I slow-cooked chick peas (that had been soaked for 24 hours) in the crock pot all day today. I crushed garlic (lots of it for swine-flu protection) with salt in my mortar and pestle and added it to chopped tomatoes, fresh parsley, olive oil, mustard and lemon juice. Then I mixed in feta cheese and the chick-peas. I think rice could be added to this for the complete protein.
On a much more positive note than yesterday, I am going to praise Heidi. I am reading this lovely book with my daughter and it is so inspiring I feel like moving to Switzerland and becoming a goat-herder (well maybe not that inspiring). At each meal they relish the fresh bread with toasted cheese and fresh goat's milk. It seems that that's about all they eat. Oh, and some cured meat as well. Doesn't that just sound delightful? The beauty of it for me is that it is so simple, yet infinitely nourishing. And Heidi has such a lust for life that she appreciates it all and stands in awe at the simplest of things.
This is the kind of value I would like to see my children embrace. First, I suppose I have to embrace it. Unfortunately, living simply seems to be quite complicated.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Swine-Flu Ranting
When I eat a hamburger I cook it just enough to brown the outside and then I smother it in my homemade pickles, mayo, mustard and ketchup. I don't use a roll, that detracts from the taste and I'm off gluten anyway. Fermenting your own condiments is a fun and surprisingly easy way to increase nutrient-bang-for-your-buck. These condiments are fermented naturally with salt and whey so they are loaded with life-giving enzymes that take some of the burden off of your body to digest the food.
So, I feel the need to rant and rave about this swine-flu thing. I know, everyone is pretty sick of hearing about it but there are 2 issues that I want to think about and I haven't seen them addressed in mainstream media.
The first issue is cytokine storms. In a very layman's nutshell a cytokine storm is an exaggerated immune system response to a previously unknown pathogen. Normally cytokine acts as a sort of dispatcher to immune cells. It tells them where to go and keeps them on their toes to do their job killing the bad guys. The problem is that sometimes these cytokines get out of control, start acting wild and don't do their dispatch job correctly. This can be quite damaging to the body because if there are too many of these immune cells going all crazy your body can't handle this. An example is if a cytokine storm occurs in the lungs then the overabundance of the immune cells can block airways and cause death.
This was a major problem in the 1918 influenza pandemic. Those with strong immune systems tend to be the victims of cytokine storms, hence the death of many people in the age-range of 20-45 years old. This has been the case in the current swine-flu outbreak as well.
It would be nice to see some media coverage on this one. They keep saying education is key, blah, blah, blah, but they're not saying anything useful. "Wash your hands". Gee, thanks.
I did find this website: http://www.bird-flu-influenza.com/relenza-tamiflu-alternatives-folk-medicines-antivirals.htm, which gives helpful information about treating for bird flu (with cytokine storms in mind). They recommend some things that are anti-viral and some that inhibit cytokine production. It is very helpful. Some things listed are: raw garlic (anti-viral), Vit C (anti-viral and cytokine inhibitor), green tea (anti-viral and cytokine inhibitor), St. Johns Wort (anti-viral and cytokine inhibitor), freshly squeezed apple juice (anti-viral) and more. Some things to avoid were: elderberry juice, honey, chocolate, Kim chi (they all enhance cytokine production) and more. Check out this page if you're worried.
Another bone I have to pick is with the fact that there is absolutely no coverage of the origination of the flu virus! It has been reported (all over Mexico) that the virus comes from a "pig farm" in Perote, Mexico. Ah, guys, that place is no more a farm than my backyard. What it is is a Confined Animal Feeding Operation or CAFO (our gov came up with this name). Do you want to see Wikipedia's definition?
"Confinement at high stocking density is one part of a systematic effort to produce the highest output at the lowest cost by relying on economies of scale, modern machinery, biotechnology, and global trade. Confinement at high stocking density requires antibiotics and pesticides to mitigate the spread of disease and pestilence exacerbated by these crowded living conditions."
