The low-down on milk

I mentioned in my P.B. Chocolate Bar Recipe about why we don't drink regular milk, and my friend wanted to know, so here we go:

Keep in mind that I am not claiming to be any kind of expert, nor do I condone drinking or eating damaging things. I believe that God wants us to treat our bodies well, but he also assures us that it is not what we eat that gives us salvation. We have everlasting life through Christ and that that's what REALLY matters. I have done lots of reading, research, and lots of experimentation with my health and its relation to dairy so here is what I have found. Well there are a few major things that dairy producers do with milk that affect it's nutritional value and humans ability to process it. One is pasteurization, which means that the milk is heated to a level that kills any kind of bacteria & cultures existing in the milk. When dairy farmers became over-industrialized and cows started being given hormones, poor living conditions, and poor feed, they started spreading disease and sickness- so it became necessary for farmers to pasteurize the milk because bad things were getting into it from the unhealthy cows. Even though the sanitization standards are very high in milking houses, pasteurization is still used. This is very unfortunate because naturally, milk contains lots of very GOOD bacteria and enzymes that actually help us digest milk. One of these enzymes is lactase, which breaks down lactose (milk sugar). Most infants produce lactase so that they can digest mother's milk, and they stop producing it as they get older. So basically when we drink pasteurized milk we are consuming a sugar that our bodies have no means of digesting. Another thing that dairy companies do to milk is homogenization. Homogenization is the process of making the fat particles in milk smaller so that they are dispersed throughout the milk and the cream does not float to the top. There is controversy about whether or not this affects milk’s nutritional value, but I would prefer to have food in its whole, natural state as God created it.

I’m sure you’ve heard about rBGH or Bovine Growth Hormones. These are synthetic hormones given to cows that make them produce more milk than they would naturally. Although the FDA approves its use, there are many disagreements from other health advocate groups. The hormone is prohibited in Canada and Europe. Besides, the FDA also approves a small amount of butane to be present in McDonald’s chicken nuggets. Ew.

Everyone knows that cows eat grass, right? Apparently the dairy industry didn’t get the memo:

“Rather than allow the cows to feed on grass in the field, they pump them full of high-protein soybean meal. The cows, in turn, produce incredible amounts of milk for two years—and then suffer chronic mastitis (infections of the nipples) and shorter life spans. The milk we receive in such high quantities is very low in nutrients—especially compared to the highly nutritious milk produced by grass-fed cows and other animals.” (The Maker’s Diet, Jordan S. Rubin)

 (Keep in mind that although I may be quoting one book that does not mean it is the only source that we have used.) 

Always try to find raw goat’s milk or raw cow’s milk- it’ll be worth it. It may take up to 2 weeks for your body to get used to because it is not use to the cultures and enzymes that it was previously lacking.

“Goat’s milk in particular is very good for human consumption because it is easily digestible. (It digests in only twenty minutes versus three hours for pasteurized cow’s milk.) It contains less lactose (the type of sugar in milk that many find hard to digest) and is filled with vitamins, enzymes, and protein. Sixty-five percent of the world’s population drinks goat’s milk.” (The Maker’s Diet, Jordan S. Rubin)

When it comes to dairy products— buy raw, hard cheeses, (soft cheeses will contain less lactase) and other fermented, a.k.a. “cultured” products. Fermentation makes most dairy products very digestible for sensitive folks, like me! We try our darnedest to ferment our own food and get great results. It may seem crazy and complicated, but fermenting food is really, really simple and takes a lot less resources and energy than canning.

So there’s a sorta, kinda not-that-short version of why we don’t drink “regular” milk.

I encourage you to read, think and pray about your health choices because nobody knows better than The Creator Himself.