Got Milk?

Photo by Engin Akyurt: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-woman-drinking-milk-1460995/

If you enjoy milk, or milk-like beverages, you probably know there’s a LOT of different milks! A detailed discussion of all of them would probably fill a rather large book, so for the purposes of this article, I’m going to focus on just actual cow-based dairy.

I’m not even going to get into the benefits and potential risks of raw dairy because most Americans can’t access it easily anyway, so it’s kind of a mooooo-t point (sorry - I couldn’t resist)!

Some of you may be wondering how complicated this subject is with all of those limitations. You may be surprised!

Milk is not milk, even if we’re talking about whole, 2%, or some other fat content variety.

Most milk sold in the U.S. these days is treated with ultra-pasteurization, which means it’s heated to a minimum of 280 degrees Fahrenheit for a minimum of 2 seconds. Compare this to “old-school” pasteurization, which is heating it to a minimum of 161 degrees for 15 seconds or 145 degrees for 30 minutes.

As you might have guessed, the reason that milk producers have largely switched to ultra-pasteurization is that it kills more bacteria and greatly extends shelf-life (approximately triples it) as compared to regular pasteurization.

That may seem like a good idea, but there are some problems with the high heat of ultra-pasteurization. First, it destroys the “healthy” bacteria (probiotics) in the milk. It also denatures the whey protein in milk, which decreases your absorption of the protein and other nutrients, such as B12. The denatured protein may also be problematic in at least some individuals in terms of digestion, inflammation and allergic reactions to dairy – although the jury is still out on that.

Another issue with dairy produced commercially in the Western world is that the vast majority of dairy contains a protein known as A1 beta-casein. In the relative scheme of things, this is a relatively new protein that has resulted from the selective breeding of dairy cattle. For thousands of years, humans consumed dairy with A2 beta-casein, which is still the most common version found in dairy produced in Asia and Africa, and in smaller dairy farms worldwide.

There’s only a single amino acid difference between A1 and A2, but it makes a major difference in how the body reacts. A1 tends to increase inflammation, while A2 tends to decrease inflammation. Different people have different levels of reactivity, but it can make a major difference in the digestibility of dairy products for a given individual and in dairy allergies, as well as other inflammatory conditions.

In fact, there is speculation, and early research is underway, that many people diagnosed with lactose intolerance may actually be reacting to the A1 beta-casein, not lactose.

Speaking of lactose, intolerance to it is due to a lack of the enzyme necessary to digest the sugar naturally present in dairy products. This is different from an allergy, which is an immune response to the protein in milk, usually the casein. While the reactions one gets from lactose intolerance can be quite unpleasant, they can be mostly avoided simply by taking supplemental lactase (the enzyme that is lacking), such as from the brand Lactaid.

Finally, there’s grass-fed milk (“grass milk”) versus the much more common dairy from mixed-feed (forage and grain-fed) cows. The most important nutritional difference is that grass milk is higher in Omega-3 and lower in Omega-6 fatty acids than the more-conventional mixed-feed dairy.

Now, let me clarify that there’s not a “bad” type of fatty acid – we need both Omega-3 and Omega-6, but we need them in a ration of about 1:1, or higher on the Omega-3 side of the ratio. Because of our high intake of grains and polyunsaturated cooking oils derived from high Omega-6 sources (corn, soybeans, canola, etc.), the typical American diet tends to be much higher on the Omega-6 side of the ratio, and this tends to dramatically increase systemic inflammation, which makes us prone to things like atherosclerosis and arthritis.

So, while grass-milk alone is unlikely to completely restore the proper balance of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats in your diet, every bit helps, so it’s probably worthwhile to seek it out and pay the higher price for grass milk, especially since grass milk producers will often supply dairy that is also regular pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized) and sometimes of the A2 beta-casein variety as well.

Of course, we really can live quite well without dairy products of any kind, and for those who have a lot of problems consuming dairy, abstinence may be the best option. But if dairy is something you enjoy, but have had difficulty with indigestion or other symptoms when you consume it, you might do well to look for regular pasteurization, grass-fed, A2 dairy. You probably won’t find it in your standard grocery store, but it is usually available at stores like Whole Foods and Natural Grocers.

I guess that’s enough milking of this topic – I hope you found it helpful!

Until next time...

George F. Best, D.C.