One of the most misguided food myths getting perpetuated nowadays, sadly even by some alternative practitioners, is that dairy is unhealthy to consume.
One reason for the popularity of this modern notion is the skyrocketing incidence of dairy allergies. However, in most cases, these problems are due to the processing (pasteurization/homogenization) of the dairy and/or the unnatural GMO feed given to the cows, not to the dairy itself. When people consume unprocessed dairy from healthy cows grazing on green grass, suddenly the “allergies” disappear. For example, 85% of those who are “lactose intolerant” have absolutely no problem with raw dairy!
Could “lactose intolerance” more aptly be described then as “pasteurization intolerance”? I, for one, definitely think so!
Study of history supports the notion that milk matters and the inclusion of dairy in a healthy, well-rounded diet. The fact is that humans have consumed dairy for thousands of years, even before the advent of agriculture.
Julie Dunne of the University of Bristol, lead author of a groundbreaking archaeological study published in Nature, has found the first direct evidence that prehistoric people of the African Sahara used cattle for their milk many thousands of years ago long before the cultivation of plants in this region.
The initial evidence was found in rock art images illustrating domesticated cattle from the Wadi Imha, in the Tadrart Acacus Mountains, Libyan Sahara. Scientists have dated these images at between 5,000 and 8,000 years old. Ms. Dunne had this to say about the discovery:
Milk is one the very few foods that give us carbohydrates, fats and proteins in one go. So being able to use milk like these people did would have made an enormous difference to their health. It would have provided food for life.
Study of traditional cultures around the world shows the same. Milk not just from cows but from many other mammals such as goat, sheep, camel, reindeer, yak, horses, and even water buffalo have proved an important part of the human diet for far longer than almost any other food.
If the history of milk fascinates you as it does me, you will no doubt enjoy this infographic below sent to me from John Kelle from Online Masters of Public Health. There are numerous factoids about the history of milk to skim through. In addition, 10 good reasons for switching to raw milk from store milk are included for those of you just learning about the benefits of unprocessed, full-fat dairy fresh from the farm.
If you’ve been told that milk is not a healthy food for you and your family to consume, know that history stands firm as a strong and convincing counterpoint to this false, modern notion!
Why Milk Matters
An infographic by the team at Online Masters In Public Health
More Information
A1 and A2 Milk: Do Cow Genetics Even Matter?
The A1 and A2 Factor in Raw Milk
I absolutely love milk. I was drinking lots of milk my whole life and I never had and I don’t have any allergies or whatsoever. I thought. When I came across the Paleo diet I thought I should try this concept. I stopped with all dairy products, grains, sugar, etc. day by day I felt better. My constant muscle pain disappeared. My skin became clear. My hairloss stopped. After 3 months I felt so great. I lost a lot of weight. But the main improvement was that all my pain in my muscles, joints and bones disappeared. Then I read that raw milk is super healthy. So I found a farmer to buy raw milk, raw butter and raw cream. Delicious. I was in milk heaven. I didn’t change anything else in my diet. Just introduced the delicious raw milk products. Unfortunately, my muscle pain came back. I have bad skin and hair loss. So I came to the conclusion that milk is nothing healthy and it is for babies. Not for adults. I am convinced that people would be much more healthy if they would skip milk completely.
Sarah, if you will pardon my offering a suggestion, for what it’s worth: I gave up all dairy products along with all meat (especially red meat) when I decided to fight the low-level prostate cancer I was diagnosed with 5 years ago. By the way, contrary to what the article asserts or alleges, every nutritionist I have consulted who has studied the effects of nutrition on cancer, has agreed that red meat and cows’ milk are no-nos. Accordingly, I have given them up. Over here in England, at any rate, it is easy to find such things as soya ‘milk’, ‘milk’ made from oats or other healthy plants. I prefer not to drink milk from cows, which is obviously designed to be the perfect food for baby cows, not for adult humans. Thanks.
At our creamery, we pasteurize using the vat method. This is actually the old-fashioned way of pasteurizing at a lower temperature but for a longer time. At the lower temperature, the enzymes that aid digestion are left intact. We have had countless emails and phone calls from individuals saying they can finally drink milk again. I have found on one raw milk website that “if you can’t find a farmer that you trust to buy the raw milk, the next best thing is vat pasteurized, non-homogenized.” We are the only creamery in the state of Missouri using the vat pasteurization method, and as I understand there are only a few left in the United States.
Great info: My daughter that is recovering from 11 years of eczema, bathes in 2 cups raw goats milk every other day, we just started it a few weeks ago when we had extra that was starting to turn undrinkable by taste…her skin has definitely gotten creamier and softer, she noticed right after her first bath. She loves it and it makes a nice little foamy bubble which she enjoys since we can’t let her have bubble bath right now. Highly recommended for softer skin! Raw cows would do the same, or if you have extra whey or buttermilk that you can’t use all of, toss it in. We all drink raw cows except her for now, she will return to raw cows as soon as her healing is complete 🙂
Our naturopath said to avoid dairy, even raw, because it is too mucus forming and not good for the body. Thoughts?
Bethany, technically, dairy isn’t mucus-forming so much as mucus-thickening — I think the end result is the same though..
If raw milk is still mucus forming (thickening) to you specifically, then that means you are sensitive to casein. Goat milk might be better for you. Otherwise raw cow milk is normally not mucus forming, especially if you get A2 milk instead of A1 milk.
I’m happy to report that raw milk IS available for purchase in Idaho grocery stores as well.
Great article on misguiding the public with milk in general. But I think Homogenization is far worse for you and your blood stream than pasteurization which kills the good stuff. I go for raw all the time. The other taste like fake milk. It almost is!
That’s weird, my last comment seems to have been deleted?? Hmmm not only are we told to only believe that dairy is necessary and good, but now we can’t even express our final opinion on the matter? My comment wasn’t even offensive! No foul language or name calling, just an honest summation of the discussion, basically saying to each his own. Guess that’s not ok here, my bad.
What I am taking from this article and all the varied comments, is that we do not NEED to consume dairy for optimal health, but if you WANT to, then choose the highest quality, most humanely and environmentally friendly. There is no one eating lifestyle for everyone, what works well for one may be harmful to another. I must say though, that there is this heir of ego amongst the ‘ nutrition experts ‘. They each claim to know more or better than another. Their science is the real science. Like they have all the answers and if you don’t agree, you are ignorant, misinformed, or just plain stupid. The best thing is to always go with your gut and take all the advice with a gluten free grain of sea salt 😉
this article is so full of BS it must have been written by the dairy industry.
adults ARE NOT MEANT TO RELY ON COW’S MILK !!!!!
I eat ice cream and cheese because I like them NOT because I need it as it is BAD FOR MY HEALTH !!!!!!!
greater than 10% of food intake from flesh/dairy products PROMOTES CANCER !!!
also it is very inefficient for the world to rely so much on beef and cow dairy products !!!