The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Raw Dairy Feedback
Posted by Celland (Boston, Ma) on 08/19/2012
★★★★★
I have been drinking raw milk from various sources for almost 15 years with no illness. Let me add that I drink at least one gallon per week. If there were any truth to this germ phobic nonsense I would have stumbled across it by now. One of the biggest stories aganist raw milk that came out in papers and magazines in the 1950's turned out to be completely fabricated! Stop believing what the media forces on you and learn to t think and judge with your own brain for God's sake!! Come back to reality.
Raw Dairy Feedback
Posted by Matt (Millbrook, Ny) on 10/06/2010
★★★★★
I absolutely love raw milk. Right after I started drinking it, I felt a great increase in strength and energy, and it always seems to put me in a better mood. In Millbrook you can buy raw milk from Shunpike Dairy, on the corner of Shunpike Rd and Route 44.
Raw Dairy Feedback
Posted by Deirdre (Atlanta, GA) on 04/22/2010
★★★★★
Well, thanks to someone mentioning it at our dojo or I would have never known that we had a raw dairy co-op within 20 miles of us! I excitedly signed up and have getting a half gallon of raw milk and fresh eggs for the past 4 weeks. Suprisingly, it is only slightly more expensive (about $1) than buying organic milk and free range eggs at the grocery store.
My feedback -- WHOA! What a treat!! We have been using the raw milk to make homemade yogurt each week. Delicious, absolutely delicious. And the color of the egg yolks is a vibrant gold, much richer than the color of eggs bought at the store. They also taste delicious.. yummy yummy.
I recommend that people check out the Local Harvest website to see if there if there is an organic farm in their area. You may be surprised to learn how many there are now.. http://www.localharvest.org/organic-farms/
I was also surprised to learn how easy it is to make yogurt. You can even make it outside on a hot summer day if you don't have a yogurt maker. (I have tested the sun method twice, once in 80+ degree weather and yesterday in 70+ degree weather and both times worked as well as my yogurt maker). Here's a simple recipe for those interested...
You'll need a cooking thermometer to test the temperature.
1 quart milk
2 tablespoons yogurt with live cultures (I used either Greek yogurt or organic whole milk yogurt)
Heat milk until just below boiling (or 180f if you have a digital thermometer).
Remove from heat.
Cool the milk to 120f (takes about 20-30 minutes. Put pot into a bigger pot of cold water if you wish to speed up this process).
Add the existing yogurt with live cultures to a small amount of warmed milk in a bowl. Whisk until smooth and then transfer this to your pot of warm milk.
Pour milk into small glass containers (baby food containers, jam containers, even juice glasses work!)
If you are using the sun method, simply cover your glass containers with saran wrap and put outside in a warm, sunny spot for 7-8 hours. Otherwise, use your yogurt maker, following the manufacturer's instructions.
Finally, let the yogurt set in the fridge for 3 hours before eating. Important!
A friend of mine told me that the best yogurt cultures come from a particular Russian brand of yogurt sold only in Russian grocery stores. Well, I have yet to locate such a store in Atlanta and I need to hit my friend up for the exact name since she told me the secret yogurt recipe 2 years ago. Will update again with more info.
Raw Dairy Feedback
Posted by Sage (Melbourne, FL) on 02/11/2008
★★★★★
Reading a book about The Untold Story of Milk has given me a great deal of respect for the role that milk has played in the sustaining of many cultures throughout history. Every time I raise my glass of Raw Milk I am very glad to be partaking in such a time-tested wholesome food. (processed milk is a crime against humanity!!)
Raw Dairy Feedback
Posted by John (Slana, Alaska) on 01/08/2008
★★★★★
Hey April, Read your post about Raw Milk. What makes a person have a reaction to milk products is the pasteurization process. This process uses high heat, for a few seconds, to kill any bacteria in the product. Unfortunitly, it also destroys the Enzymes that help our bodies process the fats, sugars and protens in the milk. All raw foods contain enzymes; however, when a food is heated above 118F the enzymes are destroyed. Cold processed dairy products (cheese, butter, yoghurt, etc.) still have their enzymes intact and are easy to digest. The trick is to read the labels to see if the product is made from "pasteurized" milk or cream. I highly recommend a cook book called "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon. This book is only $16.50US at Amazon.com; it sure opened my wife and my eyes to the problems linked to processed foods. After only a month and a half, we've both lost over 10 lbs of weight, several inches off our waists, and are feeling great. I'm sure it will help you greatly. peace and happiness
Raw Dairy Feedback
Posted by April (Fort St. John, Canada) on 01/07/2008
★★★★★
On the subject of Icecream/milk,Yes,it did cause me sinus problems. I have quit it altogether, I would drink raw milk happily, if it were more available. I can drink raw milk with no side affects of any kind, if I drink homogenized/pastuerized (both are done to the milk we buy from the grocery),as well as mucousy plugged up sinuses, I will get stomache aches,gas, a general feeling of lethargy, headaches. It's not the milk that is making us ill or have ill side affects, it's what they do to our milk before we're allowed to buy it from the store.For a real truth and eye opener about our homogenized/pasteurized milk, go to Mercola.com and and search the site for" Does tainted milk cause Crohn's disease?", and watch the video, there is also a couple other related articles, like this site,(earth clinic),Mercola.com is a very informative site with studies backing all that is stated. Thanks for the time, April
Raw Dairy Feedback
Posted by Wendy (Everton, Arkansas) on 01/02/2008
★★★★★
It pains me to read all the negative comments about raw milk. On our family farm we milk a jersey heifer and a few Sonnen milk goats. All the "girls" have 100% access to pasture. They only come in the barn at milking time - never confined. We milk into a stainless steel belly milker, quickly strain the fresh milk and put into sterilized jars. It is then immediately plunged into a bucket of cold water waiting in the 33 degree milk 'fridge. Quick, safe handling, and a very cold cool down leads to a pure, fresh milk product. In doubt?? Please request a farm tour from your milk provider. A GOOD FARMER HAS NOTHING TO HIDE!
