Greetings friends and partners! Here is the first in a series of posts highlighting some very special nutrient-dense foods that you can obtain from your local farm. Today’s topic: Fresh, unprocessed goat milk. According to Dr. Marianne Teitelbaum:
- One of the main benefits of goat’s milk is that the chemical composition is far closer to human milk than cow’s milk. Its protein is A2 just like human breast milk. Most cow’s milk nowadays contains the A1 protein which is more difficult to digest, creating problems in those sensitive to A1 proteins. Many who are allergic to cow’s milk are surprised that they can digest the A2 milk without any problems.
Yes, goats like goat milk too!
- Another reason people are less sensitive to goat’s milk is because it contains less lactose than cow’s milk.
- Goat’s milk is easier to digest because it’s made up of small fat particles, much smaller than those found in cow’s milk, making them easier to break down and assimilate into the bloodstream. These small fat particles form a softer smaller curd in the stomach and these soft small curds are more quickly broken down by stomach enzymes making it easier for the stomach to digest as compared to cow’s milk.
- Goat’s milk contains twice the amount of medium chain fatty acids as compared to cow’s milk. This makes it easy to digest as the fat molecules get converted into energy very quickly.
- The minerals found in goat’s milk are more bioavailable which means they too are easier to digest and absorb into the cells.
- In fact, both cow’s milk and goat’s milk are rich in calcium but the calcium in goat’s milk is easier to absorb.
- Speaking of absorption many people are deficient in iron and copper because they cannot absorb them well. Goat’s milk increases the uptake of both iron and copper in the digestive tract.
- Nowadays just about everyone has destruction of the gut microbiome or the friendly bacteria in the gut from all the pharmaceuticals they’ve taken — medicines such as antibiotics, birth control pills, vaccines, acid reflux medicines and steroids, all destroy the delicate balance of good bacteria which should remain in our gut for proper digestive and immune system functions. Once these medications destroy these bowel flora it’s easy for infections to grow, especially candida albicans yeast and parasites h. pylori and other bad bacteria can also proliferate once their surveillance team is damaged, which is the friendly bacteria. It’s really good to know that goat’s milk has high values of caprylic acid which are medium chain triglycerides. These are used in malabsorption syndrome. The friendly bacteria break down the food you eat into very small particles for absorption into the bloodstream. When they become depleted you’ll have less absorption of nutrients in the bloodstream. This is known as malabsorption.
- Many people take caprylic acid for their yeast overgrowth but they would be surprised to learn that goat’s milk not only contains caprylic acid but also caproic and capric acids as well. They’re found in high levels in goat’s milk. Due to these amazing compounds goat’s milk is famous for its antibacterial and anti-fungal properties and even has anti-microbial activity against staph aureus which causes disease like the pneumonia, sinusitis, infective endocarditis and osteomyelitis.
- It even has antibacterial properties against e coli, cholera, salmonella, klebsiella pneumoniae and shigella dysentery. Therefore it plays a huge role in G.I. protection and in protecting the lungs.
- Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of goat’s milk in treating tuberculosis.
- Selenium — there are very high amounts of it in goat’s milk which is also important for our immune systems to fight off infections and selenium is also used by the thyroid gland to make its hormones, as is iodine, which is also found in goat’s milk. A lot of people take the synthetic versions of these in a supplement form but the body can utilize the natural versions found in the milk much better without the side effects that the synthetic versions can create.
- If you want to lose weight it’s best to consume goat’s milk over cow’s milk since it’s a lighter milk in general than cow’s milk but also goat’s milk contains compounds called milk fat globule membranes or MFGMs which surround the fats in the milk and make them soluble.
- New research in humans shows that ingesting MFGMs leads to weight loss and reduced insulin resistance.
- Another reason it’s much easier to lose weight when consuming goat’s milk is because it has high levels of medium chain fatty acids — much more than in any other milk. These fatty acids are used to make energy and they’re not stored as fat which is why it can actually lower cholesterol and help with conditions like heart disease and intestinal disorders.
- In fact, its healing properties are similar to olive oil which means it increases your good cholesterol while reducing the bad ones.
- Plant-based “milks” contain little to no protein at all. Goat’s milk on the other hand contains eight grams of protein per cup.
- The high levels of potassium found in goat’s milk help to reduce blood pressure because potassium is a vasodilator that relaxes the blood vessels.
- Goat’s milk contains a substance called bio-organic sodium which contributes to the goat’s agility and nimbleness. This element is also responsible for enhancing joint health in humans.
- Because of the smaller fat particles, goats milk doesn’t separate into cream and fluid milk as quickly as cow’s milk, therefore there is no need to shake it (store-purchased goat milk will not be homogenized through vigorous blending like cow’s milk).
- Some people do not like a “goaty” flavor in their milk. We’ve found that our goats (so far!) don’t have much, if any, of this goat flavor. The milk is sweet and rich but seems to have a very even flavor, even more so than the cow’s milk.
- Goat’s milk is definitely recommended for longevity. Many research teams have been sent to Sardinia to see why Sardinians live so long. They have nearly ten times more more people living over a hundred, per capita, than in the United States. However, it was found that the extremely long-lived population in Sardinia was centered in the upper mountain elevations. At the bottom of the mountain, people were fairly healthy, but at the top of the mountain they lived the longest. At the bottom they were consuming cow’s milk but at the top they drank mostly goat’s milk.
- If goat’s milk is something you’ve never considered you might want to give it a try. It’s highly nourishing and easy to digest and assimilate. Perfect if you want the health-giving benefits of milk but you want to keep your weight down. It’s great for babies and children and even adults who are lactose intolerant and sensitive to cow’s milk.
- One final note: goat’s milk can even help to improve your complexion because the fatty acids and triglycerides found in the goat’s milk have moisturizing qualities and they keep the skin feeling soft. Plus the high levels of vitamin A found in goat’s milk can improve your complexion, fight off acne and improve the skin health overall.
Neighbor children, David and Prisca, love hugging on goat kids!
David and Prisca are great helpers on the farm!
Source: Dr. Marianne Teitelbaum (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeLjrK34_QI)
