digestive problems

Ask yourself this question: do you agree that anything in its natural and unprocessed form, the way God designed it, is always better for us as opposed to super-heated, processed foods? Do you agree that the fewer the steps between where your food originated and your table, the more nutritious it is? Keep those questions in mind as you continue reading…

I split up the information so it wasn’t too long and overwhelming.

• Post #1 – The benefits of raw milk are explained in today’s post.
• Post #2 – Raw milk safety is discussed, along with the logistics (where to get it, costs, etc.)
• Post #3 is a guest post from Karen Lubbers, a local farmer who sells cow shares to those who want to obtain raw milk in the Grand Rapids, MI area. She’ll talk about their farm, more about safety issues and answer other questions about good, clean farming practices. (Update: see pictures from our trip to Lubbers Family Farm!)
• Post #4 is a guest post from a friend, Michelle, on how they decided raw milk was the best choice for their family, or “fresh” milk as Michelle prefers to call it!
• Also, here you can find the complete list of posts about raw milk.
  

The topic of drinking raw, unpasteurized milk tends to elicit some interesting responses from people. But since my site has been up a few weeks now, I thought it was time to give you another dose of the “politically incorrect” nutritional information I promised, so hang on, here we go…

What the heck is “raw” milk anyway?

If you’re like I was, you have no idea what raw milk even is, and personally, I agree with my friend, Michelle, I’d rather it was called, “fresh milk” – it just sounds better! (Although I’ve learned how important it is to include more raw foods into our diets for better nutrition…more on that later.) Raw milk is simply this: milk right from the farm, with no processing/pasteurizing/heating, no transporting in big tanker trucks to big factories to big stores. But it is SO MUCH more than that…

Yep, this Kitchen Kop freak has gone over the edge for sure…

The first time I found out someone I knew (a friend, Kathy) was drinking unpasteurized milk, I thought she was nuts. I’d never heard of anyone doing such a thing, and I didn’t know WHY anyone would. She gave me some to try and I had the same response others have had who try our milk from the farm, “But…it tastes just like milk!” My husband, Kent, who grew up on a farm, said, “No kidding, Kel, what did you think it was going to taste like?” (Sometimes the taste does change depending on what the cows are eating, but most of the time I actually think it tastes better than “regular” milk from the store, much more fresh, that’s the only word I can think of to describe it. Also, for those of you who think whole milk is “too thick”, whole raw milk has a much lighter taste to it.) I also remember thinking, “I thought we had to drink pasteurized milk so it didn’t have harmful germs in it!” This was a huge concern for me, so my next post will cover the topic of safety issues in raw milk.

Have you heard about how nutritious it is?

Raw milk has all of its original vitamins, minerals, protein and enzymes for proper digestion still intact! It’s truly a nutritional superfood! All these different nutrients in real milk are together for a reason – because each piece of the puzzle fits together just how God intended in order for our bodies to best assimilate it all. But pasteurization kills most of the beneficial nutrients and then synthetic ingredients are put back in – the once perfect food from nature becomes a fake. Not to mention all the other junk that gets put into conventional milk:

• Most conventional milk now comes from cows who are in confinement, instead of being out grazing on grass like they’re supposed to be, and this makes for cows who become ill more easily. More infections equals more antibiotics, which we then consume when we eat the tainted beef or drink the tainted milk, and our resistance to antibiotics goes up even further. So the next time we really need them to work, they may not be as effective.
• Often conventional dairy cows are given genetically engineered Bovine Growth Hormones to increase milk output (and profits), which can cause more infections in the cows, and even more antibiotics, not to mention a build-up of estrogen in the humans who consume that milk – ever wonder why girls develop earlier and boys later these days? (Read more about the effects of excess estrogen in our environment and its link to cancer, infertility, and other issues.)
• When the cream is taken out of the milk to make it lower in fat content, something has to be put back in to give it the creamy consistency people expect. Usually it is dry milk powder. Here’s the irony: dry milk powder contains oxidized cholesterol which causes your “bad cholesterol”/LDL to go up. So when you drink low-fat milk to supposedly protect your heart health, you’re actually harming your heart even more! Wikipedia.org (online encyclopedia) explained it this way: “Compared to fresh milk, powdered milk (and powdered eggs) are stated to be exceptionally high in oxysterols (oxidized cholesterol).[1] The free radicals have been stated to have atherogenic (“causing atherosclerosis“)[2] and carcinogenic (“causing cancer“) properties.[3] Powdered milk is frequently added to 1-2% pasteurized milk to give it more body.”[4]

And remember healthy fats, like dairy fat, helps you when you’re dieting, too!

