Why I Choose Raw Milk for My Family: What's in it?

Health Benefits of Raw Milk; What's in it?

My family has been consuming raw milk for about a year and a half now.  We choose organically produced raw milk from grass fed cows for a number of reasons: one largely being the significant nutritional value of this food and the health benefits associated with that, second the quality and cleanliness of the animals it comes from and last but not least, choosing raw organic milk supports good sound farming practices as well as supports your local community and helps farmers achieve a decent living. I would like to talk about the superior nutritive value of raw milk vs. pasteurized milk, in order to do that I first need to tell you what is in raw milk. Furthermore, in this series I will show you the scientific evidence that supports that raw milk is superior to processed milk in a number of ways.  I will also present much evidence that milk can and has been used successfully as a medicine for centuries.  In addition to showing the inferiority of pasteurized milk, I will also present some evidence that suggests the dangers one can do to their health by consuming this processed food.

Before getting started I want to clarify that I do not condone going out to any ole farm to obtain fresh milk.  There is a dramatic difference in raw milk out there: 1) raw milk produced for direct human consumption and 2) raw milk produced with the intent to be further processed in order to make it fit for human consumption.  Of course I am advocating the first of the two.  This milk is produced by cows that live and feed on grass (their natural diet) as a opposed to high protein, GM soy and corn cocktail that is laden with pesticides, herbicides, fungicides etc.  The cows that produce this milk are not subject to harsh conditions: manure laden pens, forever in small cramped indoor spaces on rubber mats, living in stressful lives that they barely live past 48 months- where as a cow on pasture can easily live 12 years.  Cows whose milk that is produced for pasteurization are not only feed a species inappropriate diet of grain but also of restaurant waste, chicken manure and other garbage, antibiotics, and other drugs used in very large amounts as disease 'prevention' or 'management'- in hope to offset the awful conditions in which these animals live.  In addition to various drugs they are also given hormones and other growth stimulants on a regular basis.  Cows producing milk for direct human consumption live most of their life on pasture basking in the sun, grazing, where they belong.  They do not require drugs, because they are healthy as a result of their superior living conditions and cleanliness and the care they receive.

Raw milk is a complete, balanced food that can sustain life all by itself! Think about it, the goal of milk from mothers is to completely nourish a growing infant - milk can do just that for us when it is kept natural and unprocessed. As I mentioned, raw milk contains all the nutrients needed to support life, lets take a look at the major components of raw milk. (click for a little more info) 

Vitamin A 

• only found in animals' milk if their diet consists of grass

Vitamin D

• only found in animal's milk if the animals live in the sunlight

• has close interaction with Vitamin A and acts as a vitamin and a hormone; is a very complex nutrient

Vitamin E

• works with vitamins A and C for antioxidant protection

• grass-fed animals have 4 times the amount of vitamin E in their products

Vitamin K2

• only found in fermented foods and in the fat of grass-fed animals.

Vitamin C

• potent antioxidant, also needed for the use of iron and folate

B Vitamins- all work synergistic with one another

• B1

• B6

• B12 and B12 binding proteins- only found in animal foods

• Folate and folate binding proteins

Calcium

• works together with saturated fat, the enzyme phosphotase, vitamin D, vitamin K2 and magnesium for building our skeletal structure and maintaining bone health

• aids in the absorption of B12

Magnesium

Zinc

Iron

Phosphorous

Sulfur

• needed for the production of amino acids and natural antioxidants

Choline

Amino Acids

• Raw milk contains all 22 amino acids necessary for human life
• Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, making them essential to life as they are needed to make enzymes, hormones, antioxidants and neurotransmitters as well as some 50,000 proteins in the body.  

Fatty Acids

• the 18 fatty acids found in raw milk, all metabolically available and each with their own set of benefits.

• Butyric Acid or butyrate

• Caprioc Acid

• Caprylic Acid

• Palmitic Acid

• Oleic Acid

• Capric Acid

• Lauric Acid

• Myristic Acid

• Stearic Acid

• CLA

• a very well researched fatty acid that has many, many health giving properties to it.

• 5 times more CLA is found in the products from grass-fed animals than grain-fed animals

Enzymes - are the life of an organism, without them no organism on earth would survive. We have different types of enzymes for different things, the kind I am talking about hear are digestive enzymes which break down the food we eat into smaller molecules our body can work with and use within ourselves as well as enzymes that have multiple functions such as immune system and antimicrobial.

