Here are some of the problems with the standard milk you get from the shops:
Problem #1: Grain-Based Diet
The milk is from factory farmed dairy cows that are kept indoors in crowded unnatural conditions and fed a mostly grain and soy-based diet. These cows are given minimal or no access to green pastures.
Studies show that milk from grain-fed cows has a much lower content of healthful and anti-inflammatory components like omega 3 fatty acids, beta carotenes, and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), when compared to milk from grass-fed cows.
These anti-inflammatory components (or the raw materials to create them) come from the grass cows graze on, so if the cows are not allowed to graze on grass, then these anti-inflammatory components will be absent in the milk.
Problem #2: Use Of Antibiotics
A government compiled report found that in the UK in 2017, around 64% of antibiotics were used in humans and 36% in animals.
The crowded conditions, poor micronutrient deficient diet with lack of access to green pastures, lack of sunshine (hence low vitamin D levels), and breeding for intensive milk production, all compromise a cow’s immune system, making it susceptible to infectious disease and leading to a shortened lifespan.
According to The European Food Safety Agency, “If dairy cows are kept permanently on a zero-grazing system, there is an increased risk of lameness, hoof problems, teat tramp, mastitis…and some bacterial infections.”
It is currently legal in the EU for dairy farmers to use antibiotics routinely for purely preventative purposes. A 2010/11 Defra survey found that 85% of non-organic UK dairy farms used routine antibiotics on their cattle. Antibiotics are mostly used to treat and prevent mastitis caused by bacterial infection of the mammary gland and udder tissue.
Thankfully, there are regulations in place to prevent antibiotics used on cows from ending up in the milk on supermarket shelves – the cow’s milk is discarded until the antibiotics are out of its system. Despite this, a US based study found antibiotics in 38% of non organic milk samples tested. Food regulations are a lot better here in the UK, but I wouldn’t be surprised if antibiotics still made their way into the milk on our supermarket shelves.
Routine use of antibiotics on cows poses multiple other problems for us humans who consume their milk, even if those antibiotics aren’t directly present in the milk.
One problem is that research has linked the routine use of antibiotics to increased bacterial resistance in the faecal bacteria of cows. These antibiotic resistant super-bugs are more likely to cause disease in humans, and are more difficult to treat.
Another problem is how the use of antibiotics is likely to affect the quality of the cow’s milk. A cow’s gut bacteria plays an important role in determining the protein, fatty acid, and vitamin content of its milk. We also know from a 2019 study by researchers at University College London, that a single course of antibiotics can change the composition of the gut microbiome for at least a year.
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) for example, is a fatty acid created by microorganisms in the cow’s gut, so killing these microorganisms with antibiotics is likely to reduce CLA production. Why does this matter? Because CLA has a long list of health benefits, and the best sources of CLA are grass-fed full fat dairy products. Several studies have shown that CLA may help prevent cancer, reduce body fat, improve bone mineralization, boost the immune system, prevent type II diabetes, and delay the development of atherosclerosis (Murru, 2018; Pintus, 2013; Wannamethee, 2018).
Problem #3: Homogenisation
With cow’s milk in its natural form, the cream rises to the top.
Homogenisation is a process by which milk is forced through tiny holes under high pressure. This reduces the size of the fat globules, causing the cream to be dispersed throughout the milk, so it no longer rises to the top.
The vast majority of milk at the shops is homogenised, partly because homogenised milk is convenient, people prefer it because you don't have to shake the bottle to mix the cream through. But the artificial alteration of food is rarely a good thing.
Homogenisation inactivates beneficial enzymes and kills healthful probiotic bacteria in milk (Picart, 2006).
Some researchers believe that the smaller fat globules in homogenised milk can potentially increase the milk's ability to cause allergic reactions. If you develop an allergy to milk, then drinking milk will cause an inflammatory response in your body.
Homogenisation also lowers heat stability of milk and increases its sensitivity to light-triggered oxidation.
Click here to learn more about the problems with homogenised milk.
Another reason to avoid homogenised milk is because milk has to be pasteurised before it is homogenised:
Problem #4: Pasteurisation
100% of milk sold at shops in the UK is pasteurised, because the law demands it so. We are told this is because unpasteurised (raw) milk may contain pathogenic bacteria that are dangerous to health, but the real reason is that it's too difficult a job for the government to regulate the production and distribution of safe raw milk to the masses.
The trouble with pasteurised milk is that much like homogenisation, the pasteurisation process kills/damages several health boosting components in milk, including beneficial probiotic bacteria, healthful bioactive peptides, enzymes, omega 3 fatty acids, and heat-sensitive vitamins.
These components of milk, in their undamaged state, are known to improve gut health, reduce whole-body inflammation, improve the immune response, reduce lactose intolerance, improve digestion, improve bowel movement, reduce allergy development, reduce blood pressure, inhibit cancer growth, kill dangerous microbes, boost the absorption of minerals, inhibit platelet aggregation, improve the ani-oxidant capacity of milk, and much more.
So What Type Of Milk Should You Be Drinking?
You should definitely be drinking raw milk, but you should make sure your milk has these other important qualities as well.