The devil in the milk!

Milk has been such an integral part of the Indian vedic culture and the very thought that there is a devil hidden in the milk sounds absurd and bizarre. We all know that milk contains valuable nutritional components and definitely there has to be some value in ancient wisdom and its practices. But are we living the way our ancients lived? And there lies the catch, ancient milk was different than today milk. There is a mountain of evidence pointing to the fact that milk consumption today is associated with varied health problems such as heart disease, type 1 diabetes and autism.  Research has revealed two reasons why modern milk has been responsible for many illnesses- first being the consumption of pasteurized milk and second being a mutation in the milk protein.

Prominent food researcher Dr. Thomas Cowan who has studied medicinal aspect of cow’s milk is convinced that a large part of the diseases in western countries is related to the way we handle or rather mishandle milk. This is very well illustrated in a book by Dr William Campbell Douglass- The Milk of Human Kindness is Not Pasteurized. Raw milk and its products from healthy grass fed cows is one of the healthiest foods people have ever eaten. But the process of pasteurization entails heating the milk to a temperature of 62-65 degrees centigrade and keeping there for at least half an hour. This completely changes the structure of the milk proteins into something far less than healthy. Pasteurized cows milk is the number one allergic food today. It has been associated with a number of symptoms and illnesses including: diarrhea, cramps, bloating, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease, cancer, recurrent ear infections and colic in infants and children, type 1 diabetes, infertility, leukemia and autism. The healthy alternative to pasteurized milk is raw milk, which is an outstanding source of nutrients including beneficial bacteria such as lactobacillus acidolphilus, vitamins and enzymes that aid in milk digestion. Raw milk is not associated with any of the above health problems, people who are allergic to milk thrive on raw milk!

We all may have heard about A2 milk? Why is there all this talk about it? Let us try to get a glimpse of it. One of the major protein in cow’s milk is casein, the predominant variety of which is called beta-casein. Beta-casein protein comprises around 30% of the protein contained in cow’s milk. In ancients or older breeds of cows such as Asian, African or Jersey cows (now called A2 cows) the beta-casein contains an amino acid called proline (producing A2 milk). In the newer breeds of cows like Holstein (A1 cows) the proline is mutated to histidine (producing A1 milk). This is important because beta-casein also contains a tiny protein fragment called beta-casomorphin-7 or BCM7 for short. BCM7 is a powerful opiate as well as a narcotic linked to negative health effects. So, metaphorically BCM7 is the devil in the milk! The proline in A2 milk has a strong bond to BCM, which helps keep it out of the cow’s milk. But the histidine in A1 milk however has a weak hold on BCM7, which allows it to get into the milk and also into the people who drink milk. Consumption of A1 milk has been linked to: neurological impairment, autism, schizophrenia, type 1 diabetes, autoimmune disease, heart disease and an impaired immune response. There is strong evidence that the milk devil is only produced from the milk of cows that are of European origin. Asian and African breeds of cows are free of it unless they have some hidden European ancestry. Interestingly, milk from goat and  sheep is also of the A2 type, human milk too is of the A2 type. (For more details visit http://www.betacasein.org).

Anyone who buys ordinary milk at the supermarket can be sure that it will contain milk from many cows and therefore there will be lots of A1 beta-casein in it. We don’t have to stop drinking milk to avoid this devil. All we have to do is drink A2 milk. We are lucky that A2 milk is available in all major supermarkets in Australia. And our ancients knew how to process or rather not process their foods and which cows to use, no wonder milk had such high status in cultures of the Indian subcontinent.

Goodness gracious ghee

Ghee is a highly prized, sacred food since indian antiquity. Ghee’s amazing health benefits can only be described in superlatives. The following quote from the Caraka Samhita: a primary classical Ayurvedic text pretty much sums it up “Ghee is sweet in taste and cooling in energy; rejuvenating, good for the eyes and vision; enkindles digestion; bestows lustre and beauty; enhances memory and stamina; increases the intellect; promotes longevity; is an aphrodisiac and protects the body from various diseases”.

Ghee is made from butter that has had all the water and milk solids removed. It has been used often in cooking, spiritual rituals and ayurvedic health care since ancient times, and for good reason. In ayurvedic medicine, ghee is considered the best form of fat available as no meal is considered balanced without it. Ghee is said to be beneficial to all body types. It ignites the fires of digestion and in doing so improves digestion of other foods.  Further, ghee aids in the development of brain, intelligence, memory power. Modern medicine has wrongly maligned ghee and fats in general, thus giving it  a bad reputation. So let us start by setting the records straight.

Not all fats are created equal, some like trans-fats are harmful whereas some fats are essential for health. Essential fatty acids (fats) are like vitamins in that they cannot be made by the body and a lack of either one of them will cause disease.  Ghee contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) that is an essential fatty acid. CLA is an antioxidant that helps in fighting cancers and acts as an aid in the absorption of vitamins and minerals from other food, serving to strengthen the immune system.  Ghee is a rich source of Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA), particularly Butyric Acid. It is one of the easiest fats to digest as SCFA is metabolized very readily by the body. This fatty acid also nourishes the cells that line the digestive tract, boosts immune system and used for development of the neurological system. In the fat phobic times that we exist, essential fatty acids are collectively the number one missing nutrient in an average person’s diet thus responsible for a host of degenerative diseases such as cancer, heart disease and inflammatory ailments. This is where ghee can tremendously benefit us. 

Ghee is rich in fat soluble vitamins like A, D and K2.  Vitamin A in ghee is preformed and this helpful for the eyesight. Vitamin D is important for healthy bone development. Vitamin K2 is very important in calcium metabolism.  A body with plentiful of vitamin k2 prevents calcium  from depositing in the arteries and thereby reduces plaques formation. Vitamin K2 is also associated with a softer skin that resist wrinkling. Ghee is an excellent cooking medium because it does not break down at high temperatures like many cooking oils. Cooking at high temperatures using vegetable oils is unhealthy as it creates peroxides and other free radicals. But ghee has stable saturated bonds and is lot less likely to form the dangerous free radicals when cooking. Ghee has a very high smoke point and doesn’t burn easily during cooking. Also unlike butter and other oils, ghee has a long shelf life. Finally, on top of the health benefits, ghee is delicious and imparts a beautiful flavor to the meals you create with it. Instead of avoiding ghee, the foods to avoid are easily digestible carbohydrates that come with ingesting white rice, white sugar, white potatoes, and refined wheat flour. Ghee is not dangerous as it is wrongly thought to be, it is okay to  use ghee for cooking, but keep in mind that ghee made from pastured grass fed cows are rich in nutrient content and therefore will  provide maximum health benefits.