Milk: How safe is your milk?

Are you tempted to buy the cheap supermarket milk? Think again and be better informed to make healthier choices for you and your children!

Things you need to know before you buy milk

• Choose full-fat organic milk – commercially available milk that has been pasteurised, homogenised, had fat removed, comes from cows treated with antibiotics and hormones, fed by heavily sprayed grains; and contains preservatives added to make it last – is a highly processed food that is allergic and inflammatory for many people. This is not what we would call real milk!
• Check labels for extra ingredients – make sure the milk doesn’t contain unnecessary ingredients such as permeate by buying brands that clearly state they don’t add it (one of them is Aussie Farmers Direct). Permeate is the watery, greenish waste produced during the processing of other dairy products, especially cheese. In 2008, some NSW farmers accused the milk industry of adding up to 12% permeate to milk to dilute it thus cutting production costs.
• In Australia, the food standards code allows producers to dilute milk with so called “milk components”. For example, at present milks are not labelled for permeate levels although some companies state ‘permeate free’ on milk cartons. Still, it’s worth checking labels before buying any milk. If you see any ingredients you don’t know, do your research to find out what you are actually drinking or buy another brand with just milk in a box. Milk safety is worth it!
• Choose full-fat milk – skim and low-fat milks are high in carbohydrates (to substitute the fat that was taken out), contain damaged fats and cholesterol as a result of adding powdered, denatured whole milk after the cream is removed in processing to add ‘body’ to the texture. All pasteurised milks contain rancid and damaged fats as a result of the process itself contributing to casein (type of milk protein) sensitivity. So if you are on a low carbohydrate diet, re-think your weight loss ‘strategy’ of drinking low fat milk ^[1].
• Use organic butter and cream instead of milk – both should be used more liberally, especially by people who are casein sensitive as they contain very little or none of it. Also, you need less of them to achieve desired taste and consistency of foods. Don’t be scared of adding them back to your diet, the benefits are many!
• Type of milk you buy could be of crucial importance – opt for A2 milk readily available in supermarkets, if you decide to include milk in your diet – consider the pros and cons of drinking milk in this informative article. ^[2]

What is A2 milk?

Most people don’t realise that there actually are two types of cow milk: A1 and A2. Cows that produce A1 milk are descended from cows that around 8,000 to 10,000 years ago went through a genetic mutation. A2 is the original un-mutated type. The difference between A1 and A2 is that in the A1 variety there is a substitution of an amino acid in a particular position on a casein molecule.

Without going into too much detail, this substitution can cause a seven-amino acid fragment to break off when digested. This fragment has opioid (narcotic) properties appears to play a role in some autoimmune conditions including Type 1 (early onset) diabetes ^[3], as well as possibly causing arterial disease later in life.

It is known that the cows produce three types of milk: 100% A2 milk, 50% of both A1 and A2, and 100% A1 milk. It is easy to breed cows to produce 100% A2 milk and create a large supply of pure A2 milk. This would have huge beneficial health effects; alas commercial vested interests and government regulators protect the powerful dairy industry which has heavily invested in cows producing A1 milk.

If breeding out of A1 cows was allowed this may have consumers questioning the safety of the milk they are currently drinking and it would lead to an overall drop in milk consumption and significant commercial loses.

I think it’s appalling that our wellbeing is compromised in the interest of commercial enterprise. However, we can use our ‘consumer power’ to purchase A2 milk and force the dairy industry to change. Next time you get milk, make a better choice for yourself, your family and support the producers of good quality milk!

Explore more of our key nutrition and good foods guides and articles in the Nutrition Hub → ^[4]

Good health and blessings

Joanna Sochan
Wholistic Health and Lifestyle Therapist
Natural and Lifestyle Solutions for Abundant Health

Photo credit: Pixabay

Additional resources

• Low vitamin D – what you need to know to achieve and maintain high levels ^[5]
• How to drink enough water daily and improve your health; Dehydration ^[6]
• Top 5 Bliss Balls Recipes: gluten free, high protein, no dates ^[7]
• Weight loss: 3 reasons why you are not losing weight ^[8]
• Can multivitamins cause anxiety and panic attacks? ^[9]