The Benefits of Raw Milk

Larry A. Law

It used to be a felony to bring raw milk across state lines from Pennsylvania to Maryland. Fortunately, that was 20 years ago and things have been changing thanks to the Weston A. Price Foundation. For information on how to get fresh, clean, real milk in your area see RealMilk.com or follow this link to a map of all 50 states detailing the laws governing the sale of raw milk. Only the states of Nevada and Hawaii make it completely illegal to sell raw milk. A plethora of studies document that people who drink raw milk (not pasteurized) are less prone to allergies, ear infections, asthma, and eczema. My book, There's An Elephant in the Room—Exposing Hidden Truths in the Science of Health (pages 141-142), discusses the dangers of pasteurization and the benefits of raw milk. Another excellent book on the history and benefits of raw milk is The Untold Story of Milk by Ron Schmid. 

Raw Milk Protects Against Viruses

Pasteurized milk is dead milk. The ultra-high heat used in the pasteurization process destroys everything living in the milk. Pasteurized milk in the United States could be sold in cartons from the grocery shelf and not in the refrigerated section. Milk producers don't do that because that would freak out the public who think their milk is fresh and living. Raw milk still has living things in it. It is full of immune system helpers like lacto-peroxidase, lacto-ferrin, leucocytes, B- and T-lymphocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, immunoglobulins, and antibodies. It has living enzymes, vitamins, and minerals that support and defend your body. 

Start Slow

If you haven't ever had raw milk or eaten fermented foods (sauerkraut, kombucha, etc.), don't start by gulping down a whole glass. Instead, start with a small amount and slowly increase little by little, day by day. If you drink more than your system can handle at first, the live beneficial bacteria in fresh raw milk can provoke a "die-off" reaction where the pathogenic bacteria in your gut get killed off by the good bacteria in the milk. That experience may feel like the flu if you go too fast. There is nothing wrong with the milk, but your system needs to get used to eating a living food. 

Lactose Intolerance

If the lactose in milk challenges your digestive system with bloating or gas, try culturing your milk into kefir. If you culture the milk for 24 hours at room temperature (68-72 degrees F), the beneficial microbes will predigest the lactose for you and make the cultured milk very easy to digest. Traditional cultures all around the world have done this for centuries, making milk more digestible and preserving it longer. Kefir has hundreds more beneficial microbes than yogurt, both by type and by volume, and the unique combination of cultures (microbes) in kefir makes it a powerful antibacterial and antiviral option for your health. You can find recipes for kefir and many other helps at Cultures for Health.