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Yvana van den Hork  •  08-08-2021

In defence of dairy: positive influence of raw milk on health

In defence of dairy: positive influence of raw milk on health

In defence of dairy: positive influence of raw milk on health

Over time dairy-bashing seems to have become the favourite hobby of both animal activists as well as 'woke' nutritionists. 
All forgotten is the fact that we are all mammals that cannot grow up without having drank milk either straight from your mom's breasts or from dairy-based infant formula. 
For many of us, dairy is the most affordable and tasty way to obtain a substantial amount of protein and calcium in their diet. 
 
As someone who grew up on a dairy farm and who doesn't suffer from any type of allergy or asthma, it is refreshing to find out how dairy, and more specifically raw dairy can help avoid developing asthma in children.

Raw milk and asthma

Rates of allergy and asthma have been on the rise in the industrialized world for the past 50 years. It’s now so widespread that up to 50 percent of schoolchildren are sensitive to one or more common allergens.
 
There are many contributing factors to the rise of allergic diseases, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that dietary factors may play a role – for better or for worse.
 
One food that’s shown a protective role against such diseases is one that is, unfortunately, typically demonized by health agencies and the media: raw milk.

Raw milk drinkers have lower rates of childhood allergies and asthma

School-aged children who drank raw milk were 41 percent less likely to develop asthma and about 50 percent less likely to develop hay fever than children who drank store-bought (pasteurized) milk, according to one study that used data from more than 8,000 children.
 
While public health agencies are quick to say that there are no nutritional differences between raw and pasteurized milk, this study suggests otherwise. The researchers believed that the beneficial effect may have been due to whey proteins, including bovine serum albumin (BSA) and alpha-lactalbumin, in the raw milk, which are destroyed by the heating process in the pasteurized milk.
 
While the study didn’t find an association between any health outcomes and the bacterial contents of the milk, it did demonstrate noted differences between raw and pasteurized varieties. The researchers explained:
 
        “The results of this large epidemiologic study add to the increasing body of evidence identifying consumption of farm [raw] milk (early in life) to be associated with a reduced risk of childhood asthma and allergies independently of concomitant farm exposures.
 
The results indicate that the effect is due to the consumption of unheated farm milk. For the first time, associations between objectively measured milk constituents and asthma and atopy could be demonstrated.
 
Under the hygiene hypothesis and given the role of microbial diversity in house dust to explain farm-related reduction of asthma risk, one might assume that a higher microbial load of unboiled farm milk might be responsible for the protective farm milk effect.
 
Milk is an excellent growth medium, allowing rapid proliferation of microbes. Indeed, the present results showed much higher counts of viable microbes in raw farm milk samples compared with heated farm milk and pasteurized and highly heated shop milk samples, as has been reported by others.”

Whey protein in raw milk may make some cases of asthma better

According to Mark McAfee, one of the leaders in the raw milk movement, increasing numbers of doctors are now starting to prescribe raw organic dairy for children with asthma, recurrent ear infections or chronic inflammation, rather than just telling them to quit dairy altogether.
This is because they recognize that in most cases it’s not the dairy itself—the problem is pasteurized dairy.
 
Raw grass-fed milk can even be tolerated by most who are lactose intolerant and contains whey proteins that may actually improve cases of asthma. McAfee explained:
 
    “Peer reviewed, internationally published, wonderful documentation showing that whey protein in raw milk stabilizes mast cells and actually makes asthma get a lot better, and in some cases, completely gone.
 
What we have is this polarity, these polar opposites between pasteurized milk, which has lots of dead bacteria which actually trigger inflammation in your body because your body doesn’t recognize these waste products.
 
Your body then reacts by mast cells breaking open, histamines being released, and things like asthma and inflammation flaring like crazy; mucus being laid down, which causes ear infections. Raw milk does exactly the opposite.
The milk is alive with beneficial bacteria and your body recognizes it. These beneficial bacteria colonize and become part of your immune system.”

Why drink your milk raw?

There’s more to raw milk than its impact on asthma and allergies. High-quality raw milk has a mountain of health benefits that pasteurized milk lacks. For example, raw milk is:
  • loaded with healthy bacteria that are good for your gastrointestinal tract
  • full of more than 60 digestive enzymes, growth factors, and immunoglobulins (antibodies)
  • rich in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which fights cancer and boosts metabolism
  • rich in beneficial raw fats, amino acids, and proteins in a highly bioavailable form, all 100 percent digestible
  • loaded with vitamins (A, B, C, D, E, and K) in highly bioavailable forms, and a very balanced blend of minerals (calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron) whose absorption is enhanced by live lactobacilli
It is not uncommon for people who switch from drinking pasteurized to raw milk to experience improvement or complete resolution of troubling health issues—everything from allergies to digestive problems to eczema. When milk is pasteurized, fats are oxidized, proteins denatured and most enzymes are completely destroyed, resulting in a ‘food’ that may be more harmful than beneficial to our health.
 
