Contents of this page:

What is Pasteurization
Why is Raw milk better
What is Homogenization
Info about goat milk
Lactose intolerance and goat milk
What about fat content

Links to info on Raw milk and related subjects from the Campaign for Real Milk Web Site , a project of The Weston A. Price Foundation (linked with permission)

• Raw Milk vs Pasteurization - From Armchair Science, London (April 1938)
• Abstracts on the Effect of Pasteurization on the Nutritional Value of Milk
• Is Raw Milk Safe for Babies? by Sally Fallon
• Why Milk Pasteurization? Sowing the Seeds of Fear by Jean Bullitt Darlington
• Raw Milk by Dr. Tom Cowan
• Why You Can Rely on Raw Cheeses by Arthur Cunyngham and John Dennis

Also see:
Goat Milk Nutritional breakdown and Comparison to Human and Cow milk

What is Pasteurization?

Pasteurization is the sterilization of liquids such as milk, orange juice, wine, and beer, as well as cheese, to destroy disease-causing and other undesirable bacteria/organisms. The process is named for the French scientist Louis Pasteur, who discovered in the 1860s that undesired fermentation could be prevented in wine and beer by heating it to 135°F (57°C) for a few minutes. Milk is pasteurized by heating it to about 145°F (63°C) for 30 min or by the "flash method" of heating to 160°F (71°C) for 15 sec, followed by rapid cooling to below 50°F (10°C), at which temperature it is stored. In milk, after pasteurization, the harmless lactic acid bacteria survives, but if the milk is not kept cold, they multiply rapidly and cause it to turn sour. (1)

Why is Raw milk better?

Pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, alters vitamin B12, and vitamin B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer. (2)

Heat alters milk’s amino acids lysine and tyrosine, making the whole complex of proteins less available; it promotes rancidity of unsaturated fatty acids and destruction of vitamins. Vitamin C loss in pasteurization usually exceeds 50%; loss of other water-soluble vitamins can run as high as 80%; the Wulzen or anti-stiffness factor is totally destroyed. Pasteurization alters milk’s mineral components such as calcium, chlorine, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and sulfur as well as many trace minerals, making them less available. There is some evidence that pasteurization alters lactose, making it more readily absorbable. This, and the fact that pasteurized milk puts an unnecessary strain on the pancreas to produce digestive enzymes, may explain why milk consumption in societies that drink pasteurized milk has been linked with diabetes. (3)

Pasteurization destroys all the enzymes in milk -- in fact, the test for successful pasteurization is absence of enzymes. These enzymes help the body assimilate all bodybuilding factors, including calcium. That is why those who drink pasteurized milk may suffer, nevertheless, from osteoporosis. Lipase in raw milk helps the body digest and utilize butterfat. (3)

Butterfat has a cortisone-like factor which is heat sensitive (destroyed by heat) that prevents stiffness in the joints. Raw Milk contains beneficial bacteria as well as lactic acids that allow these beneficial bacteria to implant in the intestines. Once heated, milk becomes rotten, with precipitated minerals that can’t be absorbed (hence osteoporosis), with sugars that can’t be digested (hence allergies), and with fats that are toxic. (4)

Raw milk has been used as a therapy in folk medicine. It has been used in the pre-insulin days to treat diabetes, as well as eczema, intestinal worms, allergies, and arthritis, all for reasons which can be understood when we realize just what is in milk -- such as the cortisone - like factor for allergies and eczema.(4)

My personal opinion is raw milk produces much better cheese... cheese with body and character. Pasteurized milk cheese can be flat.

I believe the American public these days are way to obsessed with "antibacterial". It's gotten to the point of being dangerous because some bacteria is good and necessary. People are turning themselves into "bubble boys" never being exposed to anything, hence, when they are exposed to a bad bacteria, they get very sick. People who are exposed the good and bad all the time in there lives build a resistance, and when exposed to a bad bacteria, their bodies have developed the antibodies to fight it off.

