READILY AVAILABLE NUTRIENTS IN RAW MILK

Real milk that is clean, fresh, full fat, and unprocessed is a complete food and a source of a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and other important compounds. After all, raw milk is Nature’s exclusive food for infants, so it must supply every single nutrient that the infant needs.

Milk is an important source for nutrients like fat-soluble vitamin A, D, E and K2; vitamin C; all the B vitamins, especially vitamins B2, B6 and B12; and minerals like calcium, phosphorus and zinc as well as essential trace minerals. Levels of these vitamins will be higher if the cow is on pasture eating green grass.

Moreover, raw milk supplies enzymes and carrier proteins to ensure that 100 percent of every nutrient is absorbed. Pasteurization destroys all these important co-factors. (See references in the chart below.) Milk that is processed, pasteurized, evaporated, centrifuged or otherwise tampered in some way, does not offer this miraculous all-in-one source for nutrients.

Vitamin C Raw milk but not pasteurized can resolve scurvy. “...Without doubt... the explosive increase in infantile scurvy during the latter part of the 19th century coincided with the advent of use of heated milks...”
Calcium Longer and denser bones on raw milk.
Folate Carrier protein inactivated during pasteurization.
Vitamin B12 Binding protein inactivated by pasteurization.
Vitamin B6 Animal studies indicate B6 poorly absorbed from pasteurized milk.
Vitamin A Beta-lactoglobulin, a heat-sensitive protein in milk, increases intestinal absorption of vitamin A. Heat degrades vitamin A.
Vitamin D Present in milk bound to lactoglobulins, pasteurization cuts assimilation in half.
Iron Lactoferrin, which contributes to iron assimilation, destroyed during pasteurization. Children on pasteurized milk tend to anemia.
Minerals Bound to proteins such as calcium and iodine that are inactivated by pasteurization; Raw milk contains the bifidus factor, which encourage lactobacilli growth in the gut; lactobacilli enhance mineral absorption.
Vitamin B2 Riboflavin, completely destroyed by pasteurization.

Kids on the go

As kids are often picky eaters, or consume more processed foods than they should, they don’t always get enough nutrition from their daily diet. Mom is busy too, and does not always have time to prepare nutritious food. With modern life on the go, it can be tough to keep up with kids' nutritional requirements; and whole, nutrient-dense foods can be difficult to access when kids are at school or on the road. Raw milk and other raw dairy food offer a quick convenient way to make sure that kids are getting all the nutrients they need—and it requires no preparation at all.  Most kids love the taste of raw milk (and raw cheese!) and will consume these foods without hesitation.

Milk Fat

Butterfat is an important part of the nutritive profile of milk. Milk fat contains all eighteen fatty acids, both saturated and unsaturated, including arachiconic acid, a critical nutrient for healthy skin and healthy digestion. Butyric acid, all but unique to butterfat, is highly protective against pathogens. Fat is used in the construction of key tissues like cell membranes and hormones, which play a major role in the immune and metabolic systems. A proportion of the fatty acids in milk have a shorter chain structure, which is readily used by intestinal cells to repair and maintain the gut wall. Milk fat also contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a fatty acid and antioxidant that is believed to protect against cancer especially breast and prostate cancer. CLA has a balancing effect on the metabolic system to enhance muscle growth, lower insulin resistance and normalize fat deposition. CLA is found to be five times higher in grass-fed than grain-fed milk. The Wulzen factor, a cortisone-like substance present only in raw cream (not in pasteurized), prevents joint stiffness and arthritis pain.

Milk protein

Milk is a source of complete protein including all twenty of the standard amino acids and all eight of the essential amino acids. About 80 percent of the proteins in milk are in the casein portion of the milk and 20 percent are in the whey fraction. All milk proteins, but especially the whey proteins, are fragile. A recent study found that heat treatment of milk, and even freeze drying denatured the proteins. When fed to rats, the animals developed oxidative damage in plasma, liver and brain tissues. Furthermore, “hippocampal inflammatory and aptosis genes were significantly up-regulated... while learning and memory genes were significantly down-regulated. Eventually, varying degrees of spatial learning and memory impairment were demonstrated.”

Carbohydrates in milk

Lactose is the primary carbohydrate in cow's milk. It is made from one molecule each of the simple sugars glucose and galactose. Because of its fat content and compounds that promote the full digestion of lactose, milk does not tend to spike insulin. Carbohydrates called oligosaccharides in milk encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut.

Minerals in milk

Raw milk contains all twenty-two essential minerals including calcium, chlorine, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, sulfur, zinc, iodine and other trace minerals. Raw milk provides a special enzyme for each of the minerals, so they are 100 percent absorbed.  For example, lactoferrin in raw milk ensures the assimilation of iron; it is destroyed by pasteurization.

Enzymes in milk

There are sixty functional enzymes in raw milk. Some of them are native to milk and some are produced by beneficial bacteria that are encouraged by the compounds in milk. These enzymes, such as lipases (for fat digestion) and proteases (for protein digestion), act as catalysts to increase the bioavailability of nutrients. Other enzymes critical for nutrient digestion include phosphotase (for calcium absorption), catalase, and peroxidase, all of which improve the digestion of raw milk to ensure that is the vitamins and minerals completely absorbed. Other enzymes, like catalase, lysozyme and lactoperoxidase help eliminate pathogenic bacteria. Almost all traditional societies incorporate raw, enzyme-rich foods into their cuisines, and raw dairy foods are an especially delicious way to do that.

Beneficial bacteria

Raw milk contains compounds that support the growth of large numbers of diverse organisms including lactobacillus and bifidobacteria. These act as agents to help build a balanced gut microbiome. These organisms also increase the absorption of essential nutrients such as minerals and vitamins folate and B12.  The probiotic diversity of beneficial bacteria and other bioactive components (enzymes and antibodies) in raw milk supports the proliferation of healthy flora in the intestines while protecting against potentially harmful bacteria such as salmonella or E. coli.

January 1, 2000

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