On The Road To A Healthy/frugal Life: Raw Milk

What is raw milk?
     It is a natural, unaltered milk from cows, goats and sheep.  

I had been hearing a lot of people talking about raw milk lately and so I began to research the benefits to see if this would be a good change for our family.  I was amazed by all the benefits that are in it.  There are higher levels of nutrients in raw milk like calcium, iron and zinc. Did you know that it was used to cure chronic diseases at one point in our past history?  There are a ton of natural antibodies in raw milk as well as a fatty acid that can help fight cancer. I always thought that raw milk would make you sick and that's why everything is pasteurized.  Nope, not true.  There are many other things that you have a higher chance to get a foodborne illness from such as tacos, cheeseburgers, pizza, chicken and produce. The only reason it's pasteurized is to have a longer shelf life for the convenience of grocery stores.  The pasteurization process kills the beneficial bacteria, healthy enzymes and proteins. Two of my children have severe allergies and asthma and I have read in recent studies that raw milk is actually the better choice milk for those with these health concerns and that they will most likely suffer less if drinking it.  A lot of us are so stuck on the low fat milk kick because we think it's healthier and less fattening but we lose all of the great benefits that milk has like, growth, health and development. I also read recently that low fat milk actually makes you gain weight and can also cause fertility problems.  The vitamins A and D that is in the raw milk verses low fat milk is very important in the absorption of calcium and also contains a lot of the fatty acids that help us fight disease.  Some people think they are lactose intolerant but they are actually reacting because the milk is pasteurized.  Another benefit to raw milk as far as saving money goes is that it will never go bad like pasteurized milk.  It will turn sour but when it does this you can still use it in baking where as pasteurized milk would need to be tossed.  And as a side note, it just tastes better :)

A few of the scary things I found out about the milk we buy in the grocery store is that some actually have bleach added in to make it look more white.  A lot of the "grocery store milk" cows need to be fed antibiotics because they are being held in small pens and just being fed a lot of grain.  Ultimately the milk you find in your grocery store can be more harmful than what people think of raw milk because of all the antibiotics and hormones that are given to these factory line cows and then consumed by you and I.

If you begin to search for a place to purchase raw milk, make sure it is grass fed so that you can benefit from more of the nutrients.  You may have a hard time finding a farm to buy raw milk because it is actually illegal in Michigan.  The only way that this is legal is by purchasing a herd share which ranges from $50-$75 that is paid per year.  You will then need to pay boarding fees which is around $20-$40 a month which will get you one gallon of milk per week. One gallon of raw milk, as long as it is stored properly in a cold refrigerator should last up to 2 weeks. I have added a link to help you in your search for raw milk :)

We have decided to make the switch and have really enjoyed it.  I can only hope and pray that some day our government will see the benefits of raw milk and allow it to be legal to sell, but until then we will continue to go "underground" to purchase our milk and will never go back and I believe that if you begin to research like I did you will be doing the same thing.  Raw milk is THE way that God intended us to drink milk :)

www.realmilk.com