Raw Milk ????

[bigteamug]

My hubby has been drinking the local raw milk that our coop has. (For now, they are able to sell it in our state. I'm sure the dairy industry is trying to change that...) He loves it and has had no problems with it. We've discussed the possibility of trying the whole family on it, but I'm a little hesitant.

I guess my big questions are:

1)DD1, who is 6, appears to be lactose intolerant - milk gives her the classic bloated tummy, gas and diarrhea. I also have LT to some degree. We both eat moderate amounts of cheese. Any experience with this? Seems like it'd be worth a try on a non-school day...

2)DD2, 22 months, is still nursing a lot. Is it safe for me to drink it? Is it safe for her to drink? Any mama's pasteurize at home? (you could do it at a lower temp, than the factory, I'm sure). Not sure about this one.

I guess I worry a bit about the usual stomach bug type things(e.coli, etc) and I guess you could, in theory, get TB or other bad stuff.

Also, are there questions I should ask the dairy or things I should look for if we go out there for a look-see?

Thank you!

[mamadelbosque]

I'm pregnant and nursing and drink raw milk and I LOVE it!! I don't think I could go back to store-bought pasturized... its just not the same! My DS' 21 months now and he drinks it occasionally... I don't think I ever really gave him the pasturized stuff as I personally wasn't a fan of milk. I'd give it a try - we love it!!

[mbravebird]

Originally Posted by bigteamug

1)DD1, who is 6, appears to be lactose intolerant - milk gives her the classic bloated tummy, gas and diarrhea. I also have LT to some degree. We both eat moderate amounts of cheese. Any experience with this? Seems like it'd be worth a try on a non-school day...

Raw milk has lactase in it, which will help her and you digest the lactose. It also has other enzymes that help digestion. All of that is normally destroyed during pasteurization.

Originally Posted by bigteamug

2)DD2, 22 months, is still nursing a lot. Is it safe for me to drink it? Is it safe for her to drink? Any mama's pasteurize at home? (you could do it at a lower temp, than the factory, I'm sure). Not sure about this one. I guess I worry a bit about the usual stomach bug type things(e.coli, etc) and I guess you could, in theory, get TB or other bad stuff.

If the cow is healthy and the dairy sanitary, you have less of a chance of developing those things from raw milk than from pasteurized. They've done studies where they injected TB, e.coli, etc into raw milk from healthy cows, and the beneficial bacteria overwhelmed the bad bacteria pretty quickly. The beneficial bacteria are killed by pasteurization, so if pasteurized milk gets contaminated you have no protection at all. Are you in California? In California, the bacteria limit for pasteurized milk is higher than for raw milk! Pasteurization has become an excuse to produce dirty milk from unhealthy industrialized cows, and not a very sensible excuse at that.

Also, e.coli is not a problem with entirely grass-fed cows. Only grain-fed cows can grow the kind of intestinal e.coli that threatens us.

Originally Posted by bigteamug

Also, are there questions I should ask the dairy or things I should look for if we go out there for a look-see?

Ask if they are fully grass-fed, or if they get grain at milking. Ask about their latest bacteria and herd testing. Make sure the grass they're on is not too short. Ask about their milking procedures.