Is it possible that the farm fresh dairy you are buying is not healthy? Yes, this is very possible and this week’s vlog tells you why and shows you how to discern the best one for your family. I also go over the difference between A1 and A2 raw milk which refers to the different type of casein (protein) in milk from different breeds of cows. What type of cow your fresh milk comes from is CRITICAL to your health.
It is important to know that nearly ALL the dairy from the store is from the WRONG kind of cow, just another reason to not buy products from companies like Organic Valley and instead seek out dairy from a small farm that uses old fashioned cows.
Dr. Tom Cowan MD wrote an excellent article published by The Bovine a few months back that explains the A1, A2 beta casein issue in depth.
A1 and A2 Explained
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
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Thanks Sarah,
I did notice that the milk I got does not have a very big creamline. Once I finish what I have I’m going to try the other dairy as some friends at church get milk there and said they have a very nice size creamline in their milk.
How long does raw milk last in the fridge and is there anything special to do if I want to freeze it? To save travel time and gas I currently purhcase milk once per month from the diary.
thanks again – love your blog!
Hi Danielle, I started using raw dairy while pregnant with my second child. This was almost 10 years ago. The transition is no big deal, although you are right, your doctor will tell you that it is a dangerous thing to do. I would personally consider going through the fast food drive through to be a more dangerous undertaking! Raw holstein milk is better than nothing and surely fine if the cows are on grass and not getting antibiotics or steroids but keep trying to find a jersey farm as a big creamline is a beautiful thing!
Thank you for the information. I have been doing research on raw milk and am thinking about switching our family over to raw. I am currently breast feeding a 3 month old. Do you have any suggestions/conerns on me switching to raw while breast feeding. I know my ped will tell me it's not a good idea and I still have some reaserch to do on my own but I was curious of your opinion.
Sadly, we have two dairies close by that sell raw milk but all use holstein cows 🙁 I cannot find a raw milk distributor using jersey or gernsey.
Hi Sarah,
Thank you for the informative video. I did not know about the A1 Vs. A2 casein and will look into it further.
I am a diary farmer on a 100% grass-fed Jersey cow dairy so I know of what I speak here. You will actually get LESS cream from a 100% grass-fed Jersey cow than a pastured Jersey cow that is getting some grain(most dairies feed some grain). The trade-off is worth it, however. Even though the volume of cream may be slightly less the fat profile and nutritional components are far better AND the cow is healthier. Just an FYI that quantity of cream is not the only indicator of quality.
Hi Martha, you can take this nonhomegenized, pasteurized milk and culture it into kefir. That would be the best way to drink it. Drinking it as is would be a big allergy risk, I'm afraid and contribute to quite a bit of mucous and congestion – not a good idea going into the Fall/Winter months. Just my 2 cents.
Hi, Sarah. I'm currently on a waiting list for a cow share but otherwise don't have access to raw milk. My local health food store sells nonhomogenized milk that has been pasteurized at 172 degrees for 15 seconds. My 5 year old and I have not been drinking milk for several months after learning of the dangers of pasteurized milk. Is this milk at the health food store better than none at all? Did I read on your site that there was a way to restore health to pasteurized milk? I looked, but couldn't find it. Thank you for all the good information you willingly share with us!
Mark Mcafee, Great article. A while back I read about the A1 vs A2 milk and that even if it was a Jersey cow that didn't mean they were producing A2 milk… it kind of bummed me out that I am spending $7 a gallon and the milk may still not be good for us. What your linked article says makes perfect sense and fills in some of the blanks that I was wondering about. This paragraph is great "…If the split occurred 5000 years ago and A:1 is the source of modern heart disease and makes autism worse….then this does not match up with other researchers at all. Modern diseases began with grain feeding and confinement just 75 to 100 years ago. Modern diseases are much more likely to be associated with modern processing of milk and lack of grass feeding etc."
Thanks!
Just an update- I checked a full bottle of milk this morning, and anonymous was right- it is only about 1/4 cream. Hmmm… It's still excellent, but now I'm really wondering about the Jersey/Guernsey.
I don't believe the devil in the milk is only from grain fed cow's milk. I firmly belive that A1 milk from grass-fed cows is still bad; it makes it hard to digest. I will eat cow's ghee and butter but I will never drink cow's milk again; I will only drink goat's milk which is always A2.
Tina
Mark, thank you for taking the time out of your very busy schedule to comment on this post and further clarify this important issue. I will check out that link right away.