Got milk? Go RAW!

Steve at Hook & Son

More and more people are waking up to the fact that RAW Milk (as it used to be produced a long time ago) is totally different to the lifeless, processed milk many people buy from Supermarket shelves today.

The dairy industry, as a whole, has been lying to us.

We've been hypnotised into believing that pasteurised, homogenised milk is "good" for us - but more and more people are finding that they have difficulty digesting it. They are often labelled as "lactose intolerant", meaning that their bodies have stopped producing the lactase enzyme that is essential for proper digestion of lactose. And that's all that is usually said on the subject.

Did you know, however, that RAW milk is a wonderful, natural food that naturally comes with the lactase enzymes needed for digestion of lactose, whereas the act of pasteurising milk kills the lactase enzymes needed for efficient digestion?!

RAW milk actually strengthens the digestion system and provides the body with many vital nutrients.

Commercialisation of milk (pasteurisation and homogenisation) is NOT good for cows, or for us! Commercialised milk actually provides zero benefit (all the vitamins and good bacteria are destroyed), and weakens the body over time.

According to the Campaign for Real Milk website, pasteurisation "destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamins C, 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."

Homogenisation is a secondary process where the milk fat particles are smashed into smaller fat particles, so that the fat particles do not rise to the top, but remain in even suspension throughout the milk. This ensures the colour is consistent (there is no cream at the top of the container, or cream line). The health concerns that the body cannot deal with these very fine fat particles, which pass straight into the bloodstream, goes largely ignored.

The government and the industry want to tell you that RAW milk is bad for you, that is has "associated health risks". Yet, why are more and more self-educated consumers on the subject looking for RAW milk suppliers?

The most important thing to know is that a lot of dairy cows are milked mercilessly and do not receive sufficient care - disease is rife and the cows treated with antibiotics to keep disease under control!

"Standard" dairy cows are medicated with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) to stimulate a much higher than normal milk production, causing severe stress that results in mastitis (an infection of the udders) - and this creates a lot of pus.

Pus??!! Yes, you read that correctly!

Around a third of dairy cows will have the infection at any one time, so a lot of pus ends up in the milk.

There can legally be several hundred million pus cells in every litre of milk (figures vary on different websites) here in the UK, which also contains antibiotics and growth factors given to the cows. Also, since a dairy cow spends most of its life pregnant, the milk produced is usually full of cow hormones as well.

No wonder we need pasteurisation and homogenisation!

You might wish to console yourself by thinking that the milk is pasteurised, so the pus cells are cleaned out, but this isn't true. They aren't cleaned out, only heated. So you're drinking a lot of dead pus cells!

Living a much faster pace of life, it's clear that we've lost our vital connection to the land, and to the food we eat. We rely too heavily, and blindly, on the government and industry to tell us "what's good for us" - but it's a big mistake. Especially since "money concerns" often override animal and human welfare concerns.

On smaller farms, where the cows are looked after - all unpasteurised milk in England & Wales comes from pasture fed cows on low intensive or organic farming regimes - and milked in a hygienic environment, using advanced milking equipment that is kept sterile, the milk is actually cleaner! In this way all the benefits of the good bacteria in the milk are kept.

Want milk that's good for you? Buy RAW milk (but only from a recognised supplier, with strict controls)! 

If you live in the UK, one of the best suppliers is Hook and Son, set up by a lovely farmer called Steve.

"Delivering our milk to you straight from the farm means that not only is it extremely fresh, you also know the exact source of your milk. With our weekly newsletter you can really get to feel that you are part of the farm. Don't forget, our milk is raw milk, it hasn't been pasteurised or homogenised, and nothing has been added or taken away. The pastures are free of fertilisers and pesticides. This means that our milk is extremely natural and pure. We work with nature, so that our cows are happy in a stress free environment. The national average life of a dairy cow is six years. Our cows' average age is nine!"

Pop down to Borough Market in London (on a Friday or Saturday) and say hello to Steve at his stall, where you can sample raw milk from his cows, along with raw (pouring) yoghurt and raw butter.

Just follow the link for more info!


Jaime Tanna
Founder and Director of Energy Therapy 

Further reading:
http://philippajacks.co.uk/2009/09/what-does-cows-milk-contain/
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/raw-milk-remedy-for-lactose-intolerance.html