(Just in case you didn't know, we are talking about animals here, live animals that actually have nerve endings and everything)
And they go on to say:
"The UN and OIE estimate that in coming decades there will be billions of additional consumers in developing countries eating meat factory farmed in developing countries, but currently only about 40 out of the around 200 countries in the world have the capacity to adequately respond to a health crisis originating from animal disease (such as avian flu, West Nile virus, bluetongue, and foot and mouth disease). Widespread use of antibiotics increases the chance of a pandemic resistant to known measures, which is exacerbated by a globally distributed food system. Decreased genetic diversity increases the chance of a food crisis."
I don't know about you but I have two reactions to this. One, why are those friggin' things allowed to exist?! Two, why are those friggin' things allowed to exist?! Oh, but wait, don't tell me, because I know why.....without them the industrial agriculture giants cannot make billions and billions of dollars. Well we wouldn't want to jeopardize their bottom line in the name of say, reducing the risk of a pandemic virus killing untold numbers of people, now would we? Oh, and what about allowing the doomed animal to live a decent life? No, that would go against everything you are taught in business school about maximizing profits and lowering costs.
Do you want to know what I read in a great book called, The Untold Story of Milk, by Ron Schmid? On page 206-207 he quotes an article from the New York Times Magazine written by Michael Pollan, "To Visit a Modern CAFO".
" Piglets in confinement operations are weaned from their mothers 10 days after birth (compared with 13 weeks in nature) because they gain weight faster on their hormone- and antibiotic -fortified feed. This premature weaning leaves the pigs with a lifelong craving to suck and chew, a desire they gratify in confinement by biting the tail of the animal in front of them. A normal pig would fight off his molester, but a demoralized pig has stopped caring. 'Learned helplessness' is the psychological term, and it's not uncommon in confinement operations, where tens of thousands of hogs spend their lives ignorant of sunshine or earth or straw, crowded together beneath a metal roof upon metal slats suspended over a manure pit.
"So its not surprising that an animal as sensitive and intelligent as a pig would get depressed, and a depressed pig will allow his tail to be chewed on to the point of infection. Sick pigs, being underperforming 'production units', are clubbed to death on the spot. The USDA's recommended solution to the problem is called 'tail docking'. Using a pair of pliers (and no anesthetic), most but not all of the tail is snipped off. Why the little stump? Because the whole point of the exercise is not to remove the object of tail-biting so much as to render it more sensitive. Now, a bite on the tail is so painful that even the most demoralized pig will mount a struggle to avoid it."
That might make you think twice about buying conventional meat again. And just because it is organic, doesn't mean that they're not doing this to the animals. The key to buying quality meat is small-scale, local and pasture-raised animals. These animals are not forced to endure the horrors of mass-production confinement operations. If we buy from local conscientious farmers we are speaking with the loudest voice there is, dollars (or pesos). Let's take our money away from fat corporations with absolutely no regard for the animals nor for the health of the general public, and give it to local farmers who are struggling to survive with no government subsidies and not a lot of consumer love.
And perhaps we won't have to live in fear of catching some bizarre pathogen that crosses 4 species?
So, I feel the need to rant and rave about this swine-flu thing. I know, everyone is pretty sick of hearing about it but there are 2 issues that I want to think about and I haven't seen them addressed in mainstream media.
The first issue is cytokine storms. In a very layman's nutshell a cytokine storm is an exaggerated immune system response to a previously unknown pathogen. Normally cytokine acts as a sort of dispatcher to immune cells. It tells them where to go and keeps them on their toes to do their job killing the bad guys. The problem is that sometimes these cytokines get out of control, start acting wild and don't do their dispatch job correctly. This can be quite damaging to the body because if there are too many of these immune cells going all crazy your body can't handle this. An example is if a cytokine storm occurs in the lungs then the overabundance of the immune cells can block airways and cause death.
This was a major problem in the 1918 influenza pandemic. Those with strong immune systems tend to be the victims of cytokine storms, hence the death of many people in the age-range of 20-45 years old. This has been the case in the current swine-flu outbreak as well.
It would be nice to see some media coverage on this one. They keep saying education is key, blah, blah, blah, but they're not saying anything useful. "Wash your hands". Gee, thanks.
