Dairy: Part 1

Hey everyone!

Sorry I have been MIA for a while. I have been dealing with a few things and needed some time away to gather my thoughts. I began having some problems after we moved to Houston. I couldn’t figure out what was going on and I knew there had been some changes made to my supplements so I started by looking there. After trying different things, one of the two issues resolved. So then I started doing some research. I knew that people with a gluten intolerance can also face issues with dairy products so I tried dairy free for a few days and voila!... My issues were gone. Now I have to admit that this wasn’t an easy decision and not one that I wanted to make at all. I thoroughly enjoyed dairy products. Not milk, but yogurt and cheese. They were my “go-to” foods. I loved yogurt the most. Frozen or regular, no matter what flavor, I just loved it. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to have it for a while. I don’t think it will have to be a permanent change, but one that I will have to adhere to for about 6-12 months (according to my research). I had an absolute breakdown and cried about the thought of having to give it up. Hadn’t I already been through enough? Why was this happening? Couldn’t I just get a break? Well after coming to terms with it and finding some pretty great alternatives, I do what I do best. I began researching to figure out what the link between gluten and dairy is and why it affects people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. I also began to look at just how nutritious dairy products are and if it’s different in other countries ( I already knew the answer to this one).  Because my research is pretty extensive, I am going to do a “series” on milk. I would rather give you smaller amounts of information at a time rather than overwhelming your eyes with a novel on my blog.

Let’s begin.

Part 1:

I have been reading for some time now that there is a theory that “raw milk” is better for you and that it can help to heal or improve the health of people with certain illnesses. It is claimed that our pasteurized milk loses nutritional value once it endures the heat that occurs during the pasteurization process. My first thought was that this makes sense. We all know that eating cooked vegetables isn’t as nutritious as eating them raw. The heat “ruins” most of the nutritional value. I think that this is true for milk as well, although others will say differently.

According to the Organic Valley website, there are two accepted methods of pasteurization in the United States. “The first, traditional pasteurization, heats the milk to at least 165°F for 15 seconds. This is commonly referred to as "High Temperature, Short Time," or HTST pasteurization. Heating the milk removes 99.9% of the bacteria in the milk, which gives HTST milk a printed shelf life of 16 - 21 days from the date it was packaged.” The other is ultra pasteurization. “Ultra pasteurization, the most widely used pasteurization process for milk in Europe and throughout the world, is a more recently developed process. The ultra pasteurization process is often referred to as “Ultra High Temperature,” or UHT pasteurization. The UHT process heats the milk to 280° F for only two seconds, and eliminates a larger percentage of bacteria than HTST pasteurization. When coupled with sterile packaging, ultra pasteurized milk has a shelf life of 70 days from the date of processing. UHT is gaining popularity in the United States and Canada.”

So what is the reason for pasteurization? Well milk is considered sterile while inside the utters of the cow, but once it leaves, aka the cow is “milked,” there are microorganisms such as bacteria that can infect the milk. Pasteurization takes care of any of the risks associated with possible contamination by heating up the milk and killing off anything that could be potentially harmful for human consumption. These risks are all viable with raw milk so it is outlawed in most states in the U.S. Although the nutritional value may be compromised, pasteurization creates a safe drink that so many love. Because I have never enjoyed drinking milk, I am not particularly interested in which form is better because they both have pros and cons associated with them.  Here is a chart for those who might be interested:

After looking at this chart, decide what is best for you and your family. I will be talking about something that is a little closer to my heart in the next part of my series on milk-- growth hormones. Stay tuned for more information, and in the mean time, make the switch to organic milk if it's your drink of choice. That's one of the best decisions you will ever make. 

Besos,

Courtney