This section on milk has to do with it's nutritional qualities. One thing to understand up front is that any being is only as healthy as the food that it eats. That's one reason we feed our animals the best quality of food that we can afford--because they reward us with such flavorful and nutritious foods in return. Another thing to remember is that each kind of milk is tailored to feed the baby animal that is drinking it.
 |
| What's in your milk? |
In a 1 cup serving of human milk, there are 34mg of cholesterol, 42mg of sodium, and 17g of sugar. A 1 cup serving of goat's milk has 27mg of cholesterol, 122mg of sodium, and 11g of sugar. In cow's milk, there are 24 mg of cholesterol, 98 mg sodium, and 13g sugar. Sheep milk contains 66g of cholesterol, 108 mg sodium, and only trace amounts of sugar.
The most significant vitamins and minerals in a 1 cup serving of human milk are (in Daily Value percentages) Vitamin A - 10%, Vitamin C - 21%, Riboflavin - 5%, Pantothenic Acid - 5%, Calcium - 8%, Copper - 6%, and Selenium - 6%. There are, of course, many other nutrients in milk, and the Daily Values reflect those of an adult, not an infant. Goat's milk has Vitamin A - 10%, Vitamin C - 5%, Vitamin D - 7%, Thiamine - 8%, Riboflavin - 20%, Vitamin B6 - 6%, Pantothenic Acid - 8%, Calcium - 33%, Choline - 39mg, Magnesium - 9%, Phosphorus - 27%, Potassium - 14%, Zinc - 5%, Copper - 6%, and Selenium - 5%. One serving of cow's milk contains Vitamin A - 5%, Vitamin D 24%, Thiamine - 7%, Riboflavin - 26%, Vitamin B12 - 18%, Pantothenic Acid - 9%, Choline - 34.9mg, Calcium - 28%, Magnesium - 6%, Phosphorus - 22%, Potassium - 10%, Zinc - 7%, and Selenium - 13%. Sheep's milk major nutrients are Vitamin A - 7%, Vitamin C - 17%, Thiamine - 11%, Riboflavin - 51%, Niacin - 5%, Vitamin B6 - 7%, Vitamin B12 - 29%, Pantothenic Acid - 10%, Calcium - 47%, Magnesium - 11%, Phosphorus - 39% - Potassium - 10%, Zinc - 9%, Copper - 6%, and Selenium - 6%.
So what are other differences between the milks? Lots of things can be expressed in milk. Hormones, pesticides, and drugs, for example. For example, a cow who has mastitis and was given antibiotics to treat it will have milk that will kill all the bacteria in the milk for at least 24 hrs. You can't make cheese with it, because none of the culture will grow in it, even when it's been pasteurized. On the other hand, a human mother who consumes non organic meat, milk, and produce will have pesticides in her breast milk. It is interesting to note that plants do not store pesticides in their fruit; rather it tends to remain on the surface/peel, whereas pesticides settle in animals' meats, fat, and milk. It's simply another example of "you are what you eat." If we're careful with what we put onto and into our food sources (veggies, fruit, chickens, cows, etc), then we can be more confident that our food is healthier to begin with.
Over 80% of modern cattle have not only been bred to be super big and produce up to 25 gallons of milk a day, but have been given hormones and steroids. In contrast, the best dairy goats can only do about 2 gallons a day during spring and are not generally given hormones or steroids. The steroids and hormones given to these cattle are expressed in the milk and can be ingested via the meat. Since the 80's the European Union has decried and banned the use of hormones and steroids in livestock except in individual therapeutic cases, and has also banned the importation of US grown beef due to our use of hormones and steroids. The hormones given to the dairy cattle are estrogen based, and there have been indications that these estrogens are negatively effecting our children most especially. However, there seems to be greater culprits for estrogen-related problems than cow estrogens (artificial or otherwise), namely, soy and a group of chemicals called phthalates.
What about the infamous lactose? Interestingly, human milk has the highest percentage of lactose at 9% over cow, goat, and sheep milks. Cow milk has 4.7%, goat milk 4.1%, and sheep milk 4.9%. Indeed, formula companies add lactose to regular formula to make it more palatable to infants. Mammal's milk contains lactose, and baby mammals produce lactase, an enzyme that digests lactose in the gut. The production of this enzyme decreases as milk consumption is decreased. In people whose ethnic backgrounds include cultures where milk and cheese aren't consumed with any regularity after weaning, lactase may not be produced at all. Some people are born without the ability to produce lactase, or produce it in limited quantities, even as an infant. In these people eating dairy products can result in uncomfortable gas and other such gut symptoms.
Why then, is goat's and sheep's milk often easier to digest than cow's milk? The answer to this may lie in the milk protein itself. Many modern cows have developed a mutation of the casein milk protein. This mutated milk protein is labeled "A1," and the older version of the protein is labeled "A2." While the differences in these two proteins may be subtle to our eyes, they make a big difference to our body. This A1 milk has been strongly liked to heart disease and type 1 diabetes. It has even been linked with autism and schizophrenia. There has been very little research here in the US done on this, whereas in New Zealand and Australia they have begun to remove A1 producers form the herds. Indeed, lawsuits are being filed with the big dairys there that have ignored this research and continued to produce A1 milk. A1 milk does not have these issues. So, how can you tell if the milk is A1 or A2? Almost all of the Frisian breed of cattle aka Holsteins--the black and white ones in the ads) are A1 milk. The other breeds of cattle have a mixture and may need to have tests run on the milk. (Currently the test is only available Down Under.) Although, Guernsey milk is almost all A2. Another stroke of luck is that goat and sheep milk seems to have avoided this mutation at all; they only produce A2 milk. Another reason goat milk may be the most digestible is the fact that its curds are small and soft, where as cow milk curds get large and can be quite tough.
Sources:
Nutrition information: nutritiondata.self.com
Milk composition and lactose: http://www.goatworld.com/articles/goatmilk/colostrum.shtml
http://classes.ansci.illinois.edu/ansc438/milkcompsynth/milkcomp_protein.html
More on lactose: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-879X2007001100004&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=neolithic-europeans-lactose-tolerance
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/118/3/1279
http://www.jaoa.org/cgi/reprint/101/4_suppl_1/10S
Artificial hormones in cows: http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/rbgh_hormo.cfm
http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/hormones/
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/vet/issues-enjeux/rbst-stbr/rep_rcpsc-rap_crmcc-eng.php
Effects of estrogen: http://www.lehigh.edu/~inbios/schneider/soy.htm
http://www.livescience.com/health/070904_bad_puberty.html
A1 versus A2 milk: http://www.guernsey.net/~wgcf/PageMill_Resources/Acres_Woodford.pdf
http://www.maternity.org.nz/pdfs/THE%20A1%20vs%20A2%20MILK%20CONTROVERSY.pdf
http://www.betacasein.net/default.htm
http://www.enzymestuff.com/rtcowmilktypes.htm
http://www.gardenharvest.org/milkbenefits.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment