out. Researchers followed 7,467 healthy children aged 9 months to 8 years from the TARGet Kids! primary care network in Toronto, Canada, consuming varying percentages of cow's milk fat intake (0.1%, 1%, 2%, or 3.25%). And they found that each 1% increase in milk fat correlated with a 0.05 lower BMI z-score. Children drinking whole milk (3.25% fat) versus reduced-fat (0.1-2%) had 16% lower odds of overweight and 18% lower odds of obesity. So eating more milk fat resulted in leaner kids.

Based on that trial, another large and this time randomized-controlled trial called CoMFORT is now underway to assess the impact of low fat versus full fat milk not only on adiposity but also on cardiovascular markers and cognitive development in a cohort of 2 year olds over the course of 2 years.

And based on my own experience, I suspect the outcome will mirror the TARGet Kids! results as regards obesity. And I would also wager that the cognitive development of the full fat milk group is better.

I’ve written in these pages before (and spoken at Low Carb USA) about the effect that saturated fat has on nutrient partitioning at the level of the mitochondria versus that of PUFAs, with incoming saturated fat causing a build up of a certain biochemical (FADH2) that fills up the Co-Q Couple in the electron transport chain and causes the initiation of a reverse electron transport, which in turn causes the release of ROS (reactive oxygen species) and then hydrogen peroxide that in its turn causes localized insulin resistance, which serves as a signal that the fat cell is full. The tripping of this trigger shunts the incoming fuels away from storage in the fat cell. (PUFAs do just the opposite even if the fat cells are already stuffed like the Christmas goose.)

IMH(but somewhat learned)O the childhood health and obesity crisis largely stems from a four-headed hydra: replacing fats of all types with carbs, encouraging the intake of PUFAs, demonizing naturally saturated fats (such as dairy), and to a degree from sloth. Kids nowadays get a good bilateral thumb workout on their various devices, but for many of them that’s where physical activity ends. The HHS Secretary has said he wants to change all of that.

Enter RFK, Jr and his push to drag America’s children back to the land of fitness and health. He has vocally pushed back on nonsensical directives, such as the only skim or low-fat milk mandates in schools, in order to save our kids. It’s a laudable undertaking with which I wholeheartedly agree.

Enter the government. Spurred by Kennedy’s push (and that of others) Congress recently passed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025, allowing schools in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program to serve whole milk (3.25% fat) and reduced-fat (2%) milk again after over a decade of restriction to only low-fat or fat-free options. Once President Trump signs the legislation schools will offer flavored or unflavored whole, 2%, 1%, skim, and lactose-free milk (organic or conventional), with milk fat exempted from the saturated fat limits per meal. Parents or guardians can request non-dairy alternatives with a written note, expanding access beyond medical needs.

Jesus rejoiced! (I don’t think that’s a real Bible verse, but it probably should be.)

Enter the Physicians’ Committee for (Ir)Responsible Medicine (PCRM) whose spokesperson immediately dubbed it ‘dangerous legislation’. Dangerous! Whole milk?!? And further said it would threaten the health of all children. What a load of poppycock!

Oddly PCRM claimed the initiative was all about buckling to the desires and enriching the pockets of the dairy industry. WTF? Where, I had to ask myself, did they think the low-fat and skim milk already mandated and being served in schools today came from? It’s just swapping one color carton for another. Obviously if the dolts of the Committee had their way kids would all be drinking almond and oat milk, which the new ‘dangerous’ legislation still allows for should that be the kids’ (or their parents’) wish.

It’s one small step in the right direction, but a welcome one. Maybe the new year will bring even more good nutritional news.

The Arrow is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. It’s the best way to help support my work. It’s cheaper than some carby Starbucks Vente latte gingerbread whatever. And a lot better for you. It will run your IQ up instead of your insulin.

From Milk to Milking

No Christmas would ever be complete for me without a reading (or two or three) of one of my favorite Christmas short stories, Pearl Buck’s Christmas Day in the Morning.

As I’ve mentioned to you before, I think it resonates with me because of the many cold mornings I joined my grandfather Eades in milking (or in my young case endeavoring to milk) the cows on his farm in rural Missouri. I wrote a post about it a number of years ago that included the entire short story. If ever there was a more perfect prose depiction of the true meaning of the love we share during the Christmas season I don’t know of it.

MD and I wish you and yours all the joys and blessings of the season. And hopes for a new year that is filled with prosperity and possibility. Merry Christmas from our house to yours.

Odds and Ends

Why has Roman concrete lasted 2,000 years and its modern descendent cracks and fails? 

Skyfall. An amazing photo that would make Ansel Adams--who famously spent a day or days setting up a shot to snap only the one--proud.

Here's a shower thought: Why can we wiggle our fingers independently but (at least for most people) not our toes? And here's the answer.

Merry Christmukkah! The Christmas Day meme of Jewish folks eating Chinese food and watching movies isn't just fable. What started it? 

If you're dreaming of a White Christmas, what are the odds your dreams will come true? Find the odds out here.

What a hilarious difference a missing appositive makes! And you thought grammar wasn't important. Ha!

With my Borderer heritage, I loved reading about the rich contribution of Scots and Irish dialects to that of Appalachian English. 

A mountweasel is used to ferret out plagiarists and frauds. But what is it?

If you ever get trapped in quicksand, here's how to get out.

Where did our favorite seasonal greetings originate? You might be surprised. 

Newsletter Recommendations

Video of the Week

And I’ll end this abbreviated Arrow with one of my favorite Christmas carols sung by a pair of sisters with angelic voices (nothing blends quite so well as related voices).

Time for the poll, so you can grade my performance this week.

That’s about it for this week. Keep in good cheer, and I’ll be back soon a bit of whatever strikes my fancy.

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This newsletter is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end. Really, thanks. If you got something out of it, please consider becoming a paid subscriber if you aren’t yet. I would really appreciate it.

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