There seems to be so much confusion out there about the human consumption of cows milk. Some say it is good for you, others say it is bad for you. So what is really the right answer for your health in relation to milk? Who is right?

Both sides of the argument are right. Did that clear it all up for you? No?

Well, lets go into more detail. It really depends on whether you are talking about store bought milk that is pasteurized and homogenized or fresh raw milk. Unfortunately if you are looking for scientific proof one way or the other there isn't much of it available for fresh raw milk. Most studies done on milk have only used the pasteurized and homogenized milk that we find in most of our grocery stores today.

Once the dairy industry discovered that homogenizing and pasteurizing milk led to longer shelf life and more available sales, they jumped whole heartedly on that band wagon. Having done so they even turned against fresh raw milk. That was mostly because the fresh milk tasted so much better it was cutting into sales. So they tried to vilify raw milk as containing bacteria (which it does). In time they succeeded so well that they even got the sale of raw milk banned in most places. Therefore there are very few milk studies that are done on raw milk.

Milk has many beneficial health promoting substances in it. Protein for building the body, calcium for building bones, vitamins, good forms of saturated fats for building healthy cells and helping to break down unwanted fat, and many others. Hence the slogan, "It does a body good."

However, in reality that only applies to fresh raw milk. Here is why:

Pasteurization

Pasteurization is the process of heating milk with the intent to kill bacteria. What's wrong with that?

Well when you heat milk it really takes a turn for the worst. Heat kills all bacteria eventually if you use high enough heat for long enough. The typical pasteurization method kills both good and bad bacteria in the milk. Raw milk contains lots of beneficial bacteria that is very good for digestion as well as enzymes that are healthy for the whole body. Heat kills not only bacteria but also the enzymes and the vitamins. That is why milk sold in your grocery store has to have added vitamins A and D. It is a feeble attempt to make up for what was destroyed using artificial means.

The problem is that the typical pasteurization method kills pretty much all of the good bacteria, but doesn't kill all of the bad bacteria. The good bacteria in raw milk will actually keep the bad bacteria in check. That is why investigators have found very dirty facilities serving raw milk without any health problems caused for those drinking the milk. On the other hand pasteurized milk with all the good bacteria destroyed has often been the cause of food poisoning. The bad bacteria is allowed to grow unchecked. Now and then you will see in the news stories about raw milk causing food poisoning, but none of them (not one) have every been verified. However there are hundreds of thousands of verified poisonings from pasteurized milk.

There is another problem with heating milk. One of the arguments that anti-milk people make is that milk contains casein (a protein) that is what they make glue out of. I have often wondered if those same people also avoid potatoes and rice and many other grains that you can also make glue out of.

Well, anyway, when you heat milk the casein actually causes a binding effect so that two of the major benefits for which you are drinking milk (protein and calcium) are bound together and become mostly useless to the human body. That's correct, most of the protein and calcium becomes unusable to the body.

Homogenization

Homogenization is a process where by they force milk through a membrane, sort of a sieve with microscopic holes. This process causes the fat globules to be broken down to a microscopic size so that they no longer separate from the rest of the milk. This keeps the cream from separating.

Unfortunately there is a nasty little side effect of this process. The fat globules are now small enough to actually penetrate the stomach lining as if they were a nutrient and enter the bloodstream. Each little fat globule also carries with it a resin or acid coating. This is perhaps the biggest problem with homogenized milk. There are excess free-radicals in your bloodstream that cause minor scarring and tearing of the sides of the vessels and arteries. The acid from these little fat globules eats away at these little cuts and opens them wider causing more severe damage. These sore spots are then even bigger targets for more free-radical damage. The body reacts to this danger by trying to patch up the wounds. The patching material it uses is what we call cholesterol. As more and more of this patching goes on, the arteries begin to become clogged by this build up of patching material. Stroke or heart attack is the result of this continued build up.

Some doctors even think that pasteurized homogenized milk may well be the major cause of heart problems in our modern world. Heart problems went from being almost nonexistent in the days before homogenization to now being one of the biggest threats to health in our modern world. There are of course other causes for stroke and heart disease, but believe it or not this is a big one.

Raw milk on the other hand avoids all these problems and provides good nutrition. Of course you do need to find a source of milk that is from cattle that are free from artificial hormones and anti-bacterial chemicals. The best source is from free ranging grass fed cows. Of course the grass should be grown organically.

If you can find this kind of milk it is a nearly perfect food. Some doctors have actually used milk as their preferred healing diet for almost any ailment.

One other interesting note. Lactose intolerance is a problem for many people. But generally only with pasteurized milk because the enzymes that break down the lactose have been destroyed. Most lactose intolerant individuals can drink raw milk from good sources without any problem. The raw milk contains the enzymes necessary to digest the lactose. Of course if you are lactose intolerant you should only try raw milk in vary small doses until you are sure it is safe for you.

So if we drink milk as nature made it, it can be a great boost to a healthy lifestyle. If you drink milk that has been processed (pasteurized and homogenized) you may be doing more harm than good.

Health really isn't all that complicated.

Just eat a high quality natural foods diet, exercise, drink plenty of good clean water, make sure you get fiber (whole raw foods), get plenty of sleep, breathe deeply and have a gratitude attitude.

Your body will take care of you, if you take care of it.

Coach G.

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Success in health comes from lifestyle described here.

Success in finances comes from Success University: Success

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Tags: Cholesterol, fat, healthy lifestyle, homogenization, homogenized, Milk, pasteurization, pasteurized

Catagories: Cholesterol, In the News, Milk, lifestyle