I did find this website: http://www.bird-flu-influenza.com/relenza-tamiflu-alternatives-folk-medicines-antivirals.htm, which gives helpful information about treating for bird flu (with cytokine storms in mind). They recommend some things that are anti-viral and some that inhibit cytokine production. It is very helpful. Some things listed are: raw garlic (anti-viral), Vit C (anti-viral and cytokine inhibitor), green tea (anti-viral and cytokine inhibitor), St. Johns Wort (anti-viral and cytokine inhibitor), freshly squeezed apple juice (anti-viral) and more. Some things to avoid were: elderberry juice, honey, chocolate, Kim chi (they all enhance cytokine production) and more. Check out this page if you're worried.
Another bone I have to pick is with the fact that there is absolutely no coverage of the origination of the flu virus! It has been reported (all over Mexico) that the virus comes from a "pig farm" in Perote, Mexico. Ah, guys, that place is no more a farm than my backyard. What it is is a Confined Animal Feeding Operation or CAFO (our gov came up with this name). Do you want to see Wikipedia's definition?
"Confinement at high stocking density is one part of a systematic effort to produce the highest output at the lowest cost by relying on economies of scale, modern machinery, biotechnology, and global trade. Confinement at high stocking density requires antibiotics and pesticides to mitigate the spread of disease and pestilence exacerbated by these crowded living conditions."
(Just in case you didn't know, we are talking about animals here, live animals that actually have nerve endings and everything)
And they go on to say:
"The UN and OIE estimate that in coming decades there will be billions of additional consumers in developing countries eating meat factory farmed in developing countries, but currently only about 40 out of the around 200 countries in the world have the capacity to adequately respond to a health crisis originating from animal disease (such as avian flu, West Nile virus, bluetongue, and foot and mouth disease). Widespread use of antibiotics increases the chance of a pandemic resistant to known measures, which is exacerbated by a globally distributed food system. Decreased genetic diversity increases the chance of a food crisis."
I don't know about you but I have two reactions to this. One, why are those friggin' things allowed to exist?! Two, why are those friggin' things allowed to exist?! Oh, but wait, don't tell me, because I know why.....without them the industrial agriculture giants cannot make billions and billions of dollars. Well we wouldn't want to jeopardize their bottom line in the name of say, reducing the risk of a pandemic virus killing untold numbers of people, now would we? Oh, and what about allowing the doomed animal to live a decent life? No, that would go against everything you are taught in business school about maximizing profits and lowering costs.
Do you want to know what I read in a great book called, The Untold Story of Milk, by Ron Schmid? On page 206-207 he quotes an article from the New York Times Magazine written by Michael Pollan, "To Visit a Modern CAFO".
" Piglets in confinement operations are weaned from their mothers 10 days after birth (compared with 13 weeks in nature) because they gain weight faster on their hormone- and antibiotic -fortified feed. This premature weaning leaves the pigs with a lifelong craving to suck and chew, a desire they gratify in confinement by biting the tail of the animal in front of them. A normal pig would fight off his molester, but a demoralized pig has stopped caring. 'Learned helplessness' is the psychological term, and it's not uncommon in confinement operations, where tens of thousands of hogs spend their lives ignorant of sunshine or earth or straw, crowded together beneath a metal roof upon metal slats suspended over a manure pit.
"So its not surprising that an animal as sensitive and intelligent as a pig would get depressed, and a depressed pig will allow his tail to be chewed on to the point of infection. Sick pigs, being underperforming 'production units', are clubbed to death on the spot. The USDA's recommended solution to the problem is called 'tail docking'. Using a pair of pliers (and no anesthetic), most but not all of the tail is snipped off. Why the little stump? Because the whole point of the exercise is not to remove the object of tail-biting so much as to render it more sensitive. Now, a bite on the tail is so painful that even the most demoralized pig will mount a struggle to avoid it."
That might make you think twice about buying conventional meat again. And just because it is organic, doesn't mean that they're not doing this to the animals. The key to buying quality meat is small-scale, local and pasture-raised animals. These animals are not forced to endure the horrors of mass-production confinement operations. If we buy from local conscientious farmers we are speaking with the loudest voice there is, dollars (or pesos). Let's take our money away from fat corporations with absolutely no regard for the animals nor for the health of the general public, and give it to local farmers who are struggling to survive with no government subsidies and not a lot of consumer love.
