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Really Bad Stuff : Part III Don't Drink your (pasteurized) MILK!

The modern cow is a freak of nature. A century ago, cows produced 400 to 500 pounds of milk per year; today's Holsteins routinely produce 20,000 to 30,000 pounds annually. They all have abnormally active pituitary glands which stimulate not only the production of milk, but the production of growth hormone. To add insult to injury, the FDA has recently approved an injection which will further increase the milk and the bovine growth hormone which in turn the majority of uninformed loving mothers will give to their children, thereby increasing the chances for cancer, sensitivities and other illnesses. Milk, as you buy it at the store in Colorado is not healthy. It is a product that has been adulterated to such a degree that the body cannot recognize it. Even Horizon is not good for you; yes, it is organic, but it is (by law) homogenized and pasteurized.

Pasteurized milk puts an unnecessary strain on the pancreas to produce digestive enzymes, and may explain why milk consumption (in some genetically sensitive children) may be linked to childhood diabetes.

Pasteurization destroys 20% of the iodine present, causes constipation and generally takes away from the milk its most vital qualities.

I think that the following quote from Mary Fallon, one of the head muckymucks from the Weston Price Foundation says it better than I could about milk:

"Pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamins B12 and B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer.

Raw milk sours naturally, but pasteurized milk turns putrid and processors must remove slime and pus from pasteurized milk by a process of centrifugal clarification. Inspection of dairy herds for disease is not required for pasteurized milk. The practice of heating milk to kill germs was instituted in the1920's to combat TB, infant diarrhea, undulant fever and other diseases caused by poor animal nutrition and dirty production methods.

But, times have changed and modern stainless steel tanks, milking machines, refrigerated trucks and inspection methods make pasteurization absolutely uncecessary for public protection." (Mary Fallon in Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challanges Politically correct Nutirtion and the Diet Dictocrats.)

Possibly the worst thing that pasteurization does is that it renders insoluble and unassimilable the calcium content of raw milk. And isn't this why we are told to drink our milk? For the calcium? So that we may prevent osteoporosis? So we can sport that cute white mustache? So that we can help our children grow into good, calm and happy, strong-boned adults? Well, it's not going to happen with store-bought milk. It is best to avoid it entirely.

Unless you have a sensitivity to casein, raw, unpasteurized milk is VERY GOOD for you. But we can't get it in Colorado unless you buy a Cowshare. I know of a farm near Ft. Collins where you can buy a share in a cow thereby allowing you access to raw milk, but there is a waiting list and Ft. Collins is a long way away to pick up your weekly milk supply. Maybe you will have more luck with logging onto www.realmilk.com; they may have some ideas. I have also heard of a dairy in California which ships frozen raw milk, but have not been able to find them on the web yet. Let me know what you find.

But, what about us poor boobs here in Colorado? What can we do here and right now? As far as I know goat's milk might be an answer to our consumption of "white stuff." Goats milk seems to be a different thing entirely. You can pasteurize it and it will be OK to drink. It is also more digestible, more concentrated and has radical-free oxides which minimize the damage to the intestinal lining. I recommend it to babies after they have been weaned from the breast. ( Please, please, do not give your children soy formula....)

I discovered a goat's milk purveyor at the Boulder Farmer's Market. It is called Destiny's Dairy and is owned and operated by a veterinarian, Dr. Jennifer Zindel. Her "girls" as she calls them are tended to daily, are healthy and the milk is pasteurized at the lowest temperature possible and for the shortest amount of time. I purchased two quarts last Saturday and have been loving it. Not as "goaty" tasting as other goat milks, and it's even good in my tea in the morning.

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