Sick cows make dangerous dairy
It is becoming more and more undeniable that organic foods are more nutritional, and safer than conventional equivalents, if for no other reason than they contain no pesticides or hormones and antibiotics. With spring upon us, many people will be turning to ice cream, and related frozen treats.
The concern over the refined sugar in these confections has been addressed in previous columns. Here we will focus on the dairy portion, which is common to all cream-based products. Dairy is arguably the worst thing to eat non-organic. It may help to examine some of the rules that must be adhered to for a dairy product to be organic: animals must be raised without antibiotics, steroids, or hormones; all feed must be organic and free of pesticide residue; animals must be pasture-grazed; and organic dairy has more omega-3 fatty acids than conventional dairy, and omega 3 is the beneficial fat.
It is particularly significant that organic has a superior omega 3 to 6 ration, which is the most vital ratio for health. The typical American gets too high a ratio of 6 to 3.
The absence of antibiotics is huge. There is an epidemic of resistant bacteria because of overuse and over-prescription of antibiotics. In fact, the World Health Organization has declared a Global Epidemic of resistant bacteria. An entire article will be dedicated to natural antibiotics such as raw honey and real cinnamon. For now, let us celebrate the benefits of not taking in more.
It is almost a sci-fi horror reality that in the conventional farming industry, antibiotics are used beyond just controlling infection 鈥� they are used to promote growth. It is blatantly irresponsible. The United States Centers For Disease Control (CDC) has been recently quoted stating that 鈥渢he use of antibiotics for promoting growth is not necessary, and the practice should be phased out.鈥� I am not attempting to argue ad-hominem, but I would bet there is not a more knowledgeable source on the topic. It is worth noting that the assertion of antibiotic use for growth has been disputed, but if you choose organic, there is no question.
The FDA has reported that there are more antibiotics produced for farm animals than people. Clearly it is time for a change. How do we make that happen? The most powerful way to effect change is by voting with your dollar: buy more organic, and 鈥渢hey鈥� will produce more. Starve the source of antibiotic-saturated, unhealthy and unhappy farm animals.
Even beyond the concept of organic dairy is the recent wisdom of 鈥渞aw鈥� dairy. Depending on your location, you may have to search local farmers for raw, organic dairy. However, as the knowledge is spreading, more commercial grocers are carrying raw cheese and milk. It is logical to presume ice cream may not be far behind. What does 鈥渞aw鈥� mean? It means it is not pasteurized or homogenized.
According to the very esteemed Dr. Mercola, organic raw dairy has a long list of health benefits of which regular milk has none. These include the following:
n Loaded with healthy bacteria that are good for your gastrointestinal tract;
n Full of more than 60 digestive enzymes, growth factors, and immunoglobulins (antibodies);
n Rich in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA);
n Rich in beneficial raw fats, amino acids, and proteins in a highly bioavailable form, all 100 percent digestible; and
n Loaded with vitamins (A, B, C, D, E, and K) in highly bioavailable forms, and a very balanced blend of minerals (calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and iron) whose absorption is enhanced by live lactobacilli.
All health food stores carry raw cheeses. Most have access to raw milk. It may well be that persons with lactose issues will not suffer from raw organic dairy. This is my personal experience. I used to suffer from lactose intolerance, and I now suffer zero reaction to raw. Some of this may be due to my efforts in cleaning up my gut overall, but it is still worth noting that I suffer no negative reaction to raw.
Dr. Mercola also reports that switching to raw organic dairy has resulted in people no longer suffering allergies! Raw dairy is a completely different item than conventional. Conventional is poison. Raw is seen as a healer.
As a last point, it is worth noting that many learned sources have argued that dairy is completely unnecessary for humans. The argument is that humans are the only species to drink the milk of another species, and moreover the only species to drink milk after weening. But, I like giving people options for baby steps, so if you can try the switch to raw and organic, you will at least eliminate the most extreme health offenses of dairy.
I will also leave you with the same point about dairy as I do with meat: you do not have to be a vegan, but it is well established that most Americans eat far too much meat. Furthermore, studies such as Dan Buettner蘑菇视频 Blue Zone study of centenarians consistently show the longest lived, healthiest populations eat very little animal product if any. It begs for the statement, 鈥淒o the math.鈥�
Until next time, do your best, and be patient with yourself. It took years to form bad habits; they won鈥檛 go away overnight.