I know my last few posts have been milk related but I came across a good article which questions what is the best to drink: soy, cow's milk, raw milk, or fermented milk (kefir.) I've read so many times that regular cow's milk (homogenized and pasteurized) is not healthy to drink due to the hormones cow's are injected with as well as the percentage of pus that is allowed.
Soy milk isn't much better as most brands are full of sugar. Fortunately there are much better and healthier alternatives to the popular cow's milk and soy milk. These include:
Raw milk: not homogenized or pasteurized; contains living bacteria cultures that enhance digestion.
Fermented raw milk (kefir): a living, predigested, nutritionally superior beverage.
Raw almond milk: made from raw, soaked almonds, water, vanilla and a pinch of sea salt.
You can read the full article below. It goes into further detail about each kind of milk.
What's Best? Soy Milk, Cow's Milk, Raw Milk and Fermented Milk (Kefir)
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I had the opportunity to try raw organic goat’s milk. In addition to what I’ve read about it’s nutritional benefits I think the taste was far better than any cow’s milk I have ever had.
I think the biggest obstacle for most people is that raw milk is not only difficult to get regularly in some areas the price is much higher than pasteurized rBST free milk, and even higher than organic pasteurized milk. As far as almond milk, I don’t like the taste of it as much as cow’s or goat’s milk unless it is flavored or sweetened. Plus like the article said, it is not a good source of protein which is my main reason for consuming milk.
As a public health fact, raw milk is still much more dangerous to your health. Take for instant Malta Fever–Brucella melitensis. Also know as brucellosis, goats appear healthy and show no signs of illness only the humans who consume their milk get sick (fevers, sweating, weakness, anemia, headaches, depression and muscular and bodily pain). This is not from goat milk/cheese in the US (yet) but is in goats in the neighbor to our South, Mexico. Brucella abortus from raw cow’s milk causes the same problem, luckily only wild herds have it in the US and not cattle, but it can always spread. This is the reason why milk was first pasteurized, not to make it last on the shelves longer. Many other pathogens are eliminated by processing milk that protects consumers from very real and very severe disease. Also for all the rBGH haters, there is no way it can affect humans. The minute amount that is released in milk is broken down into amino acids in your stomach and small intestine like every other protein (growth hormone is just a protein). It does affect the cattle that are given it, and may be an animal welfare issue to not give it, but in no way is it a human health issue. So I will continue to get my daily calcium from a delicious glass of homogenized and pasteurized milk
A healthier alternative to purchasing processed soy milk is to make your own so that you can control what goes in it. You can buy soy milk makers which make the process pretty easy (and I think they work for almond milk as well) and the end result tastes so much better than anything you can buy in the store!
In Japan they drink NO MILK at all. As a westerner who has lived in Japan for a few years, I learned to respect and enjoy the Japanese kitchen. Japanese people enjoy one of the longest life-spans in the world, with much lower rates of heart disease and cancer than in the US.
Does it have anything to do with their diet?
Eating the Japanese food convinced me this is the best diet for you.
Another thing you’ll notice is how much younger everyone looks comparing to their age group in western countries.
STOP! People should not be drinking cow’s milk or milk as an adult.
Milk is for babies. Cow milk is for baby cows. Humans are the only animal on Earth that drinks milk from another animal and drinks it into adulthood.
Dairy cows suffer just as much as cows killed for beef. Dairy cows do not magically produce milk forever they are constantly giving birth and having their babies taken away. Stop exploiting animals for your own pleasure. You can drink soy, rice, almond milk.
Dairy products also naturally have a growth hormone in them. Not just any growth hormone, but the strongest one that exists. Not only this, but the hormone is read by our body to be similar in form and make-up, so it causes inflammation, leading to lack of oxygen to parts in the body. (organs, muscles, etc.)…. Causing cancer. Yes, you read right. Dairy actually causes breast, ovarian and prostate cancers and I’m sure other cancers, as well. (likely in combination, though, with the rest of the crappy American diet) It also actually causes osteoporosis, instead of inhibiting it like is purported in the media. You want proof? Just google studies on it. More additional great info?: anydoubtleaveitout.com. This is my nutritionist’s website, Dr. Fred Bisci. This guy knows his stuff..
I recently stopped drinking cow’s milk. Almond milk is delicious. It may not contain a whole lot of protein but it is definitely healthier for you than cow’s milk and it tastes, like I already said… ‘delicious.’