Real, traditional and whole foods are whole. They’re not broken down by machines and heat. They’re not processed to become something else.
Can you think of a food that has been processed and is actually better than it’s original, unprocessed self?
That’s not a trick question either. I’ve been wondering the same thing myself and so far I’ve drawing blanks, so I’m definitely interested in hearing what you guys come up with.
We’ve been talking about milk – straight up milk – as one of our baby steps in the Nourishing Traditions Dairy series. Some of the benefits of raw milk are mentioned here when we discussed pasteurization, but today’s post is focused solely on raw milk. The good, the bad, the ugly.
Why We Should Be Drinking Raw Milk (the benefits)
1. THE NUTRIENTS. Check out this list again:
- calcium
- phosphate
- magnesium
- sodium
- potassium
- citrate
- chlorine
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin B12
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin K
- Vitamin E
- Thiamine
- niacin
- biotin
- riboflavin
- folates
- pantothenic acid
Pretty long, right? Not only does raw milk have those vitamins and minerals, but they’re all whole and in tact. Not broken down by machines and heat. Not created in a lab and added after the fact because the manufacturing process damaged the original vitamins.
Fat soluble vitamins (A, D and K) require fat in order to be absorbed by the body. Without fat, they’re passed right through. Raw milk is the best example out there of obtaining these vitamins from a natural food source in a form that our bodies can use.
Raw milk also contains enzymes, the “do-ers” of the body. These guys are the ones that help the body break the milk. Without them, milk can be hard to digest. Without enzymes, the complex proteins in milk are less available. The nutrients listed above can’t be properly absorbed by the body. They say calcium builds bones, but enzymes are what allow the body to absorb it. Drinking all the milk in the world won’t help build strong bones if your body can’t access the calcium.
Several studies have been done to verify whether or not heat (pasteurization) effects the quality of nutrients, and it does – greatly!
- decrease in manganese, copper, and iron after heat treatment
- pasteurization destroys a substantial portion of the vitamin C in milk
- sterilization significantly impair the bioactivity of vitamin B6 contained
- Beta-lactoglobulin, a heat-sensitive protein in milk that is destroyed by pasteurization, increases intestinal absorption of vitamin A, so the supplemental vitamin A in conventional milk may be harder to absorb. (source)
- B12, needed for healthy blood and nervous system, is totally destroyed in pasteurization
If you’re looking for a milk that has the most nutrition, raw milk is clearly the choice.
2. SUITABLE FOR LACTOSE-INTOLERANT
I know this sounds strange, but it’s totally true! Milk contains two major proteins, lactose and casein. The body requires the enzyme lactase in order to digest lactose, and it makes some. But for most people, what the body makes is not enough to break down the lactose in a glass of milk The result is intestinal pain and irritation from diary products that contain lactose (including pasteurized and homogenized milk).
Good news for us, raw milk contains lactase! A study done in 2007 found that 82% of lactose-intolerant individuals were not only to simply tolerate raw milk, but when they drank raw milk exclusively (i.e. no pasteurized milk), their intolerance symptoms disappeared! (source) This would carry over into raw butter, raw cheese, raw yogurt and raw ice cream too! More studies are being done on the topic and I’m looking forward to seeing the results of this study of organic pasteurized vs. organic raw vs. soy milk at Stanford.
3. CONJUGATED LINOLEIC ACID (CLA)
This amazing acid alone is worth it’s own paragraph! CLA has very strong anti-cancer properties, encourages the buildup of muscle and prevents weight gain. According to the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, it can also reduce the body’s resistance to insulin and lowers food allergy reactions. CLA can only be found in the milk (or churned butter) of grass-fed cows.
4. LACK OF HORMONES AND CHEMICALS
Farmers who care for cows and sell raw milk are less likely to use hormones or chemicals and instead practice non-certified organic, sustainable farming methods because that’s how it’s always been done in their families.
