Milk & Your Health

The following audio link is a recorded conversation that was intended to be a quick update on the status of raw milk in the state of California. However, it quickly became an extended conversation about milk and its health benefits. The recording was made on July 10, 2008.



The Story Until Now

Historically, milk has been a food that has provided vital nourishment to people of many places all over the world. Hippocrates is the first physician known to use raw milk as a cure for tuberculosis, and the use of raw milk may date back to the early Egyptians. Yet over the last several decades, the value and importance of milk here in the United States has become a topic of hot debate leaving many people confused about whether or not they should consume it. Just a brief look at the history and science of milk will provide some information you can use to make your decision.



Recent History

Up until approximately 100 years ago, milk was consumed with little to no processing worldwide. That is to say, with the except of fermentation to create products like yogurt and cheese, most people consumed their milk raw. At the beginning of the 1900's, however, with the development of cities, milk became a potential source of disease. This was due to several reasons. Imagine life in the days of horses and buggies. Hot running water and refrigeration didn't exist, and cows were being fed leftovers from alcohol distilleries. That meant that diseases from people could easily contaminate the milk and then infect the consumer, and this did in fact become a problem as people became ill.

One of the solutions to this problem was "parboiling", a cooking of the milk that today is accomplished through pasteurization. Another solution, however, was the creation of "certified milk". This was milk produced under strict standards, inspected and certified by the physicians of the Medical Milk Commission. This milk was then used in health centers across the country, many of which employed raw milk diets to treat numerous conditions including hypertension, tuberculosis, and diabetes. One such clinic was the Mayo Foundation, which is the predecessor to today's Mayo Clinic.



Milk as a Health Food

Many stories about the amazing health benefits of milk abound. What in milk could be responsible for all of these various stories? Before pasteurization, milk is an incredibly complex, living food that contains more than just proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Milk is even more than vitamins and minerals. Milk is able to support our health because it contains, for example, beneficial bacteria (sometimes referred to as probiotics) as well as multiple immune system components that are very similar to our own immune system.

Recently, these beneficial bacteria have gained a lot of attention as more people begin to understand how vital these bacteria are. They help us digest our food and lessen the amount of work we need to do in order to absorb nutrients. They also support our immune system by competing with bacteria that are harmful to us. Even less well known are the other immune system components which have been shown to help support the beneficial bacteria as well as destroy the harmful bacteria. These components help to maintain the health of our digestive organs, which is central to our health overall.



When Milk Becomes a Problem

Pasteurization causes milk to become more difficult to digest. Many people who are lactose intolerant find that they can drink raw, unpasteurized milk with no difficulty. This is because the enzyme lactase, which breaks down lactose and is produced by bacteria that are killed in pasteurization, is also destroyed by pasteurization.

But even for those who aren't lactose intolerant and can drink pasteurized milk without problems, pasteurized milk doesn't offer many of the benefits that milk is supposed to provide. Most of the immune system components are destroyed by pasteurization. And milk which is pasteurized has a significantly lower amount of other enzymes which facilitate digestion such as phosphatase, which helps us absorb calcium from the milk. Even vitamins and minerals are affected by pasteurization: up to 50% of calcium may be destroyed, and up to 80% of certain vitamins according to the Supplemental Report in Favor of Raw Milk.

Furthermore, a significant amount of pasteurized milk has been produced by cows who have been treated with bovine growth hormone. This hormone is designed to increase the cows' production of milk far beyond their natural capacity and results in an increased susceptibility to infections. Infectious material remains in the milk, as well as the (additional) antibiotics which are given to the cows to treat their infections.. The use of antibiotics in our food supply is now criticized due to the increase in antibiotic-resistant diseases. Obesity, early puberty, and breast cancer are on the rise and are associated with consuming this kind of milk as well. And, there are still numerous people who contract illnesses as a result of drinking pasteurized milk.



Medicinally Speaking

Hippocrates said long ago, "let medicine by thy food". There is also a Chinese proverb that states: Whatever the father of illness, the mother is the wrong food. This proverb summarizes what is often the central tenet of oriental medicine treatment principles. The quality of an individual's diet and digestion is always taken into consideration when considering disease processes. It is in addition to recommending dietary changes that acupuncture and herbs are used to help strengthen digestion so that the whole body grows stronger and healthier. Whereas raw milk is a tonic for our energy, improves our digestion and immune system, and helps us build strong, fortified bodies, pasteurized milk can actually cause problems such as phlegm, allergies, asthma, et cetera.



Just a Few Reports About the Benefits of Raw Milk

It is not uncommon for children who drink pasteurized milk and suffer from mucous and ear infections to recover quite well when they switch to raw milk. Many mothers report that their children have fewer colds when they are drinking raw milk. People also report improvement in:

arthritis,
colitis,
cataracts,
osteoporosis,
infantile diarrhea,
asthma,
heart disease,
edema,
kidney disease,
allergies,
pelvic inflammatory disease, and
high cholesterol.

This list is not exhaustive, but it does give you a sense of
just how broadly raw milk has and can be used to support our health.



Cow Milk Versus Goat Milk

Some people find that raw goat milk is easier to tolerate than cow's milk and this is most likely due to a couple different factors. First, if you've ever seen non-homogenized cow's milk, then you've seen how the fat tends to rise to the top and cluster together. In goat's milk the fat stays in smaller groups and is distributed evenly throughout the milk and therefore may be easier to digest. Additionally, the protein (casein) in goat's milk is more similar to the casein in human milk and therefore may be easier to digest than the casein in cow's milk. Goat milk does provide the benefits of similar immune enhancing components as cow milk but does differ quite significantly in one regard. Specifically, goat milk contains less folic acid, and so if a pregnant or nursing mother or her children are drinking goat milk she should consider additional supplementation of this important B vitamin.



Purchasing Raw Milk

In California, raw cow milk is available in Whole Foods Market or other health food stores. Raw milk producers are aware of the issues surrounding milk and are committed to producing a safe product for their consumers. They take numerous steps to preserve the health of their animals, the cleanliness of their facilities, and the quality of their milk products. The milk is often delivered within hours of milking and is very fresh. Milk sold in glass bottles is best. Raw goat milk is not yet available on the shelves. To obtain raw goat milk you will most likely need to find someone who has a herd of goats and purchase a share of their goats. If you have any questions or concerns about the milk, ask the owner about how they milk the animals and what precautions they take to keep the animals healthy and the milk clean. Many offer tours and will be happy to have you visit their farm and meet the animals yourself.



Conclusion

Our health is directly related to the quality of the foods we consume, as well as to the health of the soil and animals that produce it. If we are going to choose to drink milk, then it is in our best interest to consume milk from animals that have been treated well and are eating the foods that are good for them. Milk free from pasteurization, bovine growth hormone, and antibiotics is able to provide the maximum benefits possible. By resuming a tradition that has been shown to produce optimum health in peoples around the world we are able to grant ourselves and our children the best lives possible.



Further Reading & Resources

A Campaign for Real Milk

Facts about raw milk

Claravale Dairy

Local raw goat milk

Organic Pastures

Supplemental Report in Favor of Raw Milk

Nature: A Gut Issue

The Raw Truth About Milk
by William Campbell Douglas II, MD

The Untold Story of Milk
by Ron Schmid

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
by Weston A Price, DDS