The link is to the full article on this story. I want to give my simple perspective on this topic. It might be wrong, sad, bad or ridiculous. I just think that this FDA position on raw milk is wrong, sad, bad and ridiculous.
First off, the reason why we would say raw milk is better for you than processed, relates to a couple things. But before I get into that, I would like to say that I think the best source for raw milk would be grass fed cows. There is some research that shows the chance of e-coli in grass fed beef is almost impossible, and the chance of contaminated milk is also extremely low. That risk goes up when the cows are grain fed. OK, on to the meat… : )
So the first consideration is pasteurization. To heat the milk to a high temperature for a defined period, then immediately cool it back down. This process kills many of the microbes in the milk, giving it a much longer shelf life. If you click the link for pasteurization, you will see that the CDC has research that says that raw milk is actually much more dangerous than raw milk, but then it goes on to say that the milk is infected by cow feces, bacteria on the udder, etc. I agree! Of course that is the cause, and if it were a pen fed cow, who defecates where she lives, then that would be expected.
If it is a grass fed cow, living in a field, brought into a stall for milking, and washed prior to, then you have the best chance ever of having very healthy milk. So I still haven’t said why I don’t like pasteurization… enzymes. Enzymes are preserved when food is not heated. This is one reason why I am such a fan of Juice Plus, the process of dehydration is low temp, preserving enzymes. If milk is heated, the enzymes are destroyed, and they play a key part in the breakdown of the milk protein.
Which brings me to the next concern. Homogenization. Homogenized milk means that the fat in the milk has been forced into smaller, non-binding molecules. There is evidence that this smaller particle milk (done so that milk does not separate into cream and the lower fat milk), allows absorption of larger chain amino acids through the intestinal wall. These protein chains would not be absorbed as readily with the larger non-homogenized fat particles still intact. This represents a significant decrease in the inflammatory effect of milk (normally a very high inflammatory food).
So check out the article, look at what is going on in our country, where the choice of raw milk is not your choice. The hope of going raw is quickly being blotted out, and heavily on the shoulders of groups that have financial gain if small independent dairy farmers go out of business. Large dairy farmers and the companies that serve these farmers (Monsanto) have been pushing the anti-raw milk movement. Don’t take my word, check it out and decide for yourself.
Enjoy, and be great! – Dr. E