It seems very clear that anytime you use refined or processed foods you run the risk of developing problems. We all know that sugar and refined carbohydrates are major causes of weight gain. But, unprocessed sugar cane and unrefined grains are far less likely to cause weight gain, especially in carb nutritional types.

What works best for normalizing your weight and promoting good health?

• Exercising.

• Eating a diet low in sugar and grains, while consuming the right amount of carbohydrate intake -- with vegetables -- for your body's unique metabolic type.

With respect to milk, one of the major issues is the primary processing of pasteurization that causes serious damage to the fragile milk proteins. So the key here is to avoid pasteurized milk.

I realize this study suggests low-fat milk may cause weight gain, but my suspicion is that this is more related to the fact that it is pasteurized, not that it is low-fat. However, if you are a carb nutritional type, low-fat raw milk may be quite healthy for you.

While you can't purchase low-fat raw milk, it is easy to skim off the fat (cream) that rises to the top. This would be the last thing you would want to do if you were a protein type, as the milk fat will cause you to thrive. I myself go through one-third of a pound of butter a day because I am a protein type.

If you gave low-fat milk to some protein types, I suspect that it is certainly possible that it might cause weight gain.

There are other concerns with pasteurized milk as well. Pasteurization destroys raw milk's vital enzymes, which are used by your body to help you digest it, and most pasteurized milk is also homogenized. The homogenization process turns fat naturally present in the milk rancid and contributes to the formation of xanthine oxidase, a potentially damaging enzyme that has been shown to contribute to atherosclerosis.

Additionally, conventional milk is virtually void of absorbable, metabolically active nutrients like natural, fat-soluble vitamins A and D (synthetic vitamin D, which is less usable by your body and potentially toxic, is added back later). Also, the calcium and other valuable minerals naturally found in milk are practically useless when the milk fat is removed.

For more information on the dangers of pasteurized milk, please read my article Don't Drink Your Milk.

I have seen so many of my patients recover their health with raw milk from pasture-fed cows that I actually believe it to be one of the most profoundly healthy foods you can consume, if you can tolerate it based on your body's metabolic type. If you are unable to find a local dairy farmer in your area who sells raw milk, I encourage you to visit the Real Milk site to locate a source close to you.

Related Articles:

Seven Risk Factors for Childhood Obesity

Why You Don't Want to Drink Pasteurized Milk

The Real Reasons Why Raw Milk is Becoming More Popular