And perhaps we won't have to live in fear of catching some bizarre pathogen that crosses 4 species?
Monday, April 27, 2009
French Onion Soup
My french onion soup is just so delectable! I saute 5 onions in about 3-4 tablespoons of butter and another 3 of olive oil and a pinch of thyme for about 15 minutes. Then I lower the heat and simmer for another hour or so. I then add 2 tablespoons of high quality cognac and cook it off. Then I add about 5 cups of home-made beef stock, bring to a boil and simmer for another 20 minutes. I transfer the soup to an oven-safe pot with a lid (I forget what these are called), grate in about 1/2 lb of comte cheese, then bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. I don't add bread because of the gluten-free thing but it's good either way, I've found. Yumilicious!
If food can cure then this soup must be very effective.
I'm really on the countdown now. Four more days of eating. OK, I'm getting nervous.
If food can cure then this soup must be very effective.
I'm really on the countdown now. Four more days of eating. OK, I'm getting nervous.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
The Beef High
As my husband would say, "mmmmmm, pork". His home country has pork as the national animal, he, he, he. One day I decided to marinate some pork chops in soy sauce, garlic and lemon and I cooked it up the next day with brown rice slow-cooked in beef stock. My husband thought he had died and gone to heaven. "This is Pork Adobo!" he breathed, as he abandoned his fork, grabbed another piece and began to chew on some fat.
There is a peace in our house now, that wasn't there before. And it's not just because my husband is finally married to a woman who cooks what he actually wants to eat. Rather, it is due to, what I call, the "beef high" (although this term is somewhat self-limiting). With the drastic change in our diet came lots of lovely endorphins.
I was brought up in a "hippy household" I suppose. We had a huge garden, we ate tofu, brown rice and fresh veggies. Meat was taboo, especially after my step-father took a part-time job at a local chicken slaughterhouse. When I was little I craved meat and sugar and ate them whenever I had the chance. As an adult I unconciously accepted the theory that meat is bad for you but at the same time I was never fully convinced. I trudged along on pasta, chicken, veggies and more pasta. Food was never really very satisfying. Oh, things did taste good but I was never satisfied, somehow I was looking for more. Maybe that's why I was able to scarf down 3 heaping bowls of pasta in one meal. Oh, and that's probably why I gained a lot of weight.
But once I started eating high quality red meat, pork, seafood and a lot more fat I began to get endorphin rushes at almost every meal. And one day I realized that my overall mood was much calmer and peaceful than it had been. That feeling is still with me, 6 months later. It is hard to describe but it is something like; now I am blessed with a sweet contentment that stays with me all day. And "pork bliss" aside, my husband has noticed he feels the same way.
Now, I liken this to driving a VW for a long time and then getting behind the wheel of a mercedes. You may have been perfectly content with the VW but it wasn't until you drove the mercedes that you realized something was sorely lacking (lucky for us the good food is more accessible than the mercedes).
If nothing else, I think we should enjoy life. That is why I want to drive the mercedes and eat wholesome food that gives me a rush.
There is a peace in our house now, that wasn't there before. And it's not just because my husband is finally married to a woman who cooks what he actually wants to eat. Rather, it is due to, what I call, the "beef high" (although this term is somewhat self-limiting). With the drastic change in our diet came lots of lovely endorphins.
I was brought up in a "hippy household" I suppose. We had a huge garden, we ate tofu, brown rice and fresh veggies. Meat was taboo, especially after my step-father took a part-time job at a local chicken slaughterhouse. When I was little I craved meat and sugar and ate them whenever I had the chance. As an adult I unconciously accepted the theory that meat is bad for you but at the same time I was never fully convinced. I trudged along on pasta, chicken, veggies and more pasta. Food was never really very satisfying. Oh, things did taste good but I was never satisfied, somehow I was looking for more. Maybe that's why I was able to scarf down 3 heaping bowls of pasta in one meal. Oh, and that's probably why I gained a lot of weight.