• the benefit of enzyme-rich foods is that it contributes to its own digestion, which is extremely important in that digesting 'dead' food stresses our pancreas severely leaving it helpless when it comes to the other metabolic functions it is suppose to perform; enzymes are almost completely absent from the American diet today as they are killed by time, heat, light and chemical exposure.

• a few out of the 60 enzymes found in raw milk:

• Lysozyme - antibacterial enzyme, "kills bacteria by disrupting the glycosidic bond between the two components of peptidoglycan, a constituent of the bacterial cell wall," according to the University of Illinois Extension.  They also state that it is protective against E.coli along with Immunoglobulin A.  May also act as an anti-inflammatory agent.

• Amylase - breaks down starches and sugars for digestion and assimilation

• Catalase - responsible for waste management at the cellular level

• Lactase - breaks the 2 sugar lactose molecule apart for 2 individual easier to digest sugars

• Lactoperoxidase - helps form an antibacterial system with other mechanisms found in unprocessed milk

• Lipase - breaks down fats into simple fatty acids for easy digestion and assimilation.  May help transfer cholesterol and fat-soluble vitamins into the intestinal cells according to Mark McAfee. 

• Phosphotase - necessary for the break down of phosphorous ions which then allows the body to access and therefore assimilate calcium and phosphorous

Beneficial bacteria (1) - our culture is very much against bacteria these days it is harming us significantly; predominately with weak immune systems.  We need bacteria!

• The 'good' bacteria found in raw milk (even more so found in fermented raw dairy products) help us with bodily processes, digestion (by aiding in the assimilation of vitamins and minerals) as well as enhancing our immune system (by working with our immune system to protect against pathogenic strains of bacteria).  The bacteria found in this milk work to preserve it by turning it into something else. Raw milk sours as a yogurt, clabber etc whereas heat-treated milk, a 'dead' food spoils. Some of the beneficial bacteria include but are not limited to:

• Lactobacillus acidophilus -  helps us to digest food, it has the ability to produce vitamins (when we don't get enough from our diet) and facilitates digestion.  It produces the enzyme lactase, necessary for digestion of milk sugar, lactose.  Kills of pathogens such as: Listeria, Candida albicans, Helicobacter species, Clostridium, Salmonella and E. coli.  It even enhances our immune response. (2)

• Lactobacillus casei - this study suggests this bacteria has a positive effect on our natural killer cell activity.  It has also been reported to help relieve symptoms of Crohn's disease, Diverticultis, reduce diahrea and relives constipation. (3)

• Lactobacillus fermentum - reportedly contains antimicrobial and antioxitdative properties (4), it also seems to play a role in detoxifation of the intestinal tract as well as having the ability to postively influence energy metabolism and immune response. (5)

• Lactobacillus brevis - has been shown be be very beneficial to oral health (as are many others mentioned here).  It also seems to have an anti-inflammatory effect on the digestive system. (6)

• Leuconostoc paramesenteroides

• Leuconostoc lactis

• Leuconostoc dextranicum

• lactic acid bacteria (a by production of the bacteria above that is produced during the 'good' bacteria's attempt to save the milk -soured)- also used to treat mastitis, an udder infection in CAFO cows, when antibiotics don't help.  Lactic acid is extremely beneficial - anti-carcinogenic and anti-inflammatory

• Various strands of Bifidobacteria -  "protective activities against pathogens via production of antimicrobial agents (e.g. bacteriocins) and/or blocking of adhesion of pathogens, and modulation of the immune response" (7)

• Pediococcus - inhibitory and antibacterial effects

Antimicrobial System - raw milk produced for direct human consumption contains a high number of beneficial bacteria and enzymes that inhibit the growth of pathogens including: lactoferrin, xanthine oxidase, lactoperoxidase, lysozyme, nisin, RNA-degrading enzymes, ribonucleases, antibodies -some that have DNA -degrading enzyme functions such as abzymes, proteins such as angiogenin, lactogenin and glycolacin as well as immunoglobulins (IgG), N-acetyl-ß-D-glucosaminidase, B-lymphocytes,T-lymphocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, fibronectin all of which are destroyed or rendered ineffective by pasteurization. 

*Mark McAfee with the help of BSK labs in Fresno, CA, where Mark own's the largest raw milk dairy in the country,showed that when 10 millions counts of pathogens were added to his organically produced raw milk from grass fed cows, that the pathogens did not grow, in fact they died!  The Salmonella was killed off by the beneficial bacteria present in the raw milk within 24 hours.  The Listeria was also unable to thrive and subsequently died off but at a milder rate. The scientists who performed this study concluded that "organic raw milk doesn't appear to support the growth of pathogens."

