In my practice, nutrition is one of the main treatments for my patients on their path to wellness. I see food as medicine, and the more healthy, natural, and unprocessed foods we put in our bodies, the better we feel. On the same note, the more processed and impure foods we eat (which is by far the bulk of the typical American diet), the more symptoms and disease we learn to live with.I've found that beginning to think about changing one's diet can be an overwhelming and scary endeavor for many people. That's why I strongly believe in finding simple & accessible things people can do to begin the process of making these changes. Starting slowly can make this feel possible, and we do it one step at a time. And the proof is in the pudding. Literally. The truth is, over time people start feeling better when they start to change their diet. I have watched the cravings for people's most stubborn comfort foods fall away as people get used to feeling better in their bodies.
This brings me to the conversation on raw dairy. Over the past several years dairy has gotten a bad name for itself. More and more people are finding dairy is causing all sorts of health problems and are removing it from their diet. This is fine for a small number of people, but the far majority of us could use the health benefits of dairy - just in its more natural, more digestible state. I recommend the switch to raw dairy on a daily basis in my practice. With a bit of education, it is one of the simple changes we can make to feel much better in our bodies.
The current norm for consuming dairy products is that they are all pasteurized and homogenized. For those who don't know, pasteurization is the process of killing off bacteria that causes illness. This is done by heating milk at a certain temperature for a certain amount of time. The problem with pasteurization is that it not only kills the bad stuff - but it kills all the good too. All the vitamins, nutrients, enzymes, and healthy cultures die in the process as well.
Homogenization is the process by which the consistency of milk is made uniform. For anyone who has had milk with the cream left on top- this is non-homogenized milk. The homogenization of milk is another process that again changes the chemical make-up of the milk proteins. It breaks down the proteins in such a way that it becomes very difficult for our bodies to process and metabolize. This can cause histamine reactions, produces phlegm in our bodies, and can lead to other inflammatory responses.
Here is a informative video explaining how the pasteurization and homogenization process happens:
These 2 processes are what have led to this wide spread belief that many of us are lactose intolerant. A better way to describe this, in my opinion, is that many of us are actually "pasteurized and homogenized dairy-intolerant." I can not tell you how many times I have recommended to my "lactose-intolerant" patients to experiment with drinking raw milk. And the countless times the same people have come back with none of digestive and inflammatory symptoms they once had.
Raw milk & cheese are readily available in the San Francisco Bay Area- as well as many other places around the country. Once you know where to go - it's easy to find. Locally, we are lucky to have two major producers, Organic Pastures & Claravale Farms. Both are delicious and I highly recommend either. Here are a few links to help you find your local distributor of raw milk, and some additional resources to begin your raw dairy education.
Where to Find Raw Milk in Your Area
A Great Website all About Raw Milk
Is Raw Milk Safe For Babies?
"The Revolution Will Not Be Pasteurized" : A great (but somewhat long) article on the Raw Milk industry. Please note the final few paragraphs are some of my favorite.
I'll leave you with a couple of videos of a conversation between the owner of Organic Pastures, Mark McAffee & Chiropractor Dale Jacobson. These 2 videos are not in order, but I thought the most ineresting segments of the ones I saw. If you are interested in more chapters, you can double click on the video below and search for more on youtube. Enjoy!
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9 comments:
Very interesting stuff.
It's crazy how the government will make something like that illegal.
There are so many things that are harmful to us that ARE legal.
Tobacca, alcohol, trans fat, pesticides....just to name a few.
Crazy world we live in.
Maybe people like you will make it a little less crazy.
Hi Jill,
I'm actually drinking a glass right now. It does taste good and they do sell it at Whole Food (Raw skim milk). I noticed that the label stated that the milk shouldn't be consumed by infants or pregnant folk. I had some anyway and feel fine. Is it because it isn't pastureized?
Moooo. I love reading your blog, I feel so much more well informed.
Unfortunately, the companies put this warning on their bottles for liability reasons. They have a lot to lose in their industry, so they have to protect themselves in every way. In some states raw milk suppliers have to put "for pet consumption only" to be able to legally sell it. Glad to hear that Whole Foods carries it now!
My sister spent several months in Mexico recently, where almost all cheese and dairy products are made from raw milk. She got very sick several times, and upon investigating figured out that it was a type of bacteria in the queso fresco that was making her ill. Now in the U.S. she can't consume any raw milk products, because her body has become so defensive against that type of bacteria that it will make her sick.
Are there differences in the way raw milk products are processed in the U.S. versus other countries? Is it safer here? Also, what are the dangers? Do you think it is completely hogwash and there are absolutely no dangers to it? You mentioned pasterization killing off bad and good bacteria - what are the bad?
Charlotte - these are great questions. Unfortunately, more than likely your sister got some bad information from a western practitioner that doesn't know much about good and bad bacteria. Yes-it sounds like she got sick from the raw milk and cheese that she consumed. But its not because the dairy was bad- it was because it contains bacteria that people in this country don't have in their guts. This is the same reason why when we go to Mexico we aren't supposed to drink the water or eat fresh unwashed fruits and vegetables. Unless a parasite has been ingested, its just different bacteria that our bodies don't know what to do with. Typical holistic treatment takes care of it, often through the use of supplementing with the good bacteria, knocking out the over-abundance of unfamiliar bad bacteria. Once balance has been restored your sister should have no problem taking raw dairy again in this country.
To answer your questions about types of bacteria. I highly recommend watching the videos in the blog- the owner of Organic Pastures speaks about what typical bad bacteria pasteurization is used to kill. If your sister has any questions about this, I am always happy to talk on the phone and steer her in the right direction for treatment.
In terms of processing in Mexico versus here. I don't know how its processed for sale or what type of regulations they fall under. Here, the dairy industry in general has very strict rules and regulations. But the raw dairy industry has to undergo extraordinary and impeccable testing. Instead of the normal biannual facility and product testing, they
undergo testing every 3 weeks. If they didn't process their milk under the strictest of guidelines they would be out of business immediately. How this compares to Mexico, unfortunately I don't have the answer to.
And no I don't think pasteurization is completely hogwash. I think pasteurization is absolutely necessary for milk raised in what has become our conventional dairy industry. If people were fully educated on the atrocities and absolute horrific circumstances in which dairy cows are kept, and byproducts filling the conventional milk before pasteurization, most people would not consume these products. With that said, when an animal is left to graze on its natural diet in wide open spaces, in stress free environments, the milk and the body in which it is coming from is entirely different. This is the only time raw milk should be consumed. Again, I highly recommend googling these topics and watching more videos- there are several on youtube- that are very informative and can help you make a decision on your own. Good luck & thanks for the great questions.
Hi Jill,
Health is wealth.....Yup, it is very cool to read about raw milk and other products from it.....
I think drinking milk or eating cheese(raw milk product) make our body to get more weight as they contain fat. However, If we can have a limit on taking them, there will not be any issues. Jill, Am I right? I like to get your reply on this....
Thanks,
Stephen Kenny.
Thanks for your comment Stephen. Actually, this idea of fat being the reason why we gain fat is on the biggest myths there are when it comes to diet and nutrition. The truth it is that it is essential to our diets to get the right type of fats - as our bodies need them to function properly. A great book to read is called "Eat Fat to Lose Fat," if you're interested. Another great resource in learning about the difference between fats and what are essential for us and which ones we could do without is
http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/index.html
I hope this helps.
Wow so much in this post. I just learned so much in seconds of reading this. Great blog! The world needs to be informed on information like this.
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