Healthy Food – Naturally

(For 3 weeks, I did the milk cure, drinking 3 1/2 quarts to 1 gallon of raw milk each day. Except for water, all I had was milk. This is a series of posts (25) keeping track each day. For the entire series, start out on “Trying Something Old“). All links to the series is at the bottom of each article.)

“Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food.” – Hippocrates

This quote is very much on my mind as I do this milk cure. In my mind, I would much prefer to eat wholesome foods then pop a pill. Its something to ponder and perhaps to write about when all this is over.

Slept well last night despite the temperature being 74 at 9 at night. Again, just a sheet over me.  Getting ready for work in the morning now is a breeze. Instead of fixing my lunch, filling thermos’ and emptying my dishwasher, I just grab a cup and a gallon of milk from the refrigerator. Easy Peasy.

Still have my shoulder aches, but they are greatly reduced today. White tongue still exists as does the afternoon tummy rumblings. And my leg aches are back.  I’d say it’s safe to say that I am still detoxing.

I’ve decided to continue this for 3 weeks. Since I’m continuing to detox, I want to see how long it takes. I’d also love to see how I feel once I get past the detoxing phase. In many of the books, it talks about using the cure for at least a month. Since the cure was used for chronic illnesses, I think that my doing it for 3 weeks will give me a good idea.

And I’m still not craving food. I was at a meeting last night and they served pizza (as usual). Even though I can’t ever eat it (since I’m gluten intolerant), the smells get to me.  Not last night. I was happy and satisfied from the milk and not even interested in chewing.

I did get really sleepy fairly early. I ended up getting out a deck chair and relaxing on my deck with some music and the sun yesterday. Temperatures here in Maryland got into the 80’s. That helped. I’m grateful that my weekend starts on Friday and I’ll have some time to rest then. I think my body needs more rest than I’m able to give it lately.

Milk as a Health Food – Part 2

So last time, I pretty much focused on the fats (CLA and the Omega Ratio) for the health benefits of Raw Milk.  Contrary to what the Pasteurized Milk Industry will try to tell you, pasteurized milk does not contain these benefits. CLA is highest in grass-fed cows, and the industrial dairy industry does not grass feed their cows.  The same goes for the Omega 3 to Omega 6 ratio.  The 1:1 ratio is only found in grass-fed cows.  As for the Wulzen Factor, it is destroyed by heat and as such is not present in pasteurized milk.

While many vitamins and minerals are available in pill form, there is very little research as to whether the nutrients in pill form are as readily available to our bodies as coming from whole foods. Nutrients in milk are especially bio-available and readily used.

Folic Acid

Folic Acid (Folate or Vitamin B-9) is a recommended vitamin for pregnant women and decreases the risks for miscarriages and premature labor. It also helps protect from birth defects like Spina Bifida, brain and heart defects as well as cleft palate.  Folic Acid boosts white blood cell production and helps with both fatigue and anemia. Studies also show it helps prevent Parkinson’s disease by aiding production of dopamine and helps protect against Alzheimer’s by preventing formation of brain plaque which causes memory loss. It’s also been seen to help prevent heart disease, colon cancer and depression as well.

Many foods have folic acid, including leafy greens.  Raw milk is another excellent source.  As with many of the vitamins and enzymes found in milk, the heating process of pasteurization reduces folic acid.  The folic acid in raw milk is 100% bio-available to us, meaning that we absorb 100% of the folic acid we take in when we drink raw milk.

Myristic Acid

Myristic Acid is a fatty acid found in some vegetables as well as animal fats. It is also found in nutmeg, palm and coconut oil. It is used in cosmetics and personal care products for its cleansing and surfactant properties. It has also been shown to decrease cholesterol when taken orally. There is more myristic acid in raw milk than there is in any other food.  When pasteurized, all fatty acids are changed, with myristic acid showing the most changes. Unfortunately, I can’t find any information as to what the changes are or how it affects our health.

Phosphatase

Phosphatase is a heat sensitive enzyme in milk. In fact having this enzyme show up in pasteurized milk proves that it was improperly pasteurized.  This is a shame since phosphatase’s presence in raw milk helps us to absorb two of the most important minerals that are available in milk (and the ones that keep being added back in after pasteurization), phosphorus and calcium. That’s right, without the presence of this enzyme, the minerals that milk is supposed to benefit us with the most are not absorbed as well.  Optimal calcium absorption requires proper ratios of phosphorus and magnesium.

