Health Benefits of Raw Milk
Raw milk is an amazing complex whole food with antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-parasitic mechanisms bundled together that give raw milk health benefits surpassing any other superfood. Raw milk is packed with fat and water-soluble vitamins, numerous minerals and trace elements, all of the essential amino acids, over 60 enzymes and CLA – an omega-6 fatty acid which has positive effects on insulin resistance, cancer, blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and more.
“The literature implicating raw milk in food borne illness exhibits a systematic bias against this food. In many cases, this bias is not intentional, but is a product of sloppy scientific principles.”
“Milk Cure” by Mayo Clinic
What nutrients are in RAW MILK
Raw milk contains the following: a number of digestive enzymes, beneficial bacteria, probiotics, raw fats and proteins. As well as key nutrients including: B-Complex (B1, B2, B3, B6 & B12), Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, Iron and Omega-3 fatty acids. During the pasteurization process many of these beneficial compounds are altered or removed such as: heat sensitive vitamins like vitamin C and B-Complex, most of the beneficial bacteria and digestive enzymes, as well as many proteins (which provide amino acids and minerals), which when removed render pasteurized milk a fragment of it’s former nutrient profile.
Health Benefits of RAW Milk
So here is a list of raw milks health benefits in all it’s unadulterated glory (and studies to back them up):
- Support a healthy Gut Microbiome – Raw milk contains beneficial bacteria and probiotics which feed beneficial bacteria in your gut, helping to balance your gut flora.
- A study in the Journal of Dairy Science found that raw milk consumption was associated with higher levels of beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium in the gut.
- Promotes healthy skin – The omega-3 fatty acids and carotenoids in raw milk help to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, which helps minimize wrinkles and blemishes, resulting in a more youthful appearance to skin. [Source]
- Improves digestion – Raw milk is loaded with digestive enzymes which can improve nutrient uptake efficacy, [Source]
- Anti-cancer potential – The conjugated linoleic acid in raw milk has been directly linked to various anti-cancer activities in the body [Source]
- Strengthens Bones – In addition to being a great source of calcium, raw milk also contains enzymes and bacteria that help the body to absorb that calcium, as well as minerals which helps strengthen bones. [Source]
- Supports a healthy immune system: Milks numerous beneficial compounds support a health immune system, and help with a variety of illnesses.
- A 2013 study in the European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, showed that early-life consumption of unpasteurized milk may protect against atopy, asthmas and similar conditions, independent of place of residence and farming status, for both children and adults.
The Forgotten Milk Cure
In the 1900s Dr. J.R Crewe of the Mayo Clinic opened a sanitarium where he used raw unpasteurized milk from pasture raised cows to treat countless conditions including: tuberculosis, psoriasis, cancer, heart disease, diseases of the nervous system, diabetes, anemia, obesity and underweight patients.
“The treatment of various diseases over a period of 18 years with a practically exclusive milk diet has convinced me personally that the most important single factor in the cause of disease, and in the resistance to disease, is food. I have seen so many instances of the rapid and marked response to this form of treatment that nothing could make me believe this is not so.”
Dr. J.R Crewe – The Milk Cure
Conclusion
The many beneficial compounds in milk lend it to be an incredible Super “Super” Food, with a wide range of health benefits and disease fighting capabilities. However mainstream factory farmed milk is no longer a medicinal super-food, it’s highly processed, denatured and disease causing. Current sciences understanding of the gut microbiome and the gut-brain axis is still in it’s infancy, and vitamins aside, raw milk with it’s various beneficial compounds supports gut health in a huge way. Yet more studies are needed to fully understand milks disease fighting capabilities. Unfortunately the powers that control the purse strings, seem hell bent on keeping us away from raw milk…so it may be a while before science revisits the healing potential of this superfood elixir.
Leave a Reply