Additionally, the bacteria killed by pasteurization are not removed, so their dead cell fragments remain in the milk to ignite immune reactions in those who ingest them, which is one major cause of milk allergies. Often the ‘milk allergy’ is not to the milk itself, but to the post-pasteurization cell fragments it contains.

The truth about raw milk safety statistics

Government health agencies have been waging a war against raw milk farmers, claiming that this whole food is a threat to public health. But drinking raw milk produced by grass-fed cows from clean, well-run farms is actually less dangerous than drinking pasteurized milk. In fact, not only does raw milk contain good bacteria that are essential for a healthy digestive system, raw milk also offers protection against disease-causing bacteria.

How to experience health benefits of raw milk when you can't obtain it? 

If you’d like to experience the health benefits of raw milk but the hassle of getting raw milk is beyond your capabilities, or if it is legally impossible where you live, here’s a solution that is not illegal anywhere. The final supplement powdered form is called lactoferrin.
 
Lactoferrin has its highest content in mother’s first milk from human breast feeding and colostrum from cows. Colostrum, the first milk produced after a baby is born, is what provides immunity protection for firstborns.
 
Lactoferrin remains in cow’s milk after the baby calf’s early nursing period, but in lower concentrations. Circa 1960, a method of extracting pure lactoferrin was created, and the studies began that have led to discovering a plethora of health benefits.
This new supplement has been created and is available anywhere. The largest source of colostrum for lactoferrin seems to be New Zealand. If obtaining colostrum or raw milk is impossible for logistical, financial or legal reasons, you can obtain lactoferrin in capsules from (online) health food stores.

Here are some health benefits of colostrum and lactoferrin

Colostrum has a long history of potent-immune supporting properties. Colostrum is in fact the first milk of a mammal. Colostrum is loaded with naturally-occurring antibodies known as immunoglobulins. These include IgA, IgG and IgM. Secretory IgA is the most prevalent immunoglobulin in your gut and is a powerful component of GI immune function. IgG provides protection against all forms of pathogens. IgG is the only immunoglobulin capable of protecting the fetus in utero from pathogens. IgM is also an abundant pathogen-destroying immunoglobulin.
 
Raw colostrum is also a very rich source of the potent antioxidants lactoferrin. Lactoferrin is one of the primary constituents of the mucosal immune system, which comprises approximately 80% of the immune system.
 
Colostrum is a very rich source of PRP’s (proline-rich polypeptides). PRP’s are powerful modulators of the immune system, activating it when infections are present, and de-activating it when less needed. PRP’s have also been shown to protect against viruses, fungal infections and cancer. PRP’s also have powerful antioxidant properties and have demonstrated  the ability to prevent DNA damage.

Best uses of colostrum

Colostrum tends to be very healing for people with gastrointestinal distress. This may include people with Crohn’s Disease, Colitis and ulcers. Bovine colostrum is best taken in a raw form, from healthy, grass fed cows. 
 
As part of colostrum’s “first milk” for human and bovine infants, lactoferrin confers increased immunity protection to support their not fully developed immune systems. It’s part of the cytokine family, providing an immune booster for anyone. Cytokines coordinate appropriate cellular chemical responses to pathogenic invasions or other unusual activity.
 
Concentrated enough in one’s blood, lactoferrin is antiviral, antibacterial (to only the bad bacteria), and anti-fungal. It also kills parasites.
 
Lactoferrin is able to crack the cell walls of bacteria with tough outer cell walls, which are able to evade some antibiotics. This could be helpful for someone who has a difficult bacterial infection and wishes to avoid long term antibiotic use.
 
Lactoferrin slows or prevents tumour growth. It modulates cell growth.
Lactoferrin speeds up recovery from diseases, especially infectious diseases.
Lactoferrin is an antioxidant. It scavenges free radicals from iron while ensuring cells are getting sufficient iron nutrition.
 
According to recent research, lactoferrin can prevent or reverse osteoporosis without the dangerous side effects of bisphosphonate drugs. There are many reports of bones breaking too easily after using Big Pharma’s bisphosphonate drugs for osteoporosis.
 
Lactoferrin also enhances iron cellular uptake while providing protection against toxicity from too much iron
 
All of these benefits and more are without negative side effects. Lactoferrin is also antiviral and antifungal. It’s a concentrated immune enhancer. In today’s toxic world, lactoferrin goes a long way to help create and maintain good health.

Epilogue

Apart from becoming mightily irritated about the demonization of dairy and reading the good news about a positive relationship between raw dairy consumption and absence of asthma and/or allergies, I was also triggered to treat this very topic by an intrigueing interview of dr. Afrin by dr. Mobeen on mast cell activation syndrome , which is related to an earlier blog topic on the relation between histamine and gluten intolerance. 

Author

Yvana van den Hork
Rank: Senior Editor
Position: Director
She holds an MSc in Toxicology and Biology of the Wageningen University
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