It’s Raw!

It’s becoming increasingly understood how eating raw foods can benefit us - increased energy, better overall health, clearer eyes, skin and thinking and much more.  These factors apply to dairy products as well as plant foods.  When  food is undamaged by heat the nutrients are in a form that the body can recognise and use effectively.  Undamaged amino acids (protein) and fatty acids(fats) in raw food are particularly important for brain function.

Until the 1950’s raw, unpasteurised milk was the norm in Britain.  Often people who are allergic to pasteurised dairy products do well with unpasteurised.  Heat treatment changes milk’s composition making it more difficult to digest.  Raw milk has its lactose-digesting Lactobacilli bacteria intact. This may allow people who have avoided milk to drink raw milk without mucus or other reactions.  Many  ‘colds’  are really the body clearing out pasteurised milk residues which is one reason dairy products have acquired  a bad press over the last few decades. 

In fact pasteurisation cannot be guaranteed to remove harmful organisms.  A more effective strategy is to maintain excellent standards of hygiene and care of animals, which is easier on small farms such as Sharpham Barton.

Raw cow’s milk has all 20 of the standard amino acids, which saves our bodies the work of having to convert any into usable form. The immunoglobulins are an extremely complex class of milk proteins also known as antibodies. These provide resistance to many viruses, bacteria and bacterial toxins and may also help reduce the severity of asthma symptoms. Research has shown a significant loss of these important disease fighters when milk is pasteurized.

Raw milk contains a broad selection of minerals ranging from calcium and phosphorus to trace elements.

Calcium is abundant in raw milk. Its benefits include a reduction of some cancers, particularly colon; higher bone density in people of all ages; lower risk of osteoporosis in older adults; lowered risk of kidney stones; the formation of strong teeth; as well as a reduction of dental cavities.

An interesting fact about minerals as nutrients is the special balance they require with other minerals to function properly. For example, calcium needs a proper ratio of phosphorus and magnesium to be properly utilized by our bodies. Raw milk is in perfect balance.

Whole raw milk has both water and fat soluble vitamins. No enriching is necessary. It’s a complete food. Pasteurized milk must have the destroyed components added back in, especially the fat soluble vitamins A and D.  Fat soluble vitamins such as A and D seem to be assimilated in a different way from animal sources than plant sources.  Raw milk is  a safe way of getting these nutrients undamaged from an animal source.

In their raw form saturated fats are actually very beneficial.  Saturated fats play a number of important roles in our bodies. They construct cell membranes and key hormones, they provide energy storage and padding for delicate organs, and they serve as a vehicle for important fat-soluble vitamins.

Raw milk is a living food with amazing self-protective properties.  It contains beneficial organisms which prevent bad bacteria multiplying and so keep it fresh longer than pasteurised milk.
Pasture Fed makes a difference

The fat in the milk of pasture fed animals feeding on fast growing grasses and other green plants in the spring, summer and autumn months, is high in a very important vitamin called  K2.   Vitamin K2 works with the other fat soluble vitamins A and D, also found in abundance in milk, and is used by the body to place calcium where it belongs, in the bones and teeth, and not in places in the body where it can be  a problem, such as the arteries. It plays a crucial role in the development of facial bones.  Traditional peoples who used unpasteurised dairy products had broad and attractive well formed jaws, with plenty of room for all their teeth, without crowding.  K2 is important in the prevention of tooth decay.

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) is abundant in milk from pastured cows. This is a heavily studied, polyunsaturated Omega-6 fatty acid that has promising health benefits. Some of CLA’s many possible benefits are (1) it raises metabolic rates; (2) it helps remove abdominal fat; (3) it boosts muscle growth; (4) it reduces resistance to insulin; and (5) it strengthens the immune system and lowers food allergy reactions. Grass-fed raw milk has 3-5 times more CLAs than the milk from feed-lot cows.

Particular benefits of milk from Jersey and Guernsey Cows

Protein is made up of various amino acids. The beta casein protein in milk comes in two forms, A1 and A2, which differ by one amino acid.   Some people who seem to be allergic to dairy produce can tolerate A2 milk but not A1. A2 has been scientifically identified as containing the original form of beta casein produced by cows thousands of years ago.  Modern dairy cows that have the highest frequency of the A2 gene are the Guernsey and the Jersey.

Milk from Jersey  and Guernsey cows has a higher than average fat content.  Fats have unfairly acquired a bad reputation because of the problems caused by the highly processed and heated oils and fats that have become part of the modern diet.  In fact heart disease actually increased this century with the replacement of butter by margarine.

Dutch researcher Wulzen found that the fats in milk it protect against calcification of the joints–degenerative arthritis–as well as hardening of the arteries, cataracts and calcification of the pineal gland. This vital substance is destroyed during pasteurization. Calves fed pasteurized milk or skim milk develop joint stiffness and do not thrive. Their symptoms are reversed when raw butterfat is added to the diet.
Making your own raw yoghurt and cheese

With helpful bacterial fermentation, the digestibility of vitamins and minerals increases.

You can make your own raw yoghurt by heating a pint of the milk gently in a saucepan to body temperature (test with a finger) then stirring in  a couple of dessert spoonfuls live yoghurt.  Pour into a warm vacuum flask and leave overnight. Delicious warm from the flask in the morning.  It is not legal to sell raw yoghurt.

You can make a simple cottage cheese as follows:
Warm a pint of raw milk in a saucepan at low heat, taking care not to heat above body temperature, then add a  little mesophilic starter and leave for an hour.  Then  rewarm it and added 20 drops of vegetarian rennet.  It sets in approximately an hour.  Strain the whey off, tipping it into a muslin cloth over  a bowl.  It’s particularly nice with  some ground sea salt or Himalayan salt and ground black pepper. You could also add other ingredients such as  chives, sun-dried tomatoes, and different herbs.
You can buy cheese starter and rennet by mail order from Moorlands Cheesemakers who are based in Somerset, UK. Ring 01749 850 108 or go on-line at www.cheesemaking.co.uk.  Cheese starter is very inexpensive and goes a long way. 

Kefir is a kind of super nutritious yoghurt  and is very easy to make too.  You just put the kefir culture into milk overnight in a glass jar.  You can obtain kefir culture and full instructions from www.oceanwavevibrations.com . 

To find out more about where you can obtain raw dairy products click here.

More information about the benefits of raw milk can be found at the following websites:
http://westonaprice.org/
www.naturalnews.com

 
Holly Paige. 
Holly and her children have been drinking local raw milk since 1999.