Leery of Lactose? Facts & Fictions About Raw Milk

By Justin P. Doyle
From issue Number 1, Volume 2

How many of those silly old wives' tales about your health do you still believe? If you swallow a watermelon seed, it will grow in your stomach. Going out in the rain will make you catch cold. And—pasteurized milk is safer and better for your health than raw milk.

You'd probably guess the first two are untrue, but what about the third? Although raw milk has long been said to be a hazard, when properly handled and stored, it is actually a safe and extremely nutritious food, helping countless generations of human beings to good health.

Raw milk contains every vitamin and mineral essential to the human body—especially the fat-soluble ones that are so lacking in most people's diets—as well as essential amino acids, fats, enzymes, and many other nutrients. It combats allergies and fatigue, helps build up the immune system, and even aids its own digestion. And despite negative claims by the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control, properly produced raw milk is quite safe—equipped with its own built-in safety mechanisms.

Part of the reason raw milk is such a safe food, says Dr. Michael Gaeta, is the same reason it's good at building up the immune system: it contains a large number of naturally-occurring antibodies. Because baby animals do not produce their own antibodies for their first year of life or so, Nature loads them into mother's milk. This protective substance keeps drinkers free of disease and discomfort in just the way Nature intended.

The Surprising Truth About Lactose Intolerance

Of course when it comes to milk, a big problem for many people is lactose intolerance. This occurs when a person fails to produce sufficient amounts of the enzyme lactase, which breaks down lactose in the gut and allows it to be digested. While some sufferers choose to avoid dairy products completely, others spend up to $15 a bottle on lactase supplements. Both might solve their problem by drinking milk that has not been pasteurized.

Raw milk naturally contains lactase in sufficient amounts to digest lactose. Unfortunately, this lactase is destroyed by the high heat of pasteurization, meaning lactose intolerance is most likely a problem associated only with pasteurized milk. (A more accurate term for it might be "pasteurization intolerance," says raw-milk expert Sally Fallon Morell.)

Tellingly, Dr Gaeta reports that in twenty years in practice, "one hundred percent" of his patients with sensitivities to pasteurized milk have had no problems after switching to raw. One woman, he says, suffered so greatly from pasteurized dairy products that a single drop of pasteurized cream would leave her doubled over in pain. After recommending she give raw milk a try, he watched several weeks later as she drank a pint of raw milk with a smile on her face.

Unfairly Singled Out?

While the government claims that pasteurization is necessary because raw milk is particularly susceptible to pathogens and thus likely to cause illness, it is, like any food, actually quite safe when produced and handled properly. Maybe even more so.

In addition to high levels of antibodies, raw milk also contains factors such as the anti-microbial protein lactoferrin and the enzymes lactoperoxidase and lysozyme, which actively destroy harmful pathogens and bacteria, includingE. coli and salmonella.

Statistics bear this out. In the ten-year period from 1998 to 2008, the Centers for Diseases Control (CDC) reported a mere 1,676 illnesses related to raw milk and unpasteurized dairy products. That's about 170 cases a year, or about 0.0003 percent of the estimated 50 million food-borne illnesses Americans endure annually.

Many foods we consume every day pose a much higher health risk than raw milk but are overlooked as potential hazards. Seldom are we warned about the dangers of raw lettuce or tomatoes, for instance. And when did the CDC or the FDA last issue an announcement denouncing meats in the deli case—foods that are ten times more likely to cause illness than raw milk.

While pasteurization has long been heralded as the only way to make dairy products safe for human consumption, the scientific community has known for years that this is not true. In fact, many studies have shown that pasteurization is downright unhealthful.

"The big lie about pasteurization is that it somehow cleans milk," Dr. Gaeta says. "It doesn't clean anything; it just kills the bacteria often present in excess as a result of conventional milk production, which then are left dead in the milk along with the toxins they release upon death. So you have filthy dead milk instead of clean living milk."

In addition, pasteurization destroys the milk's natural antibodies, leaving it defenseless against newly invading bacteria and other pathogens. Unsurprisingly, pasteurized milk is associated with many chronic illnesses, such as allergies, asthma, diabetes, ADD, and autoimmune disease.

Feel Good Food

In addition to good health, the consumption of raw milk offers other benefits. One of the best things about it is that it must be produced on small farms, in safe quantities, where the animals are able to graze on pasture and live happy, healthy lives.

In purchasing raw milk, people support local farms while helping create community and fostering the health and humane treatment of cow herds. In addition, many raw-milk dairies encourage customer participation on the farm, providing people with firsthand knowledge and appreciation of where their food comes from and how it is handled.

This transparency is important to consumers like Carole Huber and John Harner, who each hold a cow share with Larga Vista Ranch in southern Colorado.

Carole made the switch to raw milk because of her concerns with how badly cows are treated in the conventional dairy industry. And while ethical reasons also played a part in John's decision, he's stuck with raw milk in part because of the improved health he's noticed in his son, who suffers from allergy-induced asthma.

Healthy and happy, Carole and John have no intention of going back to the "other stuff."

Got Raw?

Sadly, the sale and consumption of raw milk is not legal everywhere in the U.S. Fortunately, grass root movements are helping more and more states make this traditional, nutritious, farm-friendly alternative available to everyone.

To find out whether you can purchase raw milk from a farm near you, or to get involved with your local raw-milk movement, visit the Campaign for Real Milk at www.realmilk.com and lend a helping hand to both your community and your health. 

Justin Doyle is a freelance writer in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A regular drinker of raw milk, Justin is passionate about the nutritional and communal benefits of local and naturally raised foods.