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What Your Milk is Missing: The Benefits of Raw and Grass-Fed

Dairy is a staple of the American diet and most of us drink or consume milk on a daily basis. Consuming the most nutritious milk can help support general health and wellness. We recommend grass fed organic raw milk. 


Organic grass fed milk comes from cows that are fed “essentially 100 percent organic grass and legume forage-based diet, via pasture and stored feeds like hay and silage.” Conventional cows are fed grain or grass that is conventionally grown, and therefore laden with pesticides. These pesticides become concentrated in the cow’s bodies and pass into their milk. 


Grain fed cows produce milk that has an unhealthy ratio of fat. Omega 3 fatty acids are known for their health promoting effects. When not balanced with adequate omega 3 fatty acids, excessive omega 6 fatty acids can contribute to “increases in chronic inflammatory diseases such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, cardiovascular disease, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and Alzheimer's disease.” A lower omega 6 to omega 3 ratio is desirable; grass fed milk has a ratio of 0.95, organic milk has a ratio of 2.28, and conventional milk has a ratio of 5.77. Grass fed milk is clearly a healthier choice.


“[O]rganic milk offers:

  • 69% more alpha-linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid often found in seeds that helps keep the heart and blood vessels healthy. As such it has been known to prevent heart attacks, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and even stave off cardiovascular disease.

  • 41% more conjugated linoleic acid, a similar compound found in meat and dairy that has great effects on cancer, obesity, and in limiting food allergies.”


Organic milk is required to meet specific standards set by the USDA. These requirements include no synthetic hormones, non-GMO organic feed, access to pastures, limited antibiotics, and no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. This helps ensure that milk does not contain compounds that could harm our health and damage the environment.


Organic grass fed milk sounds great, right? It’s much better than conventional milk, but store bought organic milk is ultra pasteurized. Pasteurization is a process used to kill pathogens and extend shelf life of all store bought milk, but milk produced in sanitary conditions does not need to be pasteurized. The pasteurization process involves heating milk to high temperatures, which negatively impacts nutritional content. “[M]ilk pasteurization decreases its concentrations of vitamins B1, B2, B12 and C, and folate.” Ultra pasteurization, the process used on organic milk, involves higher temperatures, which further damages the nutritional value of the milk. While pasteurization removes most bacteria from milk, ultra pasteurization destroys nearly all bacteria, including the beneficial strands. Ultra pasteurization also denatures about 70% of naturally occurring protein. 


Raw organic grass fed milk is not pasteurized, contains the best omega fatty acid ratio, and has the least chemical contaminants. Local farms are the best place to source this type of milk, since it cannot be found in the grocery store. Switching to raw organic grass fed milk as a part of a balanced nutrition plan can help you and your family achieve and maintain optimal health. Schedule an appointment with Renewed Hope Nutrition for a personalized meal plan and health protocol.



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