Have you ever heard of the slogan “Got Milk?”
This particular slogan first took off in 1993.. when the Dairy Industry wanted to push the consumption of milk to consumers – with focus on states like California where milk sales were dropping.
You may have seen athletes with a milk mustache… telling you to drink up.
But when you talk about the benefits OF milk to people, the first thing that always comes up is that it’s bad for your body – and that it should be avoided completely.
According to the USDA, the United States is is one of two milk consumers in the entire world. We drink the most milk, yet our country is one of 2 that stuffers the MOST cases of Osteoporosis.
Why is that?
Many people buy milk with the perception that it’s somewhat healthy – and I’m here to say that it is… but there is also a surprising truth behind milk that is also important to know.
Raw Milk vs. Processed
When “milk” is mentioned, most people think of the milk in the case at the grocery store shelves: Pasteurized, Homogenized Milk. They sell Whole, 2%, 1%, and Skim — even Chocolate is popular.
The other kind of milk, rarely referred to, is Raw Milk. Raw milk is NOT pasteurized, non-homogonized – it’s not heated to extremely high temperatures to kill bacteria. It retains ALL of it’s vitamins and enzymes, which are great for your gut.
Raw Milk comes from healthy cows, fed Organic Grass, raised in clean, sanity conditions.
But here’s the kicker: Raw Milk is an alkaline food.
Once milk goes through pasteurization & homogenization it becomes an acidic food.
The Marketing of Dairy Products
Dairy in grocery store form is highly marketed – and usually when things have extensive marketing it can be a red flag to avoid them.
Dairy is usually targeted to kids, and those who want to lose weight, as well as those who are at risk for Osteoporosis. But here’s something to remember: Calcium needs Saturated Fat to be absorbed, so drinking low fat milk isn’t really doing much for you 🙂 Raw Milk has been demonized by the FDA because of the possibility of live bacteria – but it’s always great to remember that the FDA doesn’t have a great track record at keeping us safe anyways. Read more about Raw Milk HERE on our last post including safety concerns.
Alkaline or Acidic: Which is Best?
The human body needs to maintain a pH level of 7.35 – 7.45 to live. If your body falls below 6.8, or exceeds 7.8, your body can become sick – that’s when you feel yourself starting to get run down with a cold, cough, wheeze, and more.
Processed, and refined foods are acidic – so by putting them in your body, you are creating an acidic environment.
But the body is SMART – and one thing it does to help keep your pH level, is it leaches alkaline from other places to make up for what it doesn’t have. It therefore takes the alkaline from the bones – because the body knows that the bones are a great source.
So what happens is the more {processed} milk we drink and the more acidic {processed} food we eat, the more the body leaches that alkalinity from our bones… which continues into a never-ending cycle.
When the body has an overabundance of acid (versus alkalinity), it’s known as acidosis – that acidosis leads to Osteoporosis (weak, brittle bones) and is also what helps tumors thrive (ie. Cancer tumors).
Foods that are Alkaline
This is why it’s SO important to eat foods that are fresh, and organic – and avoid processed, refined foods. There are many foods available to eat that are great to help promote an alkaline effect on the body – some of which include:
- Celery
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Garlic
- Berries
- Zucchini
- Apples
- Carrots
- Green Beans
- Raisins
- Figs
- Lemons
- Watermelon
- Pineapple
In the end, the most important thing to remember is that you should always try to eat real foods. By limiting your processed food intake, and limiting fake foods (processed, boxed foods from the grocery store and processed milk) you help up your alkaline intake in your body to fight that acid.
[…] dairy is usually not recommended, it’s important to understand the difference between processed dairy and Raw Dairy – if you are able to find a Raw Dairy source near you it would definitely be worth adding to […]