Conventional dairy cows live 4 years compared to cows out on pasture the way God intended: 12-15 years. That alone tells you there must be something very wrong going on.

Allergies and other health issues

It makes sense that many people are healed from allergies and other health issues when they stop drinking pasteurized milk and instead drink raw milk with all the probiotics, vitamins, minerals and enzymes still alive and in their natural form. Pasteurized milk has been linked to asthma, bowel diseases (more about this in part 2), immune system diseases, and many more. There are multiple stories of how drinking raw milk has provided huge health benefits, and I happen to know of one personally. My friend’s daughter was allergic to all dairy products, until she began drinking raw milk, eating raw cheese, etc. Now she has absolutely no problems with dairy at all. (Also, see the link below for a U-tube video talking about this.)

By the way, some people tell me this is a non-issue for them, since they’re not milk drinkers anyway. I’m hoping those of you will revisit that decision not to drink milk, or give it another try. Milk in its original, natural form from grass-fed cows is FULL of what our bodies need – it’s that way because it’s how God made it!

Not convinced? Don’t believe me!
Do some research yourself and see what you come up with. There’s no doubt that you’ll find plenty of debate on both sides of the argument. But if you think there might be some truth to what I’m saying, take the time to do some more reading. The links below are a good start!

• Still don’t think you’ll switch to raw milk? Read here about the next-best options for healthy milk
• Have you heard of Weston A. Price?
• Eating healthy on a budget
• My “food conversion” story
• Part #2 in raw milk series covers raw milk safety and some logistics – where to buy it, costs, etc.
• Part #3 is a guest post from Karen Lubbers, who answers more questions about raw milk safety and clean farming practices
• Part #4 is a testimony from my friend, Michelle, on how she and David decided raw milk was the best choice for their family

• Why ultra-pasteurized milk is even less healthy than regular pasteurized milk, organic or not! Check the dates on your milk! A date 2 months away is NOT a good thing!
• Good overview on the benefits of raw milk
• Great article about raw milk by an angry Chef
• Interesting about differences in cleanliness regulations and nutritional content of raw milk vs. past.milk
• Scroll down at this site to find a source for local raw milk
• On YouTube: Organic Pastures Dairy owner Mark McAfee talks about raw milk
• Just found this site with links to raw milk websites, recipes, & discussion groups

(Many more topics along the right in the sidebar!)

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COD LIVER OIL SERIES (See the complete index of posts about CLO)

UPDATE: FOR EVEN MORE NUTRITION, BE SURE TO READ ABOUT A NEW PRODUCT, FERMENTED COD LIVER OIL.

You won’t believe all the ways a daily dose of Cod liver oil can help you. Many pages could be written on this topic, but lest you fall asleep on me, I’ll give you the shortened version, and if you don’t even want to know that much (or you’re already convinced), just skip to the links below for:

• Part 2 - Cod liver oil: tips for getting it down
• Part 3 – Cod liver oil: what to buy, where to buy it, and how much to take
• This is part 1 – Do we really need to take it?

Until the late 1940’s most Americans took this superfood every day. However, these days the typical American diet is full of foods that provide plenty of omega-6 essential fatty acids (found in vegetable oils, packaged foods, and more…), but not enough of the omega-3 essential fatty acids – DHA & EPA (found in cod liver oil, egg yolks from properly fed hens, organ meats from grass-fed animals, and some fish.) According to wikipedia.org, our diets typically have “omega-6 to omega-3 ratios in excess of 10 to 1, some as high as 30 to 1. The optimal ratio is thought to be 4 to 1 or lower.”

“Essential fatty acid ratios”…who cares?!

This all sounds like mumbo jumbo until you understand that when these ratios are off, studies are increasingly showing that it can affect many areas of our health. Even the American Heart Association, (who in my opinion don’t always give the best advice), say on their site, “Omega-3 fatty acids benefit the heart of healthy people, and those at high risk of — or who have — cardiovascular disease.”