But once I started eating high quality red meat, pork, seafood and a lot more fat I began to get endorphin rushes at almost every meal. And one day I realized that my overall mood was much calmer and peaceful than it had been. That feeling is still with me, 6 months later. It is hard to describe but it is something like; now I am blessed with a sweet contentment that stays with me all day. And "pork bliss" aside, my husband has noticed he feels the same way.
Now, I liken this to driving a VW for a long time and then getting behind the wheel of a mercedes. You may have been perfectly content with the VW but it wasn't until you drove the mercedes that you realized something was sorely lacking (lucky for us the good food is more accessible than the mercedes).
If nothing else, I think we should enjoy life. That is why I want to drive the mercedes and eat wholesome food that gives me a rush.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Food Renegade's Fight Back Fridays
Another real food lover has a blog called "Food Renegade". Every Friday bloggers, all holding the common interest of fighting to get real food the norm, share links from her site to our various posts on the topic.
Quoted from Food Renegade:
"Well, fellow Food Renegades, it’s that time of the week again! We are bringing together a collection of recipes, tips, anecdotes, and testimonies — each from a lover of Real Food.
Quoted from Food Renegade:
"Well, fellow Food Renegades, it’s that time of the week again! We are bringing together a collection of recipes, tips, anecdotes, and testimonies — each from a lover of Real Food.
Last week’s carnival was inspiring! Thirty-seven bloggers participated, many of them first timers. If you didn’t check it out, you should. You’ll find a wealth of great articles and posts there. It’s my personal hope that Fight Back Fridays will unite many of us coming from within different circles of the Real Food Revolution so that our influence can grow, so that we can change the way America (and the industrialized world) eats!
So, let’s have some fun."
Check it out. Lots of great posts: http://www.foodrenegade.com/fight-back-fridays-april-24th/#comment-2206
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Indulge No More
Words cannot express how wonderful it is to be eating a nice juicy steak! And this isn't just any steak. It is tenderloin from a pasture-raised cow that has been broiled in garlic, mushrooms, sea salt and sherry, just enough to brown the outside. This delectable delight was served with short-grain brown rice that was slow cooked in butter, beef stock and sea salt. I know your mouth is watering.
I have finally gotten used to not eating bread. I am going gluten-free until after the milk diet because I've read that gluten is a common cause of many health problems, one of which is Hashimoto's (which I have). I also thought that it would be easier to do the milk diet if I slowly cut back on things that I really relish so that I'm not going through multiple with-drawls all at once. I just love having my lovely home-made rolls with tons of butter and raw honey. Oh, I don't even want to think about it. But my cravings for it have passed now (after about a week).
So the gluten thing is a non-issue now (although I hope to be able to tolerate small amounts later on). I'm going to make a nice big batch of peanut butter cookies and carob chews. Those are to be eaten at night with large and luscious glasses of raw milk. Can you hear me sighing?
But, they have to be finished by next Monday because that is when I stop that sort of indulgence. I think that by May 1st, when I start my 2-day fast, I should be over craving those carob chews and peanut butter cookies.
Carob Chews, if you are not familiar, are simply wonderful, delightful snacks. I got the recipe from Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon.
You will need:
1/2 cup raw honey
1/2 cup carob powder
1 Tbls vanilla extract
1 Tbls almond extract
1 cup almonds
1 cup cashews
1 cup coconut meat
1 tsp sea salt
First I grind the almonds, cashews and salt in my food processor (mind you I have soaked and dried the nuts beforehand). Then I gently heat the raw honey (just to body temperature so the enzymes stay alive) in a double-broiler. I add the carob and extracts to the honey and mix with a wooden spoon. Then I pour the mixture into the ground nuts and add the coconut meat and mix in the food processor. After, I spread the mixture out on a cookie sheet and refrigerate. When it's cooled I take it out, let it warm a little and cut into little squares and re-refrigerate. They are a great, energy-boosting snack that kids love!
I have finally gotten used to not eating bread. I am going gluten-free until after the milk diet because I've read that gluten is a common cause of many health problems, one of which is Hashimoto's (which I have). I also thought that it would be easier to do the milk diet if I slowly cut back on things that I really relish so that I'm not going through multiple with-drawls all at once. I just love having my lovely home-made rolls with tons of butter and raw honey. Oh, I don't even want to think about it. But my cravings for it have passed now (after about a week).
