“I can show you the world. Shining shimmering splendid…A whole new world, a new fantastic point of view…”
Aladdin said it best and last night I think I got a glimpse of what Jasmine experienced on that magic carpet ride. I crossed over into what many think is a scary, forbidden place. But this morning I write to you from my kitchen table with a huge smile on my face and a tall glass of ice cold raw milk in my hand. We tried it for the first time last night as many gathered for the closing ceremonies of the Olympics. There was an excitement in the air and at the same time a bit of nervousness. If you could have seen us, we were treating the jug of milk as if it was vodka or some aged bottle of scotch. We waited until the Peanut Butter Banana Cake came out of the oven and with a clink of the glass we toasted to new beginnings.
Smooth. Rich. Full of flavor. Honestly it was the best glass of milk I have ever had. I didn’t know what to expect and if I had to describe it, I would simply say it was an amazing glass of whole milk. I guarantee you if I was serving it to someone who didn’t know it was raw they would have no clue. But what makes it special is not in the taste, but all the magical things going on behind the scenes. So the big question: Why is raw milk so good for us? That’s easy…
When I refer to raw milk, what I’m talking about is milk that is straight from the cow. No processing, heating, or damaging of any kind. Simple milk. Below is a breakdown of some of the many amazing things this food has.
Proteins: Amino Acids are crucial for a lot of the functions in our body. They help build proteins to help create hormones that our body needs like serotonin. Raw milk has all 20 amino acids including all 8 essential amino acids. The essentials are the ones our body cannot make and we need to get them from outside sources.
Enzymes: These bad boys help the whole process along. They are great for digestion, absorbing all the good stuff like calcium from the milk. God put these guys in here to make everything work. If we want to enjoy all the benefits of milk, we need enzymes to make it possible.
Vitamins and Minerals: Well, milk is full of all the great vitamins we all love to put in our body. Calcium is one of our favorites. But instead of listing them all out you guys can do your own research.
The list goes on…beneficial bacteria to good saturated fat. It has all the basic things our bodies need to feel great and amazing. Well, the next logical question is, “What is the difference between raw milk and the stuff I get at the store? Is there a big difference?” Here’s what the FDA and the milk companies are not telling you…
Pasteurization: this is when they heat milk to high temperatures. As a matter of fact, so high that they kill of all the enzymes and destroy some proteins and vitamins. Why is this a problem? Well, remember what I said about enzymes? Yep. So if there are no enzymes in your store-bought milk, then guess what? You can’t absorb calcium, its hard to digest, and many more complications. So sorry guys, milk does NOT do a body good. And if you’re scared about salmonella…all the outbreaks over the last several decades are from pasteurized milk including the big one in Illinois that slam dunked over 10,000 people. But you never hear about those stories. Bottom line is, when you heat milk, you lose all the wonderful things. Oh, and you know they add things to your milk so it doesn’t smell bad when you open it. When I opened this jug of raw milk it was fresh and clean-smelling.
I can go on about homogenization but no need. When we get our hands on things, we tend to screw it up. I say keep it simple and eat as God wanted us to. Last but not least, listen to you body. Even though raw milk is great for you, some people still can’t do dairy. The majority of people who have a problem with dairy have a problem because of pasteurization. But there are still some who can’t do it raw. Listen to your body. When you eat a piece of chicken your body likes it. When you eat ice cream your body hates it. Just listen.
SB