Being My Own Human Guinea Pig

Weight is up slightly, but not in the yo-yoing way that its been for a number of months.

Glucose went up again during fasting, but didn’t bounce as far up as it did on days 3 and 4. It went down to more reasonable levels the rest of the day. Its going to be interesting to track this more. White tongue is still there.

I’m neither constipated nor have I experienced any diarrhea. Which is really good. I’m not eliminating as much now as at the beginning, but then again there aren’t that many solids in milk so it’s not surprising. I’m noticing that my tummy is fine until early afternoon, after that I start getting bloated, and rumbly and more uncomfortable. So a reminder to myself, get stuff done early.

 

Day	Weight	Basal Temp	Glucose: Fasting	Glucose: Noon	Glucose: Bed
Baseline	201.4	97.9	114	104	110
Day 1	200.2	98.2	115	120	103
Day 2	198.2	100.2/99.1	124	115	129
Day 3	197.2	97.9	150	96	119
Day 4	198.0	98.1	151	116	107
Day 5	197.4	98.1	116	105	101
Day 6	198.0	97.8	134	113	106

Series

1. Milk Cure 2012: Trying Something Old
2. Milk Cure 2012: Preparations
3. Milk Cure 2012: The Day Before the Cure
4. Milk Cure 2012: Day 1 – And Here I Start
5. Milk Cure 2012: Day 2 – Why Am I Doing This?
6. Milk Cure 2012: Day 3 – Ups and Downs
7. Milk Cure 2012: Day 4 – Milk as a Health Food Part 1
8. Milk Cure: Day 5
9. Milk Cure 2012: Day 6 and Milk as a Health Food Part 2
10. Milk Cure 2012: Day 7
11. Milk Cure 2012: Day 8 and Milk as a Health Food Part 3
12. Milk Cure 2012: Day 9
13. Milk Cure 2012: Day 10
14. Milk Cure 2012: Day 11 – Halfway There
15. Milk Cure 2012: Day 12 – Milk as a Health Food Part 4
16. Milk Cure 2012: Day 13
17. Milk Cure 2012: Day 14 – Can Raw Milk Go Bad?
18. Milk Cure 2012: Day 15
19. Milk Cure 2012: Day 16
20. Milk Cure 2012: Day 17
21. Milk Cure 2012: Day 18 – Raw Milk is Safe
22. Milk Cure 2012: Day 19
23. Milk Cure 2012: Day 20
24. Milk Cure 2012: Day 21 – The Last Day
25. Milk Cure 2012: The Day After

Links

• Folic Acid can help prevent heart disease and depression (Pamela Eagen)
• Folic Acid Benefits (Discovery Fit and Health)
• Raw Milk: One of Nature’s Healthiest Foods (Healthy Eating Politics)
• Moderate intake of myristic acid in sn-2 position has beneficial lipidic effects and enhances DHA of cholesteryl esters in an interventional study. (Pub Med)
• The Effect of Heat Treatment on the Free Fatty Acids in Ewe’s Milk (Biotechnology in Animal Husbandry)
• Myristic acid content of foods (Whole Food Catalog)
• Milk and Human Health (Cornell University)

Related articles

• Civil Rights / Food Rights: Vernon Herschberger as the Rosa Parks of Raw Milk (thebovine.wordpress.com)
• Raw milk statistics twisted by politics (thebovine.wordpress.com)
• “Myths versus Realities of Raw Milk” – Michael Schmidt talk at NOFA, Jan. 29 (thebovine.wordpress.com)
• The Rise (and Fall) of Pasteurized Milk (thehealthyhomeeconomist.com)
• Why we love raw milk… (thebovine.wordpress.com)
• CDC cherry picks the data to make case against the safety of raw milk – WAPF (thebovine.wordpress.com)
• Dr. Mercola on “this scary drink” (thebovine.wordpress.com)
• Milk Cure 2012: The Day After
• Harvard study links pasteurized milk to commonly occurring cancers in humans (thebovine.wordpress.com)

Tags: Folic acid, milk cure, milk diet, Raw Milk