The question on buying raw milk is often posed to me with the intention of finding out whether or not there is any real benefit from drinking raw milk. The US government of course, would prefer you not to buy raw milk at all.
Strangely enough, many of the people who asked me the question on whether or not to buy raw milk did so not because they wanted to drink raw milk but because they wanted to buy milk that was free from pesticides, fertilizers and hormones.
These people also (usually) buy organic food. There is no government restriction to buying organic food but for some strange reason there is a ton of restriction to your buying organically produced raw milk.
In an attempt to view the question scientifically, I’ve studied dozens of documents.
There are only two scientific studies that have been conducted and which link raw milk consumption with improved health.
One such study was conducted by researchers at the University of London and published in the June 2006 (Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology).
This study analyzed the diet of 4,767 children in Shropshire, England who lived on farms and drank raw milk. The study indicated that these children had significantly fewer symptoms of eczema, hay fever and asthma.
A second European study covering 15,000 children and published in the “Clinical and Experimental Allergy” (May 2007) also supported the earlier study by the University of London.
Apart from the above two studies, there are no other authoritative studies that prove or indicate that consumption of raw milk in any way enhanced the benefit of drinking milk.
The law does not prohibit you from drinking raw milk.
However the law has put several hindrances on farms desiring to sell raw milk. Currently in the US, twenty-three states have banned the sale of raw milk for human consumption while the rest have enforced certain conditions.
The reason milk is boiled i.e. pasteurized, is to destroy the bacteria that might be present in the milk.
Instead of giving any particular added health benefit, drinking raw milk could actually pose a serious risk of disease.
Scientifically, boiling milk not only destroys the bad bacteria that might be present in the milk,
it also destroys the good bacteria (such as lactobacillus) and also reduces or destroys the vitamins present in the milk.
Pasteurizing milk also destroys the flavor of the milk.
In this article I have analyzed and presented the facts that would help you decide whether buying and consuming raw milk would be beneficial to your health. Personally, I feel that
unless your intention is to buy organically produced raw milk and then boil it at home, the health risks far exceed the benefits.
Stay healthy and eat well! 😀