John Myers
Raw milk offers many advantages compared to pasteurized or UHT milk. It reduces the risk of allergies and asthma and contains beneficial intestinal bacteria. But milk consumption also has disadvantages.
The fear of raw milk
The American health authority CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reports that 800 people in the USA became ill over a period of 20 years as a result of consuming raw milk or raw milk cheese.
Raw milk is milk from cows, sheep, or goats that have not been pasteurized to kill bacteria. This raw milk could therefore contain dangerous bacteria such as salmonella, E. coli, or listeria.
These harmful bacteria can endanger the health of people who drink raw milk or consume raw milk products. Therefore, it is always better to only use raw milk for cooking. To drink it must be heated to at least 70°C. This kills the germs, according to the US authorities.
In the past, however, it was quite normal to fetch milk fresh from the farm or milk shop every day and to drink it raw. Milk has only been pasteurized since the beginning of the 20th century. Back then, it spoiled quickly on the way to the cities because it wasn’t refrigerated. Today, on the other hand, there are completely new ways of ensuring hygiene. In addition, raw milk is now strictly controlled in most EU countries.
The benefits of raw milk
Basically, raw milk contains many beneficial gut bacteria that are vital for optimal digestion and a functioning immune system. Raw milk also contains the full spectrum of amino acids, as well as folic acid, B vitamins, vitamin C, omega-3 fatty acids, and other nutrients that are largely or completely destroyed by pasteurization.
Numerous studies have also found that raw milk significantly reduces children’s risk of developing allergies like hay fever and respiratory diseases like asthma, while processed milk does not.
These studies were statistical analyses. The connection has now been confirmed in a mouse study: the mice were given either raw milk or processed milk to drink for eight days. An allergic reaction was then deliberately induced. The allergic reaction was less pronounced in the raw milk mice than in the mice fed the processed milk.
If milk, then raw milk
Many people have noticed significant health improvements such as clearer skin, better digestion, improved respiratory function, strengthened immune systems, and reduced allergies by consuming raw milk (rather than pasteurized or ultra-high temperature processed milk), so raw milk should be considered a natural food.
Nevertheless, raw milk is basically not food for humans. Milk is generally an infant food that is intended for the infant of the respective animal species (veal, lamb, kid, foal, etc.).
Human children, therefore, drink breast milk best. Breast milk is liquid food for human infants because they are not yet able to eat solid food.
Once the child starts teething, milk is no longer needed either, as solid food can now be eaten. Humans, therefore, do not need any dairy products in order to stay healthy and alert, and certainly not from any other animal species.
