By Lisa Turner

Whether it’s cow, goat, or yak milk, a growing number of health-savvy folks are asking for it raw. They charge that pasteurization destroys milk’s beneficial enzymes and nutrients. The FDA and CDC, however, warn that raw milk carries pathogenic bacteria.

According to the FDA, pasteurization, which heats milk to at least 161.5 degrees for at least 15 seconds, destroys pathogens without altering the milk’s nutritional value.

Raw-milk proponents disagree though, saying that if the milk comes from healthy cows on clean farms, contamination isn’t an issue. The payoffs, they say, include:

•• Better digestion of the milk. “Many people who have problems with pasteurized milk will thrive on raw milk products,” says nutritionist Kaayla Daniel, PhD, CCN. “Pasteurization kills the enzymes necessary to digest milk protein, fats, and sugars.”

•• Fewer digestive disorders, like celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, and irritable bowel syndrome.

•• Better calcium absorption, since pasteurization destroys phosphatase, an enzyme that aids in calcium uptake.

•• A return to humane, hormone-free, pasture-based, small-scale farming.

Still, the potential for bacterial contamination isn’t one to take lightly. And separating truth from hyperbole, on both sides of the debate, is tough. For a more in-depth look at this issue, see the full article at www.alternative medicine.com.