Research Proves Raw Milk Prevents Infections and Boosts Immunity
Alex Pietrowski, Staff Writer
Waking Times
In 1948 Michigan became the first state to require all milk sold to consumers to first be pasteurized, thus beginning the war on raw milk. The national effort to prevent people from obtaining raw milk has become so absurd that state and local governments around the country are willing to sick S.W.A.T teams on U.S. citizens to protect us from the potential harm in consuming raw milk which has been a dietary staple for generations.
The ostensible premise for such militant enforcement of food law is of course public safety, as authorities say that certain manufacturing processes do not prevent the bacterial contamination of milk, and the government now claims that raw milk is too dangerous for human consumption even though it is entirely possible to produce it without contaminating it.
Advocates of the consumption and free sale of raw milk describe pasteurization as a process that destroys the real nutritional benefits of milk in an effort to prevent the risk of contamination.
“In response to the public’s concerns, regulators and hygienists improved the practices of caring for and milking cows as well as how milk was distributed to consumers (Gould et al. 2014; Leedom 2006). At a similar time, a heat-treatment process that could kill microbes, known today as pasteurization, was introduced to further ensure milk safety. Pasteurization requires heating milk to a specific temperature for a minimum period of time, and then quickly cooling it back down to refrigeration temperatures (4°C).” [Source]
Yet, the damage done to raw milk by the pasteurization process, as described below, is widely known to destroy most if not all of the nutritional benefits of milk.
“Pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamins C, B12 and 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. Calves fed pasteurized milk do poorly and many die before maturity.” [Source]
In 2014, an important research study into the benefits of raw milk, conducted by The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology looked at a group of pregnant women in rural Europe to determine what benefits the consumption of raw milk had on infants and young children. The findings of the investigation concluded that raw milk is an important nutritional food that can dramatically impact early immunity, especially in regards to the prevention of respiratory illnesses which are quite common in infants today.
“Early life consumption of raw cow’s milk reduced the risk of manifest respiratory infections and fever by about 30%. If the health hazards of raw milk could be overcome, the public health impact of minimally processed but pathogen-free milk might be enormous, given the high prevalence of respiratory infections in the first year of life and the associated direct and indirect costs.” [Source]
“The main finding of this analysis was an inverse association between consumption of unprocessed cow’s milk and rhinitis [cold or runny nose], RTI [respiratory tract infections], and otitis [ear infection],” wrote the authors. “The effect was strongest when cow’s milk was consumed raw; boiled farm milk exhibited an attenuated effect.” [Source]
The consumption of raw milk actually helps infants build immunity to certain infections and diseases, even though the U.S. government claims that it has no nutritional benefit whatsoever.
“According to the research, raw milk works a lot like breast milk in providing protective, anti-infective health benefits to children. Compared to highly processed commercial milk, raw milk was found to help lower C-reactive protein levels, which are directly associated with inflammation. Raw milk, in other words, works against inflammation, while processed milk may help promote it due to its altered proteins.” [Source]
Raw milk is still widely consumed in the U.S. in spite of government efforts to prevent access to this natural food, and in spite of evidence demonstrating the positive benefits of raw milk consumption on childhood immunity.
“In America, 80 percent of the Amish studied by Dr. [Mark] Holbreich consume raw milk. In a study published earlier this year, Dr. [Bianca] Schaub’s group showed that European children who consumed farm milk had more of those regulatory T-cells, irrespective of whether they lived on farms. The higher the quantity of those cells, the less likely these children were to be given diagnoses of asthma.” [Source]
In addition to helping to prevent respiratory illness, raw milk also aids in the prevention of allergic diseases, as noted by Moises Velasquez-Manoff in a piece for The New York Times on possible cures for the allergy epidemic.
“In Europe, the consumption of unpasteurized milk has repeatedly correlated with protection against allergic disease.” [Source]
Final Thoughts
Aiming a gun at someone, kicking down their door and destroying homes, farms, and uneaten food in the name of safety is an affront to public safety in its own right. In light of the fact that we have credible scientific research backing up the notion that raw is not only not as dangerous as they’d like us to believe, but that it is actually good for you, it begs the question of why the government would treat is as such a dangerous controlled substance.
Take a look at the following video of the 2011 police raids against Rawesome Foods in California where armed police raided a raw foods outlet, destroyed high quality food and arrested the owner, James Stewart.
Read more articles by Alex Pietrowski.
About the Author
Alex Pietrowski is an artist and writer concerned with preserving good health and the basic freedom to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. He is a staff writer for WakingTimes.com and Offgrid Outpost, a provider ofstorable food and emergency kits. Alex is an avid student of Yoga and life.
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