It’s a cycle that benefits everyone involved. The farmer produces high quality milk – the surrounding community buys the milk because it’s better than the milk at the store – the farmer earns a profit and continues to provide the high quality milk his consumers are seeking. Plus, the farmers are held responsible for the quality of their milk. If someone gets sick or notices an off flavor, they know exactly where their milk came from.
Why People Don’t Drink Raw Milk (the drawbacks)
1. COST
This is by far the biggest contributor. Some of you are fortunate to have access to as much raw milk as you want. Some pay as little as $2 per gallon. Others pay closer to my range of $14/gallon in my area and then some can only buy it legally in their state if they own a cow. Others still, can’t buy raw milk. Period.
2. NEGATIVE PRESS
As a whole, society says raw milk is bad. John F. Sheehan, one of the directors in the US Food and Drug Administration, says “Drinking raw milk or eating raw milk products is like playing Russian roulette with your health” (source) and claims that the FDA sees illness every year related to the consumption of raw milk.
Newsflash: there’s illness related every year to the consumption of pasteurized milk! And sugar. And high fructose corn syrup. And hydrogenated oils. And aspartame. And carageenan.
These are awful, toxic and dangerous man-made chemicals, yet they’re perfectly acceptable – even desired in some cases – in our foods. But God-made raw cows milk is shunned?
3. AVAILABILITY
Just because raw milk is legal in your state, doesn’t mean you can get it easily. Living in the city versus living in the ‘burbs versus living in the country all play a factor. And don’t think that because you live in the country you can get milk easily either. Some family farms are hesitant to sell their milk to outsiders they don’t know.
If you believe in the health benefits of raw milk, you’ll do what it takes to get it. I’ve heard of some families driving 4 hours for raw milk. They all pitch in their money for their milk and each family takes turns driving on the weekend to pick up the milk for everyone.
Resources for Finding Raw Milk
There are a few sites that can help you get started with finding a farm near you that sells raw milk.
- http://www.realmilk.com/real-milk-finder/
- http://www.localharvest.org/raw-milk.jsp
- http://www.westonaprice.org/chapters/index.php (find your local chapter leader of Weston A. Price Foundation and ask them for sources in your area)
If you search these sites and turn up nothing (like me), check Craigslist! Small farms sometimes list raw milk for pet consumption.
If that doesn’t work, start visiting local markets. Ask the guy that sells pastured eggs, or the ones that sell grass-fed beef. Ask fellow shoppers if they happen to know anyone in the area selling raw milk (but be nice about it so they don’t think you’re trying to turn them in or anything, lol).
Next try calling CSA’s. Sometimes they offer raw milk, or know of a farmer who sells raw milk, or know of someone who drinks raw milk…
Then try the health food stores. Ask the butcher and the produce guy, since they deal with folks outside the store often. Also try asking other customers there too!
Do you see a pattern here? Get out – start asking questions – get to know your community!
How to Drink Raw Milk on a Budget
I really like the approach that Stephanie Langford took in “Real Food on a Real Budget.” She calculates how much it costs her family for drink raw milk each month and then separates that amount out of her grocery budget at the start of each month. It costs her $70 each month for her family to drink raw milk. That’s a lot of money to many of us, but raw milk is so important to her that she willingly cut back in other areas of her budget so that they could make it work.
If you’re determined to drink raw milk, don’t give up. It might be hard, it might be expensive, but the benefits are certainly worth the effort!
Do Something: Start looking into a local source for raw milk. You don’t have to commit to drinking it, but at least start looking around so if/when you’re ready to give it a try, you’ll know where to find it.