Not just for your heart

However, the omega-3’s in cod liver oil aren’t just for heart health. Read the related sites below for more details.

If you have a specific ailment and you are wondering how cod liver oil can help you, do an internet search and see what you can find.

Read more here: Cod liver oil – the number one superfood!

It could make a huge difference for you

In some cases you may notice a big difference when taking cod liver oil, in other cases you may notice benefits slowly over time as you also implement other treatments and dietary changes. (Be in contact with a good naturopath or a doctor you trust who is open to looking at the whole picture, not just drug therapies.)

Why not just take flax seed or plain fish oil?

As explained above, one of the biggest reasons cod liver oil is so beneficial to us is because of the omega-3’s it contains, but if you take a good brand (see link to part 3 below), you’ll also be getting the very important A & D vitamins, and this is why cod liver oil is a better choice for omega-3’s than just incorporating flax seed into your diet.  (More on why you shouldn’t get too much flax.)

Also, plain fish oil (liquid or capsules) usually doesn’t have vitamins A & D (or it won’t have them in the correct ratios) as the fermented cod liver oil.

Lastly, as Nina Planck says in her book, Real Food: What to Eat and Why, “The body can make EPA and DHA from flaxseed oil, but the conversion is uncertain and imperfect. It bears repeating: fish is vastly superior to plant sources of omega-3 fats.”

Enough omega 3’s in cod liver oil?

Keep in mind that omega 3 amounts in cod liver oil, while significant, still need to be a part of a diet including omega 3 foods as well:  fish, grass fed beef and dairy, etc.

Too much vitamin A?

Doctors may advise against high amounts of vitamin A in your diet and tell you not to take a daily supplement like cod liver oil for that reason. But one thing important to know is that the KIND of vitamin A makes a big difference.  Read more here about the importance of proper ratios of vitamin A & D in cod liver oil.

Read about why vitamin A is so important, and another article about vitamin A benefits.

Sunlight and vitamin D

Read all about the benefits of vitamin D in your diet or from the sun.

(Read more about the bad rap sunshine has gotten.)

Important note about vitamin D and possible toxicity:

One thing to remember – as much as we need enough vitamin D, like anything, some say it’s possible to get too much as well, and sites like Dr. Mercola encourage you to get tested if you’re in the sun a lot. But according to this Vitamin D Council site, it’s very uncommon to get too much vitamin D. If you get a LOT of sun and are concerned, read here to find out more about testing your vitamin D levels. Also, read this about who should be extra careful about the amounts of vitamin D they take.

One more important thing:

When you’re taking good quality cod liver oil, you also need to be sure you’re getting enough calcium in your diet. Vitamin D regulates the amount in your blood, and if it’s not there, it will deplete it from your bones. As explained in the book, “Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats“, “make sure your diet contains adequate calcium and magnesium with plentiful whole dairy products, bone broths and lightly cooked green vegetables along with certain nutrient-dense animal products such as butter, organ meats and shellfish. These will provide a calcium- and magnesium-rich diet as well as the fat-soluble vitamins necessary for their absorption.”

That’s not all!

This was a just quick overview on how powerful and important cod liver oil is and why we need to make it a daily habit. Read the other parts of the series below to find out more…

Part 2 – Cod liver oil: tips for getting it down

Part 3 – Cod liver oil: what to buy and where to buy it and how much to take

Answers to common CLO questions Find out how much you should take.

• Are supplements necessary?
• Where is the truth on health and nutrition?
• Info on possible vitamin toxicity from Chris Masterjohn
• More info on possible vitamin toxicity in a cod liver oil update from Sally Fallon

• Pregnant or nursing moms, read this article on the importance of omega 3’s for your baby’s brain development!
• How cod liver oil can help if you have depression or anxiety issues
• More information on how much is too much vitamin A.
• Read this to find out if you should limit the amount of cod liver oil you take
• “Omega 3’s can prevent sunburn” – scroll down about 2/3 on this page to read about that and more on the many benefits of cod liver oil.
• A great overview for more detailed information on cod liver oil and it’s many benefits.
• Read about where exactly cod liver oil comes from and why some brands are much superior to others.
• Information on the correct amount of cod liver oil needed daily for adults, children, and pregnant or nursing moms.
• Cod liver oil and constipation treatment

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