Raw Dairy Feedback
Posted by Wendy (Houston, TX) on 12/19/2007
★★★★★
I wanted to say that my nephew age 1/12 is allergic to pasturized milk and products. It makes him cry constantly and it takes 2 weeks to get it out of his system. My sister has obtained raw milk for him and he is doing wonderfully. He is gaining weight and looks terrific. Just a consideration for those who are allergic to milk.
Raw Dairy Feedback
Posted by Mel (Los Angeles, CA) on 11/22/2007
★★★★★
Since your website started the inclusion of raw dairy, it seems a few are posting comments about the risks of congesting raw milk, without any citing personal experience or first-hand educated research in the matter. The commercial dairy industry is very aggressive in putting out as much negative information about raw dairy as possible. Check out this website for some good comparisons of the facts:
http://www.raw-milk-facts.com/
Not ALL cows carry the bovine leukemia virus, and there are MUCH fewer documented cases of bacterial infections, and otherwise, due to consumption of raw dairy, than there are documented cases of ailments and illnesses affiliated with pasteurized dairy. Further, Louis Pasteur developed this process for beer and wine to give it longer shelf-life. Commercial industries adapted it and a homogenization process to dairy. The first poster (Marian) is exactly right -- pasteurizing kills all of the good enzymes necessary for proper digestion, as well as any potentially harmful bacteria (not all bacteria is bad). People that are lactose intolerant, can often drink raw milk. Other syndromes that are triggered by dairy (I have one) are not exacerbated by raw dairy (I speak from first-hand experience, as well as corroborated research findings).
Another rather disgusting side-effect of pasteurized dairy: since the extreme heating process does such a good job of killing (pasteurizing is flash-heating to lethal temperatures, for those who don't know) many of these producers keep less than sanitary conditions and use milk that would otherwise be considered diseased. I, for one, do not relish consuming a cupful of dead harmful bacteria, any more than I would the living variety. Raw, organic dairy farms, who grass-feed their free-range cows, rather than grain-feeding (a source of many bovine ailments) confined animals, are also usually highly meticulous about the conditions of their dairy facilities. Here in CA, (as well as in NM, CT and 2 or 3 other states) it's legal to sell through Whole Foods, so it's quite regulated (and expensive!! @ $16/gal.) and many dairy farms permit tours of their facilities.
Other states have more restrictive laws concerning the sale of raw dairy to the consumer, so finding a source is usually a little more creative and independent process. There are websites available to help with the search for a quality provider. Weston Price, a leading health and nutrition expert has a great website with info about the health, legal and economic issues surrounding raw milk: http://www.realmilk.com , as well as an additional wealth of information on nutrition and other raw foods.
In addition to my own personal experience, and a ton of educated research (I am a scientific researcher by trade, and gather my information from qualified sources), my family is Amish. My direct lineage has not been in the community for 3 generations now, but cousins and older family members still are, and I grew up thinking it was quite normal to have the family car parked next to the horses and buggies at the local market. All foods among my family are organic, direct from the farm products. As of yet, since the late 1700s, when we settled here, I've never heard any tales of rampant bacterial infections running through the community. We have very little disease or other illness. My great-grandmother lived to 102 in her own house, unassisted, and likely had the health to live much longer, if she'd had the will. Her husband was 90. Her daughter is now 96 and going strong. Any relative in my family who dies before the age of 90 is considered too young.
So, from first-hand personal experience, plus documented knowledge of hundreds of years throughout generations of my family and their community, as well as extensive educated research on the matter -- I urge anyone with an open mind enough to circumvent the anti-nature propaganda of the commercial food industry to research the facts and seriously consider replacing the over-processed dairy in their diet with the real stuff.
Peace & Health!
Raw Dairy Feedback
Posted by Meg (Lomé, Togo) on 10/03/2007
★★★★★
Hi. I am a big fan of raw dairy products, completely unheated, unpasteurized, straight from the cow. In all the reading I have done, I have seen that prior to the introduction of widespread pasteurization of dairy products, raw milk was being used to treat many medical conditions, including pelvic inflammatory disease, prostate problems, edema, and others. A rundown on it can be found here: [http://www.karlloren.com/aajonus/p15.htm#_ftn64] It can be a bit difficult to get hold of raw dairy in the US, a bit more easy in France, and I just don't know about other places. Myself I am hoping to find a source this weekend here in Lomé. I hope you might point out raw dairy as a possible healthy addition to people's diets even if no-one wants to try it for those problems. If nothing else, it is an excellent source of calcium and vitamin D, and because it is raw, all the extra enzymes in it that help our bodies absorb calcium are still present. Thanks!
Raw Dairy Feedback
Posted by Marian (Central Lk) on 09/10/2006
★★★★★
Concerning sinus infections and their relationship to ice cream, I would like to comment on the pasteurization of milk and its products there of. The pasteurization of milk kills the enzymes that enables the body to process and assimilates its benefits. When products of pasteurized milk are consumed, it basically sits rotting in the small intestine, which resides in the same meridian as the sinuses, thus, causing inflammation and quite often sinus infection. Raw milk products from cows raised in mineral rich pastures, fed only grasses and no grain, produce a milk highly beneficial and easily assimilated by our human bodies. It is loaded with fat soluble vitamins, A , D, and E, minerals and enzymes. So don't knock out ice cream all together, it can still be enjoyed by making your own with fresh raw milk.
