Does raw milk kill you?

Thanks Johnny for putting in the wrong background. I wanted something bland, and you put in this one. Oh well. Normally I praise Johnny for really helping me, but this time.... he goofed.

Well, apparently there are a lot of people who believe raw milk is good for you. I know it is good for calves of cows, but how about people?

The Food and Drug Administration banned interstate sales of unpasteurized milk some twenty years ago, but each state of the United States actually determines how raw milk is allowed to be bought and sold within their borders. In fifteen states, the sale of raw milk for human consumption is illegal. But twenty six states allow raw milk to be sold with restrictions. And there are a very few states including my home state of California and also Washington actually allow raw milk to be sold in stores.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture tested raw milk from 861 farms in 21 states in July 2007. Their report came back claiming nearly twenty five of the samples contained illness-causing bacteria, including five percent with listeria, three percent with salmonella, and four percent with less dangerous types of E. coli.

Now some people who drink raw milk are claiming that raw milk has special "life forces" in it that pasteurizing somehow destroys. Yes it does.... and these "life forces" are germs and bacteria!! Personally, I would rather do without THESE life forces. Pasteurization has been proved to be an effective way of killing bacteria and germs that are in cows milk. Unfortunately, not all of them. Just leave an unopened bottle or carton of pasteurized milk out of the refrigerator, and watch what happens to it after several days. It will spoil. Yeah, the germs will start to multiply and the milk will go bad.

This of course begs the question, do people really need cows milk? And the answer is: no, they don't. Cows milk was designed by our Creator God to feed baby cows. It is perfect for them. But it has way to much protein in it for humans.

Some people are under the misconception that if they drink milk, they will have more calcium. It has been shown that although cows milk does indeed have calcium, it is unavailable for humans. In fact, milk drinkers have lower calcium. What to do?

Substitute cashew nuts. They are full of all kinds of good things. And they taste really good. In fact, raw cashews can be put into a blender, a little water added, and blended at very high speed until you get something you can drink. If you add a little vanilla seasoning, and a bit of salt you can even use the resulting white liquid over your cereals and even drink it. Almonds can be blended up the same way, as can soy beans. In fact, you can buy soy milk in most food stores right now, and that way you get the best of everything. You avoid all the possible germs and bacteria, and until it is opened, the soy milk does not have to be stored in a refrigerator because it doesn't spoil. That alone should tell you something. Why drink something that is on the edge of spoiling?

Well, I could milk this article for all it is worth, but... I am too COWardly. Ohhh--another bad pun.

Health depends on the choices we make.

Have a healthy day,

David A. Youngs