There is much controversy in the world of nutrition as to whether or not dairy is nutritionally beneficial. While I am no means an expert, I like to consider myself an educated consumer, so here is some of the research I have found to be helpful on the topic.
For starters there is the debate over organic vs conventional when it comes to milk. In order to make an educated decision you must first understand the difference.
The biggest difference is that conventional milk comes from cows that are given the synthetic hormones rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone) and rBST (recombinant bovine somatotropin). These hormones help to increase the milk production of the cows, but not without side effects. In cows these hormones often cause mastitis, but it's not just cows that are getting sick. In humans these hormones have been linked to breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer. The use of these hormones has already been banned in several countries including Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Austria, and the entire European Nation.
Hormones aren't the only thing found in conventional milk that is questionable. The use of antibiotics is rampant among conventional dairy farmers, they give them to their cows routinely for infections. The feed given to conventional dairy cows is also full of pesticides, and USDA reports show that low levels of pesticides are found in conventional dairy milk.
As for organic dairy milk, the USDA prohibits the use of hormones, antibiotics, and pesticides as well as makes it mandatory that organic dairy cows have access to pastures. So far, organic milk has my vote! There is one thing that I found concerning however, when some organic dairy milk is pasteurized it is heated to around 260 degrees, this is known as ultra-pasteurization, which gives the milk a shelf life of about 2 months. Conventional milk is typically only heated to about 145 degrees. This is a bit of a sore spot for me because while we know that pasteurization is designed to kill off bad bacteria it also kills tons of good bacteria! The only benefit to heating milk to 260 degrees is that it increases the shelf life PRIOR to opening it, once the milk is exposed to air it spoils just as quick as the milk only heated to only 145 degrees but the trade-off is that much more of the good stuff was killed in the process. The good news is that you can buy non "ultra-pasteruized"milk if you are careful about reading labels. Just look for milk that does NOT say "ultra-pasteurized" but be sure to look closely because sometimes they make the word hard to find!
Now lets talk about pasteurized vs non-pasteurized or raw milk. Pasteurization can kill harmful bacteria and pathogens present in commercially produced milk. However, it also destroys many nutrients and naturally valuable enzymes like lactase and galactase which help the human body better digest the lactose and calcium in milk and milk products such as cheese and even yogurt. Pasteurization destroys the beneficial probiotic cultures that naturally help us to break down the milk and extract the minerals. So, many of the problems people have tolerating and digesting milk are often due to the fact that it's pasteurized.
Many people are uncomfortable consuming products that are unpasteurized due to the risk of potential harmful bacteria but the fact of the matter is that modern sanitation standards, sterile stainless steel holding tanks, and milking technology have made pasteurization largely unnecessary today. Plus, in my opinion the risk of buying contaminated produce at the grocery store these days is probably just as high as getting a bottle of contaminated raw milk. If you are still uncomfortable consuming raw milk though there are some other good options. Yogurt and kefir both contain probiotic cultures making them easier to digest and coating you digestive tract with thousands of beneficial organisms. Greek yogurt is a great option as it is much higher in protein than regular yogurt. If you are unfamiliar with kefir it is a cultured milk product very similar to yogurt but in a thick liquid form that also contains beneficial yeast. While it may sound weird kefir is VERY good for you, and I would recommend finding ways to incorporate it into your diet. It comes in a variety flavors and I find when I put it in smoothies I can't even taste it!
While we do not drink much milk we do consume many other types on dairy. After hours of research we have personally decided to take the approach of buying things with as little processing as possible. When buying cheese we always look for RAW unpasteurized cheese, there is a great selection of these at... you guessed it... Mama Jeans! Are you starting to see a trend in where we buy groceries? I love shopping local! They also have a good selection of kefir, as does Price Cutter. As far as buying raw milk the only place I have found it is at the farmer's market in the Battlefield Mall parking lot available from Lorenae Dairy. They sell raw milk for 6.00 per gallon and they will even make a low-fat gallon for you if you call and request it ahead of time. Their milk has a shelf life of 21 days. We can't always use a gallon of milk in 21 days so I sometimes opt for buying 1/2 gallons of organic pasteurized milk.
I hope this information has made you a more educated consumer! It is SO important to know what is in your food and where it is coming from! Remember, you are what you eat!
