Healthy You Article – November 7, 2008

Pasteurized Milk vs. Raw Milk
By Mary Perkins, Manager, The Wellness Center

I have to be honest in that I didn’t realize there was a debate going on over milk.  In my own little world I know that milk costs me around $3.65 a gallon, and that my family drinks about a gallon a day, costing me around $100 each month to supply our milk habit.  I never really thought much about “store” milk versus “farm” milk.  I mean, I grew up on a farm drinking milk, and when my parents sold the farm, I kept drinking milk.  I never thought much about the actual production of milk and what happens to it after it leaves the cow and gets into the stores.  In researching for this article, I found that there’s more to the debate than whether to buy whole, 2%, or skim milk. 

Where Milk Comes From
We all know that milk comes from mammals.  Female mammals, including humans, produce milk to provide adequate nutrition to their babies for survival.  Milk is produced by the mammary gland after giving birth to the offspring.  Some mammals drink milk produced by other mammals, such as humans drinking milk from cows, goats, sheep yaks, buffalo, etc.  Milk-producing animals need adequate nutrition to produce quality milk.  The food of choice for milk-producing animals is vegetable based; for cows this means grass. 

The debate about milk consumption is around whether or not it should be pasteurized.  Pasteurization is a process that kills harmful bacteria by heating milk to a specific temperature for a set period of time. First developed by Louis Pasteur in 1864, pasteurization kills harmful organisms responsible for such diseases as listeriosis, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, diphtheria, and brucellosis.

Raw Milk Advocates
There are several web sites advocating the consumption of “raw” milk.  Raw milk is milk straight from the source and has not been pasteurized or altered in any way.  The web sites tout the nutritional value of “clean, raw milk.”  They claim that heating the milk in the pasteurization process decreases the health benefits.  Milk contains 20 standard amino acids and enzymes, carbohydrates, poly-unsaturated Omega-6 fatty acid, vitamins, minerals, and has beneficial bacterium that helps with digestion.  Lactoferrin, an iron-building protein, improves absorption and assimilation of iron, has anti-cancer properties, and fights against the bacteria responsible for dental cavities.  Raw milk advocates claim that pasteurization removes all bacteria, good and bad.

Advocates for Pasteurization
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) strongly oppose human consumption of raw milk.  They both agree with the nutritional value of milk, but cite cases of food borne illnesses caused by contaminated, non-pasteurized milk products.  They claim that pasteurizing the milk increases safety and does not decrease the health benefits.

According to the FDA website, “Raw milk potentially contains a wide variety of harmful bacteria – including Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria, Campylobacter and Brucella – that may cause illness and possibly death.” 

There is increased concern of potentially life-threatening illness for certain at-risk groups.  According to the FDA, “Most healthy people will recover from illness caused by harmful bacteria in raw milk or in foods made with raw milk within a short period of time.  But some individuals can develop symptoms that are chronic, severe, or even life-threatening.  Illnesses caused by pathogens found in raw milk can be especially severe for pregnant women, the elderly, infants, young children, and people with weakened immune systems.”

Raw Milk Rebuttal
While raw milk advocates do not deny the potential of contamination of raw milk products, they argue that any food can be contaminated – it all depends on how it’s produced, handled, and packaged.  They encourage only the consumption of raw milk that comes from a reputable source.  They suggest the following safety precautions:
            -know where the milk comes from by checking out the farming operation and asking questions.
            -take note of the health of the cows.
            -find out how the cows are fed.  Milk that comes from grass-fed cows is less likely to be contaminated than milk from cows fed starchy grains.
            -ask where the cows are housed.  Are they pastured or kept in a manure-laden pen?  Cows that are pastured and have cleaner housing produce milk that is less likely to be contaminated.
            -question how the milk is collected and stored.  Collection tools should be sanitized and milk should be cooled immediately to reduce contamination.

Education is Key
Pasteurized milk or raw milk?  Educating yourself is the key to making the choice that is the right personal choice for you and your family.  Arm yourself with the facts before deciding whether raw milk or pasteurized milk is best for your household.  Learn where any food comes from before you put it into your body.  It’s your right as an informed consumer.

 As for me, the one thing I’m sure about is that you can’t milk a horse...right, Jane?

"HEALTHY YOU” is a weekly column prepared by health care providers and staff at North Country Hospital and Health System. For information or to suggest a topic for this column, please call Mary Perkins, Wellness Center Manager, 334-3226, or email mperkins@nchsi.org.