The University of Illinois came to similar conclusions. (2)

A study from Charles Sturt University shows that when pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enteritidis and Listeria. monocytogenes contaminate milk, they decline in number at a much fast rate than when they contaminate pasteurized milk.  The raw milk successful milked of more pathogens than did the pasteurized milk, and a faster rate, some strands were not even detectable in the raw milk after 56 hours (3)

Whey Proteins

• along with the much talked about casein proteins, milk also contains fragile, heat-sensitive whey proteins, some of which act as antibodies and support immune health as well as detoxification pathways in the body mostly through the production of glutithione, the mother of all antioxidants

Wulzen Factor or the "anti-stiffness" factor

• Scientifically named stigmasterol- a fat soluble vitamin that is necessary for the utilization of phosphorous and calcium by the body
• found abundantly in raw cream - pasteurization completely kills this nutrient
• discovered by Dr. Rosalind Wulzen at the University of Oregon who published findings in "Annual Review of Biochemistry" in 1951.
• Wulzen and colleagues found that if an animal was feed a certain diet that stiffness and calcification could indeed be induced, they also found that the addition of raw cream to that diet could prevent and even reverse these abnormal changes. (1)
• helps to prevent calcification of the joints
• may be helpful in the detoxification of the liver in addition to osteoarthritis, relieving joint pain, swelling and stiffness.

Immunoglobulins

• or antibodies, are protective proteins that the mammalian mother passes to her young whose immune system is weak and undeveloped, in other words a natural defense mechanism that a mother passes to her young.
• they protect by enhancing the immune response against virus's and bacteria. For the human consumer this may help to build immunity to local bacteria, virus, and allergens which will then be passed through the milk.
• Lactoferrin - multi-functional protein (enzyme) that is a component of the immune system possessing antimicrobial, antibacterial, anti-fungal and even anti-carcinogenic activity (particularly against lung, bladder, tongue,colon and liver cancers).  Also has very positive effects on bone turnover (getting rid of old material to allow in new material) and protects against dental decay.  Crucial for the absorption and assimilation of iron - which is necessary for growth. Kills pathogenic bacteria by depriving it of iron.  May also be important in the production of lymphocytes (type of white blood cell) and intestinal wall cells.  
• Immunoglobulin A - act as a first line of defense for the respiratory, gastrointestinal tract and genitourinary tract, protect against infection (1), (2)
• Immunoglobulin G1 and G2 - primary group found in bovine milk, G1 most abundant immunoglobulin found in the body, G2 the second, predominantly responds to allergens.
• Immunoglobulin M - the role of which is still being studied, so far believed to have a long evolutionary history.  Has importance in the "regulation of immune homeostasis and for protection from autoimmune and inflammatory diseases," according to Frontiers in Immunology (3)

What's in Raw Milk and why drink it?

Bottom line - There is a lot of good stuff in unprocessed milk that is produced healthfully for direct human consumption!  It is full of life - enzymes, beneficial bacteria- and a full source of nutrition - a complete nutrient-dense super food.  In that the milk contains components that assists with digestion it is an easy to digest food.  Nutrients from this milk can be utilized as all components necessary for assimilation are present.  The immune enhancing properties present in the milk make it beneficial for those suffering from allergies and asthma (my posts about raw milk as a medicine and raw vs pasteurized will address this further with scientific evidence). The benefits don't end here - a whole, unprocessed food such as this has many benefits (again more info in additional posts).  

There is documentation and evidence showing that people can live exclusively on raw milk for extended periods of time.  Weir Mitchell MD, a writer of raw milk therapies, notes that one of his patients lived on it successfully and healthfully for 15 years.  Another by physician Herman Schwartz documented that he lived on raw milk alone for 23 years.  A man, referenced as W.F. Kitzele, from Iowa, lived on raw milk for 42 years as he was unable to take solid food as a result of consuming concentrated lye at the age of 2.  He testified that he has produced a good size family and is strong and healthy, never being ill in bed.  


sources not cited above:
1
2
3
4. Schmid, Ronald F. The Untold Story of Milk: The History, Politics and Science of Nature's Perfect Food : Raw Milk from Pasture-fed Cows. Washington, DC: NewTrends Pub., 2009. Print.