Over the last few years dairy producers have been pushing the increase of calcium in our daily diets. Eating more dairy foods and drinking more milk is all we hear about anymore. Calcium is necessary for our bodies to remain healthy but the way we get this calcium is not the best way to achieve what our bodies need. Over the past 20 years dairy products have changed and it’s because of the changes that dairy may not be quite the calcium producer that we need.

The Unhealthy Side of Dairy

Most dairy found in grocery stores is terrible for your health because it comes from cows that are fed high-protein grains and are pumped full of hormones and antibiotics to increase productivity. Everything they are putting into the cow gets transferred into your dairy. Does this sound like it is as good for you as the dairy producers want you to believe?

Many dairy producers use pasteurized and homogenized milk to produce their dairy products. These processes remove the proteins from milk making them un-useful for your body and even border on being harmful. Because these enzymes are broken down at high temperatures, they destroy phosphatase, which is an enzyme that helps your body absorb the calcium found in milk. It also destroys the vitamins B12, B6 and C while killing off all of the good bacteria.

Homogenization of milk alters the fatty contents and good cholesterol found in milk, making it easier to form free radicals, which can cause cancer. Producers homogenize the milk to give it a more universal texture and to keep globules of fat from floating to the surface (think about the layer of film produced on the top of buttermilk).

Cows are often bred to have an overactive milk supply, so that farmers can get the most out of the cow as possible. This can lead to mastitis as well as milk duct infections. To solve this problem, cows are just fed more antibiotics and hormones in order to keep producing.

Choosing Healthy Dairy Products

Milk is a healthy food choice when it comes from cows that are grass-fed, like Jerseys and Guernsey, not modern Holsteins which are forced to over-produce. The good bacteria and healthy diet in the grass-fed cattle reduce the risk of milk-producing infections. This milk is usually not pasteurized, killing off all of the benefits of the milk since the cows are better kept using modern day controls to help ensure clean and safe production.

Because this milk is not homogenized either, the calcium remains intact and allows our bodies to absorb more of the nutrients we need. Of course, the milk tastes different than we are used to because all of the nutrients were processed out of it.

Calcium can be found in almost every food we ingest. For instance sesame seeds have a level of calcium that is almost ten times that’s in milk. The Dairy Board doesn’t advertise this. In reality dairy is not a bad thing it’s the way dairy products are processed that can cause us harm.

Try raw milk or goat’s milk and try other types of dairy such as raw milk cheese to see how they taste. Experience the way nature intended for this healthy food to taste. You might find you really like the rich flavors and textures. Keep an open mind and your taste buds as well as you’re healthy with thank you in the end.