Raw milk lover for 28 years. Many of those produced my own, have to know/see the production of the milk of others I will drink. I never tolerated pasteurized milk but just thought I was allergic to milk till I found raw goat. Drank that for 20 years then got brave and tried raw cow no problems either but prefer the taste of goat. A half gallon of cow from a friend farmer is 5.00. He is also my source for eggs, chicken and I’ve purchased from him for 8 years. Just got milk and eggs today and was given a small pastured turkey and a quart of lard as a thank you for being a longtime customer. When did your local store ever do that? My other prime source gave us a month notice he was doing a price increase, first one in 5 years on ground meat and some other items, so we were able to stock our freezer up at the cheaper price.I realize I make a good living as a nurse and feel blessed that we can afford high quality food. I also know the gap between conventional food and local has narrowed. I was actually paying less for my ground pastured beef than my local Publix greenwise with a 10# purchase before the price increase. When I first went pastured, local it was double the price, eggs were double plus. Conventional food has increased higher in my area than my local producers, and they have gone GMO free because that’s what we want. Look at total cost too, I’ve not had a sick day out of work in 8 years, I’m a nurse. Between my hubby and me off 3 medications in the past 8 years. The real question is can you afford not to eat and drink real food?
We started drinking raw milk a few months ago. We used to go through 2 gallons of store bought milk a week. For some reason, now that we drink raw milk, we only drink 1 gallon a week. We pay $6.20 for 1 gallon of raw milk, so we’re paying about the same amount now as we did when we bought 2 gallons of store bought milk. I love that I can take some of the cream off the stop and make butter as well as buttermilk. That saves us some money too.
I’ve been making an efforto buy 1/2 gal at the start of each month and I’ve noticed that we too don’t drink as much, even though we’re trying. Maybe because it’s feeding our bodies good stuff it’s not used to getting? 🙂
WOW! $6.20 a gallon is a good price! Here it is about $9.00 for a half gallon!!!!
We’re blessed to be able to get our milk for $7.50 a gallon plus a $1.00 delivery charge. Something I think is also a plus is that it’s provided in 1/2 gallon mason glass jars. Re-useable and non-transferring of plastics. We drive to a church about 10 minutes away (another blessing) once a week to get it directly from the farmer. I heard about this through my homeschooling community. It’s a small family farm that’s just been operating for about a year. There are even investment opportunities available at a great return.
We were picking up raw milk at a local health food store where the owner offered her refrigerated case and took care of the bottle and money exchange for the farmer. It allowed us to pick it up when she was open instead of at a specific time in a parking lot (and I know she benefited from additional purchases we would make while we were picking up milk) before someone complained. I don’t see how it was hurting anyone, but she got hit with fees and other trumped up violations. But, it lead us to the arrangement we have now which works great.
We started getting the raw milk to help my husband’s health. He and I both drink it and we’d probably go through 2 gallons just for the two of us a week because it tastes so great just to drink a glass of it. The milk from the previous farm would sometimes be off, but this milk has been consistently tasty! Since it’s s new farm they have a waiting list until they can get more cows. Then we’ll probably increase to that 2 gallons a week up from the gallon and a half.
I have to say I was a little concerned about possible drawbacks when I saw the title of your article. I was happy to see that the drawbacks you see are just cost and availability.
Thanks for all of the information you provide! Just wanted to mention that Lactose is a sugar, not a protein. Just didn’t want anyone to be confused!
AS A dairy farmer’s wife..our family gets raw milk everyday. I truly think the benefits outweigh the risks. In upstate New York, despite the interest, my husband is not allowed to sell raw milk to anyone, it is illegal.There are risks, different bacteria, etc.. And the fact that it doesn’t keep as well, I believe are what most are concerned about. Also, if you are not used to it, the different level of fat, etc.. May bother people. Our daughter, now 16, used to tell the pediatrician when she was little when he asked about what type of milk she drank, would say it was from our farm or bulk tank, he would just laugh and look at her chart and compliment her on how well she was growing and how healthy she was and is…he did ‘t see her much. Playing in the barn and dirt also helps!
Real, traditional and whole foods are whole. They’re not broken down by machines and heat. They’re not processed to become something else.
Can you think of a food that has been processed and is actually better than it’s original, unprocessed self?
