Making Sense of the Milk Muddle

 The dirty little secret concerning Milk

The ad campaign is very convincing: Milk it does a body good! I know that as a child, my mom made sure that I drank milk at least three times a day (with meals) and I must confess, I did the same with my children. We did this based on the conventional wisdom that the calcium in milk would protect the bones. When my son was still in single digit years, he broke three bones. I was horrified and perplexed, as I had been giving my children milk to aid bone formation and strength. I know at one time my two children went through at least two gallons a week.

This is what we now know: “Probably pasteurization’s worst offence is that it makes the major part of the calcium contained in raw milk insoluble.” (this means that your body cannot use it) “This frequently leads to rickets, bad teeth, and nervous troubles, for sufficient calcium content is vital to children. The loss of phosphorus, also associated with calcium, bone and brain formation suffer serious setbacks. pasteurization destroys 20% of the iodine present in raw milk, causes constipation, and generally takes from milk its most vital qualities.” (excerpt from “Armchair Science” British Medical Journal, London, April 1938)

“More and more consumers have trouble digesting commercial milk; many have allergies to modern milk products. Most commercial milk is actually an adulterated product that:

1. comes from cows fed high-protein feed, which is totally inappropriate for cows. This makes milk more difficult to digest and can cause it to be allergenic.

2. may contain pesticides, antibiotics, and synthetic hormones.

3. is lacking in adequate fat needed for nutrient assimilation. Milk, from old-fashioned cows on pasture, contains almost twice as much butterfat as modern milk labeled ‘whole’ milk.

4. is pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized. These processes that disrupt the enzymes, diminish the nutrients, and denature many of the proteins in the milk.

5. is susceptible to contamination because pasteurization destroys milk’s good bacteria (which protects us against the bad bacteria).

6. is homogenized–a process that violently breaks up the fat globules.

7. contains contaminants, including harsh cleaning fluids used to clean the miles of pipe in modern milk factories.

8. contains nonfat dry milk (added to reduced-fat milk) a source of carcinogens, oxidized cholesterol, and free glutamic acid (MSG).” (The Weston A Price Foundation, 2006-
www.westonaprice.org

As you can see from the above referenced data, there is not much in pasteurized milk that ‘does a body good.’ I urge parents and other adults who have the responsibility of nurturing children to check the facts, and make responsible choices.

Until next time,

Polly