So the gluten thing is a non-issue now (although I hope to be able to tolerate small amounts later on). I'm going to make a nice big batch of peanut butter cookies and carob chews. Those are to be eaten at night with large and luscious glasses of raw milk. Can you hear me sighing?
But, they have to be finished by next Monday because that is when I stop that sort of indulgence. I think that by May 1st, when I start my 2-day fast, I should be over craving those carob chews and peanut butter cookies.
Carob Chews, if you are not familiar, are simply wonderful, delightful snacks. I got the recipe from Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon.
You will need:
1/2 cup raw honey
1/2 cup carob powder
1 Tbls vanilla extract
1 Tbls almond extract
1 cup almonds
1 cup cashews
1 cup coconut meat
1 tsp sea salt
First I grind the almonds, cashews and salt in my food processor (mind you I have soaked and dried the nuts beforehand). Then I gently heat the raw honey (just to body temperature so the enzymes stay alive) in a double-broiler. I add the carob and extracts to the honey and mix with a wooden spoon. Then I pour the mixture into the ground nuts and add the coconut meat and mix in the food processor. After, I spread the mixture out on a cookie sheet and refrigerate. When it's cooled I take it out, let it warm a little and cut into little squares and re-refrigerate. They are a great, energy-boosting snack that kids love!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Yes, I Admit It, Milk Can Be Nasty
Leftovers. Still good though. But I added some lightly steamed broccoli with my all-time favorite dip: yogurt with mashed garlic, salt and lemon. So simple, so tasty!
For those of you whose reaction to hearing that I will consume only raw milk for one month is, "that is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard of", I understand where you're coming from. I too found milk pretty repulsive, basically my whole life. But the thing that you are thinking of when I say milk is quite different from the heavenly liquid I will be consuming in large amounts in May.
Conventional milk that you buy in most supermarkets is stuff that I would avoid at all costs. If it is ultra-pasteurized and homogenized (almost all of it is) and lowfat you are talking about something that is completely different from the original product.
The original product itself is pretty nasty. Think about it, cows forced to stand continuously on concrete floors while they are milked incessantly (average over 6 gallons a day) and fed anything from GMO grains and soy by-products to bovine growth hormones (so bad they are illegal in Canada) and "sludge" (ethanol by-product filled with lovely chemical residues). And don't forget the antibiotics and pus that come out of these heavily medicated yet sickly animals (average life span is 42 months for a confinement cow as opposed to 12-15 years for a pasture-raised one).
And since there is so much nastiness in the original product, pasteurization is a wonderful tool. Who needs to worry about keeping pathogens out when you're going to cook it anyway? Ultra-pasteurized milk is cooked at a cozy temperature of 230 to 285 degrees F! Boiled milk anyone?
Yes, it kills all the bad stuff, but it kills the good stuff too. You know, the vitamins, minerals, enzymes and beneficial, pathogen-killing bacteria. Mmmmm, my favorite, dead bacteria in my cereal! Don't think that just because it's dead it can't affect you, some say that this cooked bacteria can cause an immune response that leads to autism. I don't think this theory has been subjected to much research but why risk it?
Homogenization breaks down the size of the fat globules in milk. Makes' em tiny so we don't have to see how much fat is in there. Although people used to like that because it gave them a clue as to how healthy the cows were that the milk came from. The healthier the cow (good diet of grass and hay and lots of time outdoors usually did the trick) the more cream would be in the milk. Oh, yeah and homogenization has been linked to heart disease.
But why would big dairy manufacturers care about your health? Ultra-pasteurization and homogenization make it possible for milk to be shipped across the country. This stuff does not go bad! You don't even have to refrigerate it for up to 6 months! They just put it in the cooler section because no one wants to buy milk that doesn't need to be refrigerated.
And don't think that just because it's organic that you're in the clear. Read the label. Almost all organic milk you see these days has been ultra-pasteurized and much of it comes from cows living out their dreary lives in confinement.
