Most of us have been drinking low fat grocery store milk every single day since we were kids, and probably thought we were being healthy in doing so. Unfortunately, the opposite is true.
Today’s milk, (especially reduced fat milk) can lead to many health problems from osteoporosis, heart disease, and infertility (the list goes on).
What is "Grocery Store Milk"?
Today our milk comes from industrial farms where cow’ are fed a mixture of grain, soy, and dehydrated food garbage, all laced with pesticides. This type of food is a far reach from a cow’s normal diet of fresh mother nature-grown grass. Due to their poor diet and strict confinement the cows are usually sick with infections and diseases. This is why they are pumped with antibiotics from birth until death. They are also given large doses of synthetic hormones that boost milk production (a normal cow will produce 1.5 gallons of milk a day…hormone pumped cows will produce 6 gallons a day).
So the end product is a milk that is laced with pesticides, antibiotics, artificial hormones, and all sorts of bacteria from these unhealthy cows. (Note: today there are more regulations on using hormones).
That is where pasteurization comes into play. Pasteurization is when you heat the milk at a high temperature. This in turn, will kill all of the bacteria, but it also diminishes most of the healthy nutrients as well. So you are left with this “milk” with a sludge of white blood cells, and old dead bacteria that settle on the bottom. They then use a process of homogenization, where they forcefully blend the milk to combine the cream (and ‘sludge”) so it is all evenly distributed.
So the end product is a milk that is laced with pesticides, antibiotics, artificial hormones, and all sorts of bacteria from these unhealthy cows. (Note: today there are more regulations on using hormones).
That is where pasteurization comes into play. Pasteurization is when you heat the milk at a high temperature. This in turn, will kill all of the bacteria, but it also diminishes most of the healthy nutrients as well. So you are left with this “milk” with a sludge of white blood cells, and old dead bacteria that settle on the bottom. They then use a process of homogenization, where they forcefully blend the milk to combine the cream (and ‘sludge”) so it is all evenly distributed.
After all of these processes, you pretty much have a sterile white liquid. But isn’t milk supposed to be high in vitamin D? YES, so they add a synthetic vitamin D which has been shown to be toxic in high doses. Oh and get gets worse….
Many of the skim and 2% milks you buy are actually made from milk powder. Dried milk powder is created by spray drying, which creates oxidized cholesterol. Oxidized cholesterol contributes to the buildup of plaque in the arteries, atherosclerosis. So when you drink reduced-fat milk and other dairy products thinking that it will help you avoid heart disease, you are actually consuming oxidized cholesterol, which initiates the process of heart disease.
Skim milk also affects fertility. A recent issue of Newsweek stated….. “But a fascinating finding from the Nurses’ Health Study is that a daily serving or two of whole milk and foods made from whole milk—full-fat yogurt, cottage cheese, and, yes, even ice cream—seem to offer some protection against ovulatory infertility, while skim and low-fat milk do the opposite.”
Many of the skim and 2% milks you buy are actually made from milk powder. Dried milk powder is created by spray drying, which creates oxidized cholesterol. Oxidized cholesterol contributes to the buildup of plaque in the arteries, atherosclerosis. So when you drink reduced-fat milk and other dairy products thinking that it will help you avoid heart disease, you are actually consuming oxidized cholesterol, which initiates the process of heart disease.
Skim milk also affects fertility. A recent issue of Newsweek stated….. “But a fascinating finding from the Nurses’ Health Study is that a daily serving or two of whole milk and foods made from whole milk—full-fat yogurt, cottage cheese, and, yes, even ice cream—seem to offer some protection against ovulatory infertility, while skim and low-fat milk do the opposite.”
So What Kind of Milk Should You Drink?
Option 1: Raw whole milk:
Raw milk (straight from a cow, no pasteurization or homogenization) is LOADED with probiotics, enzymes, vitamins, and of course the very important Vitamin D. Raw milk should always come from local, grass-fed, healthy cows with NO antibiotics or hormones.
Grass-fed raw milk also contains 3-5 times the amount of a polyunsaturated Omega-6 fatty acid called CLA. This unique CLA has countless benefits including; raising metabolic rate, reducing abdominal fat, strengthening immune system, and many many more.
Also, it is better for the animals. I don’t think anyone wants to see an animal suffer. Factory farm animals suffer their whole lives until they are slaughtered. A cow should be allowed to be a cow…. living on green pasture with fresh water and sunshine…. its better for the animal… healthier for us….. and even protective for the environment.
Is Raw Milk safe?
Now today, it has been ingrained into our heads that raw milk is dangerous and we should never drink it. Even the FDA (personally I think the FDA is completely backwards, but that will have to be a whole different post) tries to shut down raw milk farms across the country and they have banned the selling of it in many states. The main argument they have about raw milk is that it can be contaminated and has caused many deaths in the past…………….
Ok, yes this is true and that statement is enough to scare anyone away from drinking raw milk. But they don’t tell you the whole story.
First of all, people have been drinking raw milk for centuries, and in many cultures, raw milk is still the only form of milk that is ever drunk. It was during the industrial revolution era that people started getting very sick and even dying from drinking raw milk. Why? Because this is when factory farming began.
