Natural Farmers Kerala

Milk mixed with turmeric is an ancient elixir recommended for its many benefits including; relieving pain, boosting immune system, detoxifying, and reducing inflammation.

Milk is the single super food known to increase ojas according to Ayurveda. Ojas is that essence extracted by our digestive system from all that we consume. Ojas is responsible for blissful eyes, glowing skin, healthy and active body; all the cells in the body are charged up.

Shatavari roots and Ashwagandha when mixed with milk increases ojas.

However if you consume commercially available processed milk, it is nowhere close in benefits to raw Indian zebu cow’s milk. Since all the milk is pasteurized – some even homogenized, it is sanitized for the worst. In my opinion, it is dead food.

Pasteurization is about killing bacteria and homogenization is about emulsifying fats in the milk.

Rapid heating and cooling affects the protein molecules in milk. Research has found that this makes it difficult for human body to digest. This protein along with other dead milk compounds gets passed into your bloodstream which affects our immune system.

Why is Milk Pasteurization Compulsory?

1. Cows & Shed: Cows are not clean. Neither is it’s shed. The method in which milk is transferred from there to packing is also not clean.
2. Commercial Feed: Commercial feed is to be blamed as slaughterhouse waste and other unnatural products are mixed in the feed which then gets transferred into the milk we consume.
3. Tethered Cows: Not to forget tethered hybrid cows are generally unhealthy.
4. Milk is a heavenly medium for microbial growth. It gets easily spoiled if it is not treated well immediately after milking. Large scale commercial producers cannot keep everything sterile; if they do so then milk will be a really expensive stuff. Pasteurization is the economical alternative.

Safe methods to stabilise milk

1. Pasteurization: This is a process in which chilled milk is heated at 75 deg Celsius for 15 seconds and then immediately cooled to 10 deg Celsius.
2. Sterilization: This is the same process however milk is heated to 100 deg Celsius. This makes milk taste like it’s cooked.
3. UHT: Ultra high temperature processing is when chilled milk is heated up to 135 to 150 deg for just 4 to 15 seconds and then immediately cooled to 10 deg or lower. If handled well, it can be stored for approx 9 months in a tetra pack. This is the worst thing that can be done to milk.

Modern day pasteurization is not just to kill harmful bacteria, enzymes and pus in the milk but also to preserve food as it destroys all essential microbes and the spores that naturally find harbour in it. All this for long shelf life.

Protein, lactose, enzymes and most of the vitamins and minerals are destroyed or altered as a result of this modern day approach which is documented. I am sure that in the coming year’s evidences connecting the general deteriorating health standards to the consumption’s of such milk will become common knowledge. Current processing techniques and it’s harmful influences will not be looked upon favourably then.

There are claims that flavonoid compounds and other chemicals are added to artificially induce the natural taste of milk, in post-processing. Taste enhancers are added along with milk powders to make milk taste good.

Avoid Foods like Modern day Milk that Strain Pancreas

Since there are no enzymes in pasteurized milk, this puts an additional strain on our pancreas to produce digestive enzymes. Over a long run pancreas stop functioning to its optimal level. This also leads to diabetes since insulin production is controlled by the same glands.

Ever wondered why in a traditional meal there is always some curd at the end. So digestion can be aided thereby easing the load on pancreas.

So avoid processed food if you love your pancreas.

Try this experiment at home.

Purchase raw milk and pasteurized milk and add some culture to it. Raw milk will curdle, however pasteurized milk will turn putrid.

Try keeping commercial curd and curd from raw milk in room temperature; raw milk curd will further sour however commercial one will stay as it is for few hours and will then turn putrid. This is because lacto bacillus or other good culture cannot thrive in it. One of my colleagues who comes from dairy industry was saying that they add hydrogen peroxide to curd before packing to kill spores, so that no culture can grow in it.

When you boil Indian cows raw milk there will be lot of cream that will stick to the bottom of the vessel and the side. However with packet milk or hybrid cows this amount is very negligible.

How does homogenization affect milk?

First cream on the top layer of milk which accumulates is stolen by scooping it away. This is the refined part which is now gone.

Now milk is passed through very fine filter at a very high pressure forcing the milk fat to break down and mix evenly with the milk. This pressure also heats up the liquid. This process is also known to increase the shelf life of milk.

This gives liquid food a very creamy texture.

Although there are no strong evidence on health concerns of homogenized milk. I will only stick with raw milk.