02/04/2023
Should you consume dairy? 🥛
This is a hotly debated topic and as usual in the nutrition world there is a lot of nuance.
1️⃣ Raw vs. Pasteurized
I think of raw and pasteurized milk as two completely different foods. Raw milk contains plenty of life in the form of bioavailable nutrition, enzymes to support digestion, and probiotics. Most milk is processed via ultra-high temperature (UHT) pasteurization which basically kills all microbes and enzymes, denatures proteins, and destroys or reduces many nutrients considerably.
2️⃣ Milk Quality 🐮
Like any animal product, the quality is directly proportional to the health of the animal. Cows and other ruminants that are fed a natural diet aka GRASS, will product higher quality milk. Animals that are constantly cooped up indoors, fed high grain-diets laden with pesticides and given antibiotics & hormones will obviously not be healthy and this will translate into milk production.
3️⃣ A1 vs A2
Different animals and breeds produce different milk proteins. Most cattle produce A1 Beta-Casein (A1 for short) which tends to be more problematic for human consumption. Some breeds of cattle and non-cow animals like buffalo, sheep and goat produce A2 proteins which are less inflammatory. One of the common things I hear from “dairy intolerant” people is that regular cheese will destroy them yet they have no issues with goat cheese 🐐
The most important thing is to listen to your body! For some people dairy just isn’t well suited for them and they are better off without it BUT for many people they just need to find the right type and seek better quality products.