Cities were popping up and becoming more crowed. People were finding a faster, easier way’s to do everything, including farming. Cows were moved inside crowded disease ridden enclosures and fed horrible diets. In turn, these cows would get sick and pass on dangerous bacteria and germs in their milk. This is when pasteurization came into play…. and to me, the only thing pasteurization does is promote unsanitary and cruel factory farming. So YES raw milk caused many illnesses and deaths at one point in time. But now you know why.
If you are considering going raw, it is important to find a farm nearby that is clean and does regular testing on their animals to make sure they are healthy. Local Harvest, Eat Wild, and Real Milk are great ways to find local raw milk in your area. The dairy farms
I purchase my milk from a local farm that takes great pride in their animals and they make sure that they always deliver a safe, natural, delicious, nutrient-packed product that tastes so much better than pasteurized milk (the cream even rises to the top, which you can skim off and make butter). Another plus is that when raw milk gets old it gets a bit sour but you can then bake with it (grocery store milk turns rancid and must be thrown out). Overall, raw milk is just a perfect food from nature which will keep your family healthy all year long.
Raw milk (straight from a cow, no pasteurization or homogenization) is LOADED with probiotics, enzymes, vitamins, and of course the very important Vitamin D. Raw milk should always come from local, grass-fed, healthy cows with NO antibiotics or hormones.
Grass-fed raw milk also contains 3-5 times the amount of a polyunsaturated Omega-6 fatty acid called CLA. This unique CLA has countless benefits including; raising metabolic rate, reducing abdominal fat, strengthening immune system, and many many more.
Also, it is better for the animals. I don’t think anyone wants to see an animal suffer. Factory farm animals suffer their whole lives until they are slaughtered. A cow should be allowed to be a cow…. living on green pasture with fresh water and sunshine…. its better for the animal… healthier for us….. and even protective for the environment.
Is Raw Milk safe?
Now today, it has been ingrained into our heads that raw milk is dangerous and we should never drink it. Even the FDA (personally I think the FDA is completely backwards, but that will have to be a whole different post) tries to shut down raw milk farms across the country and they have banned the selling of it in many states. The main argument they have about raw milk is that it can be contaminated and has caused many deaths in the past…………….
Ok, yes this is true and that statement is enough to scare anyone away from drinking raw milk. But they don’t tell you the whole story.
First of all, people have been drinking raw milk for centuries, and in many cultures, raw milk is still the only form of milk that is ever drunk. It was during the industrial revolution era that people started getting very sick and even dying from drinking raw milk. Why? Because this is when factory farming began.
Cities were popping up and becoming more crowed. People were finding a faster, easier way’s to do everything, including farming. Cows were moved inside crowded disease ridden enclosures and fed horrible diets. In turn, these cows would get sick and pass on dangerous bacteria and germs in their milk. This is when pasteurization came into play…. and to me, the only thing pasteurization does is promote unsanitary and cruel factory farming. So YES raw milk caused many illnesses and deaths at one point in time. But now you know why.
If you are considering going raw, it is important to find a farm nearby that is clean and does regular testing on their animals to make sure they are healthy. Local Harvest, Eat Wild, and Real Milk are great ways to find local raw milk in your area. The dairy farms
I purchase my milk from a local farm that takes great pride in their animals and they make sure that they always deliver a safe, natural, delicious, nutrient-packed product that tastes so much better than pasteurized milk (the cream even rises to the top, which you can skim off and make butter). Another plus is that when raw milk gets old it gets a bit sour but you can then bake with it (grocery store milk turns rancid and must be thrown out). Overall, raw milk is just a perfect food from nature which will keep your family healthy all year long.
*SIDE NOTE: Since writing this, I visited my pediatrician for one of my sons check-ups and the issue of milk came up. She actually said that she would advise children to drink raw milk and if this was not possible, no milk at all. Just make sure they are getting adequate amounts of vitamin D through other foods or supplement.
Option 2: Grass-fed organic milk that has been lightly pasteurized:
If you make the decision not to go raw, (which I do when I am pregnant). I would look for grass-fed milk that is “lightly” pasteurized. We have been lucky enough to live near a store that sells whole milk from a local farm. These cows are healthy and live their lives grazing on pesticide free pasture. They also pasteurize their own milk in smaller batches, using lower temperatures which will kill off any contaminants, but will not completely deplete the beneficial nutrients.
Since many of us do not have these types of farms near us, I would check at your local health food store, even some grocery stores are now selling grass-fed milk as well as other grass-fed dairy products. Kerrygold, Stonyfield, Organic Valley, and Homestead Creamery are all great choices. When I am in a rush, I will pick up a 1/2 gallon of the Homestead Creamery milk from Earth Fare, this is a great product.
Note: Don’t buy milk just because it say’s “organic”! Many companies such as Horizon Organic, sell an organic product, but it does not come from grass-fed cow’s, and they also use a process called Ultra-Pasteurization which has its own health risks. So avoid any product labeled ultra-pasteurized, organic or not.
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