Hurdlebrook

The science behind it all ...

 

Raw/Unpasteurised Milk

 

Raw milk is milk that comes straight from the cow.  It has not been heat treated or pasteurised in any way.  

 

In 1985, Ken Paull purchased the local doorstep-delivery milk round.  Fortuitously, this was a raw milk and cream business, which we continued.  In 1996, we started attending Farmers’ Markets and continued with the rural milk round until its economics became unsustainable.

 

There are many benefits of drinking raw milk, including ...

• It is more nutritious than heat treated milk;

• Retains the enzymes that pasteurised milk does not

• Contains probiotics and rich beneficial bacteria

• Easier to digest

• The butterfat (the cream line) is a great source of easily absorbed Vitamin A.  It also contains the fat soluble Vitamins D, E and K2

• Rich in conjugated Linoleic acid that helps fight cancer

• Helps fight asthma and allergies

 

Fun Fact!       

      From 460BC to 370BC, Hippocrates used raw milk to heal patients from disease.

 

To view the UK Food Standards Agency Requirements regarding raw milk and cream, please click the link.

 

 

A2 Milk

 

The type of proteins in milk, and the proportion of various proteins, varies depending on the breed of cow.

 

One of the major proteins in milk is casein, the predominant variety of which is called beta casein.  In older breeds of cows, such as Guernsey (A2 cows) the beta casein contains an amino acid called proline.  In newer breeds of cows like Holstein (A1 cows), however, the proline has mutated into an amino acid called histidine.

 

When the A1 beta casein is broken down in the body a protein fragment called beta casomorphin 7 is created.  This BCM7 is thought to lead to a number of human conditions, including ...

• Bloating

• Congestion

• Type 1 Diabetes

• Heart Disease

 

A2 milk is broken down differently and does not produce BCM7.

 

In addition to Guernsey cows, sheep, goats and humans also produce A2 milk.  Therefore, if you find you are only able to tolerate sheep and goat's milk, Guernsey milk is the suitable alternative.

 

 

The Health Benefits

 

Many people use unpasteurised milk for health and/ or sporting reasons due to its natural bacteria and enzymes, which pasteurisation kills.  Demand is rising; from the older generation remembering what real milk tastes like, to others interested in authentic and unprocessed foods.

 

In addition, some scientists believe that unpasteurised Guernsey cow’s milk may help with effects of autism.  Most milk sold in Britain comes from cows producing a form of protein called beta casein A1.  But Guernsey cows mostly produce a different type, beta casein A2.  This research is still highly debated, but some scientists believe drinking A1 milk may worsen the symptoms of autism, therefore, switching to A2 milk may potentially help improve the conditions.

 

“In my experience, many people who don’t have classic allergic reactions to cows’ milk protein nonetheless react badly to ordinary A1 cows’ milk (and products made from this), but can happily consume A2 milk without experiencing any of the same problems.  Sensitivity to the opioid peptide BCM7, which is produced from A1 but not A2 milk, could help to explain why this is so.  We still need much more research to find out which groups or individuals are sensitive to BCM7.  The evidence suggests that this kind of intolerance to standard A1 cows’ milk could affect as many as 25% of the general population in the UK, Australia and New Zealand”.

Dr Alex Richardson, Senior Research Fellow, University of Oxford, UK

 

To see a UK General Practioner's comments on A UK General Practioner's comments

on A UK General Practiner’s comments on how the level of diabetes in different countries being proportional to the level of A1 milk consumption, please click the link.

 

Why yoghurt bacteria could help stave off hay fever symptoms?

Hay fever sufferers may be able to ease the familiar symptoms of sneezing and itchy eyes by eating probiotic yoghurt, a study has found.  Doctors at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in the United States reviewed 23 studies involving more than 1,900 people and found that probiotics, the bacteria found in some yoghurts, cut the severity of the symptoms of hay fever far more effectively than a placebo.  The charity Allergy UK estimates that nearly 18 million people have hay fever in Britain.  Scientists now think that many allergies are caused by a lack of bacteria in the gut.  Humans have evolved to live with bacteria, but cleaner environments have killed off important strains.  Without these bacteria, the immune system is sent into overdrive by allergens, including pollen.

The research was published in the International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology