Are You Lactose Intolerant?
If you have been diagnosed with lactose intolerance, there is a good possibility that you are just pasteurized milk intolerant. Let me explain.
Milk contains lactose sugar. The enzyme latase splits lactose into two simple sugars: galactose and glucose. In raw milk, lactase is produced by certain naturally occurring lactic-acid producing bacteria. Pasteurization inactivates these bacteria and the lactase they produce. The enzyme lactase also occurs naturally in the lining of the intestines of all normal human infants and decreases after the age of about three or four. Many people who do not digest pasteurized milk and are thought to be lactose intolerant, digest raw milk without any problems. This is due in part to the lactase content in raw milk.
In addition, pasteurization is the reason milk produces mucus. If all the enzymes are present and the milk can be digested properly, it does not produce phlegm. I have experienced this first hand. I was diagnosed as lactose intolerant and drinking milk produced digestive distress and a great deal of phlegm. Once I switched to raw milk, I had no phlegm and no symptoms of lactose intolerance.
Pasteurization was done for the dairy farmers not for the consumer. It is a matter of fact that under identical conditions the bacteria count of raw milk is significantly lower than pasteurized milk. According to the USDA, the bacteria count of pasteurized milk must be 10,000 or less per milliliter of milk. On the other hand, studies have shown that the bacteria count of raw milk was between four and five hundred per milliliter of milk. So you can see that pasteurization is not for your safety but for added shelf life and for the convenience of the dairy farmer.
According to the USDA’s definition of adulterated milk, pasteurized milk is an adulterated food.
Milk is a well-balanced, nutritious food. It has been well documented that people have lived for 40 plus years on milk alone. It has also been successfully used in weight loss. If you would like to know more about how to incorporate raw milk into your life, please contact me and I will be glad to help.
Doc Earl