Well since you asked: beans and lentils require heat or processing into a powder to be useful to us, cassava is no good unprocessed, coffee, olives, many meats.. There are lots of things off the top of my head that require or greatly improves in quality by processing or using (even extensive) heat. Mostly pointing this out because it felt a bit hyperbolic.
As for raw milk, I wouldn’t serve that to anyone but I respect people’s wish to do so. Homogenisation however I would rather do without as it doesn’t feel like a necessary intervention. Personally I don’t think we’re meant to consume the amount of milk we do now and I’m trying to limit my intake accordingly. We usually go through about 3 liters a month of dairy (e.g milk, sour cream, cream etc) in our family and hoping to cut that down.
I feel like your milk series is a bit un-nuanced but it’s interesting all the same to read the different conclusions people come to with the same information 🙂
E –
Good for you to question the articles you read! I am the wife of a dairy farmer and a dairy farmer myself, so I have my own bias when it comes to the raw milk issue. However, I’m always intrigued by the viewpoint of others and would like to give you a few more ideas to contemplate.
I’m not sure what Tiffany is implying when she uses the word “processed”, but I guess my thoughts come from a whole different perspective. I look more at purpose when I think about processing. Using heat to make a food palatable is not processing to me. Adding bromine to bread dough because we want consistent sized holes in our bread is processing to me. Once the character of the food has been compromised, I consider it processed. Altering the chemical composition or adding chemicals to change the trait of the food is processing it. Adding vinegar to cucumbers is not processing it to me because the cucumber is still decomposing, just at a slower rate. It is simply two foods mixed together. When milk is pasteurized, it no longer retains it’s qualities, and the milk will go rancid rather than souring. Ultra pasteurized milk can’t even be used for cheesemaking because it has been altered so much. The milk not longer can express its “milkness”. Anyway, the idea of processing is hard to pin down exactly, but I did appreciate the thoughts you put out there!
Intervention – What a fabulous word to use to describe homogenization! I also feel the same about pasteurization. Milk is consumable in its raw state. Why does all store bought milk come cooked (pasteurized)? Most of our meats do not come cooked and I don’t think the vast majority of people eat their ground beef raw, but we are given the choice whether to consume our meat raw or cooked. We even get a warning to not consume raw or undercooked meats! Why is milk different? If you don’t want to serve raw milk to your family, it should be your choice, and you should be able to pasteurize it at home, just like you choose to cook ground beef at home. It just simply doesn’t make sense to me.
Lastly, I wanted to address the issue of quantity of dairy products consumed. The invention of the grocery store has given many of us a completely distorted view of cycles. We shouldn’t be eating freshly picked watermelon in February or consuming dairy products year round, and yet, almost all foods are there on the shelves, year round. Out on our farm, in the prairies of Wyoming, we give our cows two months of rest from milking before calving. Because we have multiple cows, there is milk year round. Most families of the past would have been lucky to own one milk cow. If they treated her the same, there would be two months out of a year with no dairy foods. Even within the lactation of the cow, there is a huge difference with lots of milk at the beginning of her lactation cycle and a gradual decrease over the length of the lactation. I once heard a quote by a very wise person that said, have as much of _________ as you want, but make it/grow it from scratch yourself. In his example, he talked about ice cream. You can have as much as you want, but you have to go milk the cow (and the daily chores that come with owning a cow), separate the cream, grow the strawberries (it was strawberry ice cream), clean them, dice them, trade something of value to get vanilla beans, make the extract, raise bees for honey, churn the ice cream, etc., etc., etc. The point was for food consumers to have an appreciation for the food we have and a respect of the effort it takes to produce the items we readily grab from the store shelves.
Again, I appreciate your comments and it gave me a different perspective to contemplate as well! If you want to share further thoughts about what I have written back, I would be happy to keep a dialog with you!
We are lucky to have a farmer on the way home from shopping where you can buy raw milk 24/7 from a special vending machine in your own containers. They must have a notice that it must be heated to at least 70 degrees or so, but nobody will check what you do, of course. We get one litre for € 0,90.