Lowfat is not where it's at. In the process of making skim milk nitrates are produced (carcinogenic) and cholesterol is oxidized (linked to plaque build-up in the arteries). Not happy news for those drinking skim milk to avoid cancer and heart disease! And although there is lots of protein in the milk there is not enough fat for our bodies to absorb it properly. So our body calls in the Vitamin A reserves from the liver to help out. Sigh.
OK, so all of you milk-haters, we're on the same page with that stuff. But raw milk that comes from healthy, happy cows who spend their time grazing pesticide-free grass is just brimming with good stuff. Maybe I'll touch on it lightly and save more for another day. But for now let me just say that the raw milk I'm thinking of has the following: phosphorus, chlorine, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, iodine, vitamins A, C, B6, B12, and K2, and is loaded with protective bacteria and life-sustaining enzymes. And there is lots of fat, making it quite easy for your body to digest and absorb these nutrients.
Yum.
For those of you whose reaction to hearing that I will consume only raw milk for one month is, "that is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard of", I understand where you're coming from. I too found milk pretty repulsive, basically my whole life. But the thing that you are thinking of when I say milk is quite different from the heavenly liquid I will be consuming in large amounts in May.
Conventional milk that you buy in most supermarkets is stuff that I would avoid at all costs. If it is ultra-pasteurized and homogenized (almost all of it is) and lowfat you are talking about something that is completely different from the original product.
The original product itself is pretty nasty. Think about it, cows forced to stand continuously on concrete floors while they are milked incessantly (average over 6 gallons a day) and fed anything from GMO grains and soy by-products to bovine growth hormones (so bad they are illegal in Canada) and "sludge" (ethanol by-product filled with lovely chemical residues). And don't forget the antibiotics and pus that come out of these heavily medicated yet sickly animals (average life span is 42 months for a confinement cow as opposed to 12-15 years for a pasture-raised one).
And since there is so much nastiness in the original product, pasteurization is a wonderful tool. Who needs to worry about keeping pathogens out when you're going to cook it anyway? Ultra-pasteurized milk is cooked at a cozy temperature of 230 to 285 degrees F! Boiled milk anyone?
Yes, it kills all the bad stuff, but it kills the good stuff too. You know, the vitamins, minerals, enzymes and beneficial, pathogen-killing bacteria. Mmmmm, my favorite, dead bacteria in my cereal! Don't think that just because it's dead it can't affect you, some say that this cooked bacteria can cause an immune response that leads to autism. I don't think this theory has been subjected to much research but why risk it?
Homogenization breaks down the size of the fat globules in milk. Makes' em tiny so we don't have to see how much fat is in there. Although people used to like that because it gave them a clue as to how healthy the cows were that the milk came from. The healthier the cow (good diet of grass and hay and lots of time outdoors usually did the trick) the more cream would be in the milk. Oh, yeah and homogenization has been linked to heart disease.
But why would big dairy manufacturers care about your health? Ultra-pasteurization and homogenization make it possible for milk to be shipped across the country. This stuff does not go bad! You don't even have to refrigerate it for up to 6 months! They just put it in the cooler section because no one wants to buy milk that doesn't need to be refrigerated.
And don't think that just because it's organic that you're in the clear. Read the label. Almost all organic milk you see these days has been ultra-pasteurized and much of it comes from cows living out their dreary lives in confinement.
Lowfat is not where it's at. In the process of making skim milk nitrates are produced (carcinogenic) and cholesterol is oxidized (linked to plaque build-up in the arteries). Not happy news for those drinking skim milk to avoid cancer and heart disease! And although there is lots of protein in the milk there is not enough fat for our bodies to absorb it properly. So our body calls in the Vitamin A reserves from the liver to help out. Sigh.
OK, so all of you milk-haters, we're on the same page with that stuff. But raw milk that comes from healthy, happy cows who spend their time grazing pesticide-free grass is just brimming with good stuff. Maybe I'll touch on it lightly and save more for another day. But for now let me just say that the raw milk I'm thinking of has the following: phosphorus, chlorine, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, iodine, vitamins A, C, B6, B12, and K2, and is loaded with protective bacteria and life-sustaining enzymes. And there is lots of fat, making it quite easy for your body to digest and absorb these nutrients.
Yum.
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