I knew I should drink milk. Heaven knows I needed it. I couldn’t force myself to drink it. There was an under tone to the flavor of it. I just couldn’t identify what that undertone was but I couldn’t force myself to drink it. That changed when my adult daughter had me “Go, Green” and introduced me to organic milk.
I had no problem with organic vegetables, organic grown meat but …milk. I must admit I was afraid to try it. My daughter promised me I’d like it, but I didn’t believe her. I know how important calcium is to the body so I decided that I would be willing to give it a try. She brought me a glass of milk with a cookie. I thought I’d throw back and wash it down so to speak with the cookie. I didn’t. I tasted it. It was fresh; it was delicious. I enjoyed it. What’s more is that the milk didn’t have the odd taste I associated with milk. Then I went and got my antibiotic and washed it down with a large glass of water and realized, after all these years, I had been tasting the antibiotics in the milk. I was tasting the antibiotics that had been given to the cow. After this I decided it was time to,” Go, Green”.
Organic milk is ultra-pasteurized so it has a longer shelf life than regular milk. The dairy cows that yields organic milk would be need to eat organic food and have extremely limited if any exposure to any type of drug. This means limited exposure to antibiotics, feed pesticide free food, and bovine growth hormones (BGH).
According to Karen Collins, Registered Dietitian, in her article for MSNBC she argues in her article that BGH has a negligible effect on causing cancer. However I too majored in nutrition and later received an additional degree as a Registered Nurse. I couldn’t help but note that she failed to mention the numerous studies that show that oriental populations have the lowest amount of cancer levels in the world. Their diet is limited in the amount of red meat and dairy which they ingest. Once these populations move to the USA, the amount of cancer rates soar to that of the rest of the US populous. BGH is a known carcinogen; yet there is no mention of this in her article about this danger from BGH and what happens when it starts to break down.
The controversy continues over whether or not organic milk’s health benefits are worth the cost. According to The Telegraph organic milk has the following benefits: it is higher in antioxidants, higher in vitamins, and other substances known to reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. As I mentioned before, no BGH! Due to the lack of pesticides and the fact that cows eat between 80-90% grass or clover it is more expensive to produce. Organic milk is more expensive but because of its long half life it may have less waste than regular milk which could help to even out the cost. The difference between organic milk and regular milk varies throughout the country. In my neck of the wood, dairy farms and milk stores are plentiful. There is little difference in the price; if you aren’t going to drink the regular milk that isn’t a cost savings.
Peter Melchett, from the Soil Association states, “This latest research demonstrates that it is the cows’ organic diet that makes their milk healthier.” What is that old adage? Oh right, “If you have your health you have everything.” For me that means, do you have any organic milk?
Source:
The Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2039183/Organic-milk-is-healthier-says-study.html
MSNBC http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14458802/
