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Dead Milk--Live Milk!

By Debi Hopkins

A couple weeks ago my family purchased our first dairy goat!  It has caused me to really examine the benefits of raw milk verses the alternative that is so widely accepted and available in general public, pasteurized / homogenized milk.  I thought I had found a good alternative, organic milk, but as I'm learning, just because it's organic, doesn't mean it's  better----especially if it's pasteurized! 

Pasteurizing milk kills those nutrients, leaving behind a dead food, void of real nutrients, that sets us up for health problems and chronic disease--- that sadly, most of us just learn to ignore or put up with on a daily basis.

Here are just some of the detrimental things that the pasteurization process does to milk:

    *It destroys the vitamin C content and encourages the growth of harmful bacteria. 

    *It destroys or alters the bio-availability of all 22 amino acids (particularly lysine and tyrosine), essential fatty acids, calcium, magnesium and trace minerals such as zinc and iodine.

    *It turns the sugar in milk, known as lactose, into beta-lactose, which is far more soluble and therefore more rapidly absorbed in our digestive system, with the result that the we soon becomes hungry again.

    *It destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamins, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamin B12, and vitamin B6, kills beneficial bacteria and promotes pathogens.

Pasteurization's worst offence seems to be that it makes insoluble the major portion of the calcium contained in milk, which is what most people believe they are getting a good supply of if they drink milk or consume dairy products on a daily basis. Sufficient calcium content is vital for our health, especially to the health of infants and children, because of the enormous nutritional needs their growing bodies need, their bone and brain formation can suffer serious setbacks if sufficient calcium isn't available in a form that their bodies can utilize.  Raw milk has an enzyme called phosphatase that allows our bodies to absorb the calcium from the dairy products we consume.  This enzyme is destroyed during the pasteurization process.

Raw milk on the other hand is an outstanding source of nutrients, including beneficial bacteria such as lactobacillus acidophilus, vitamins and enzymes, and it is, in my estimation, has got to be one of the finest sources of calcium available.
Here are some of the other benefits you can expect to gain from consuming raw milk dairy products:

    Raw organic milk strengthens the immune system with the seeding and feeding of diverse beneficial essential bacteria.

    The immunoglobulin in raw milk has been shown in medical studies to help resolve asthma.

    Raw milk was used effectively to treat diabetes in the days before insulin was widely available.

    Raw milk has also been utilized in the treatment of eczema and arthritis.

    Raw cream, used to make butter, has been used effectively to assist in treating Autistic children.

    The butterfat in raw milk has a cortisone-like factor which helps to prevent stiffness in our joints

Raw milk is even more beneficial to us nutritionally when the animal, be it cow or goat, is pastured on fresh grass.  These animals that are raised on pasture, have milk and meat high in CLA.  Some of the benefits of CLA include the following:

    Has been shown to increase our metabolic rate
    Has been shown to help decrease abdominal fat
    Has been shown to enhance muscle growth
    Has been shown to help reduce insulin resistance
    To reduce food-induced allergic reactions
    To enhance our immune system
    To lower cholesterol and triglycerides
   

Raw milk also contains beneficial bacteria (probiotics) as well as lactic acids that allow those beneficial bacteria to implant in our intestines.  Probiotics thrive in raw milk, but are destroyed by high temperatures.  Probiotics are  credited with many health giving qualities, like"

     The  manufacture B-vitamins, such as biotin, niacin (B3), pyridoxine (B6) and folic acid
    They act as anti-carcinogenic (anti-cancer) factors, with powerful anti-tumor potentials
    They help control the spread of undesirable microorganisms 

    They effectively help to control high cholesterol levels 
    They sometimes act to relieve the symptoms of anxiety

    They play a role in protecting against the negative effects of radiation and toxic pollutants, enhancing immune function
    They help to considerably enhance bowel function.  

I have come to the conclusion that if our bodies are not given the proper nutrients in the form of raw dairy or at least supplemented with probiotics, our health suffers----in more ways than one!  So, here's to the long life of my family's first dairy goat, Greta!  I pray that she provides us with many years of life giving raw milk and dairy products!

I also pray that you will research this area of nutrition for yourself---and that you will reap the many healthy rewards in the area of good health for you and your family that can be found in this glorious food God has provided for us, raw milk!

Your sister in HIM,

Debi <><

About The Author: 

Debi Hopkins is the mother of 3 children and grandmother to 8! She and her husband have enjoyed the homesteading life for the last 25 years.  She enjoys Bible studies, gardening, sewing, cooking baking, studying health topics and anything that helps to make her house a home!  You can visit her website Lydias-Legacy http://www.lydias-legacy.com/  and enjoy all the great resources she has for the homemaker!