I'm not saying raw milk has bad bacteria, actually it's the opposite. The milk has good bacteria which can fight off any dangerous or bad bacteria present in the milk or that may fall into the milk. If you pasteurize the milk, thus killing the good bacteria, then any bad bacteria that may manage to get into the milk will multiply and grow quickly, because pasteurized milk is the prefect medium for bacteria to grow and there is no longer any good bacteria present to fight the bad bacteria off. This is why milk from the store goes bad, turns lumpy and horrible, where raw milk (if it's around long enough) just naturally turns pleasantly sours and becomes like buttermilk.

I use nothing but raw milk. I figure, why bother going to all the trouble of raising my own goats for milk and then ruining it by killing off all the good live things it contains and destroying the nutrients? If your goats are healthy and you follow sanitary procedure, there is nothing better for you than raw milk. If using raw milk, it must be handled correctly, everything must be sanitary and the animals that the milk comes from should all be healthy and happy.

What is Homogenization?

Homogenization is a mechanical process that breaks down butterfat globules so they do not rise to the top. Mechanically homogenized milk has been linked to heart disease. (2)

Info about goat milk:

Normal goat milk fat has a much higher concentration of so called medium chain fatty acids (MCT), caproic, caprylic, capric, lauric, myristic (33%) verses cow milk fat (17%), and lower in stearic and oleic (27%) lower than cow milk fat (45%) . Much documentation exists showing the uniquely beneficial effects of those MCT, medium chain fatty acids in various medical problems, disorders and diseases, such as those suffering from malabsorption syndromes chluria, steatorrhe, hyperlipoproteinemia intestinal resection, coronary bypass, premature infant feeding, childhood epilepsy, cystic fibrosis, gallstones, angcontributeto general thriftiness of children. (5)

Goat milk provides 13% more calcium, 25% more Vit B-6, 47% more Vit A, 134% more potassium and 350% more niacin than cow milk. Goat milk is higher in chloride, copper and manganese and none of the controversial bovine growth hormone (BGH) (5)

Also see:
Goat Milk- Nutritional breakdown
Milk: Comparing Human, Cow, Goat & Infant Formula

Lactose intolerance, allergies and goat milk:

Goat milk, like cows milk and human milk, contain lactose, but many people (but not all) with lactose intolerance and cow milk allergies can drink goats milk. Why? It is because of goat milks superior digestibility. Goat milk is more completely and easily absorbed than cows milk leaving less residue behind in the colon where it can literally ferment and cause problems. The digestibility of goat milk can be attributed to it's casin curd, which is both softer and smaller, thus easy to digest. Another big difference between cow and goat milk is found that the average goat milk fat globule is about 1 1/2 to two microns compared to cow at 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 microns another factor in ease of digestion. Goat milk contains more essential fatty acids (linoleic & archidoic acids) and higher proportion of short chain and medium chainfatty acids than cows milk. The fat can be more readily digested and absorbed because lipases attack ester linkages of these fatty acids more readily than those of longer chains (cow) And unlike cows milk, goat milk does not contain agglutinin; as a result the fat globules in goat milk do not cluster, again allowing the ease of digestion and absorption. (6)

What about fat content?

Not all fat is bad; there are "good fats" and "bad fats". You need some fat in your diet, but you need to keep in mind that too much of anything (including a good thing) can be bad for you.

Butterfat contains vitamins A and D needed for the assimilation of calcium and protein in the water fraction of the milk. Without them, protein and calcium are more difficult to utilize and possibly toxic. Butterfat is rich in short and medium chain fatty acids which protect against disease and stimulate the immune system. It contains glycospingolipids which prevent intestinal distress, and conjugated linoleic acid which has strong anticancer properties.(2)

 

references:
1) The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001.
2) Campaign for Real Milk Web Site a project of The Weston A. Price Foundation - What is Real Milk Web Page
3) More About Raw Milk by Sally Fallon - Reprinted from Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats, Available from NewTrends Publishing (877) 707-1776)
4) Raw Milk by Tom Cowan, MD, Reprinted from the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation Health Journal Vol 21, No 2 (619) 574 7763
5) GOAT MANAGEMENT: Alternatives in Dairy Goat Product Market By George F. W. Haenlein, Cooperative Extension Dairy Specialist University of Delaware
6) GOAT MANAGEMENT: Why Goat Milk? By George F. W. Haenlein Cooperative Extension Dairy Specialist University of Delaware