73. Raw Milk Why We Drink it and FAQ

Our family loves drinking raw milk. We have been enjoying it for 9 years now! Join me as I answer some of your FAQ about it! How does it taste? Do I drink raw milk while pregnant? What are the health benefits of raw milk?

As always, I want to encourage you to do your own research! Just because I say it's healthy, and that we love it, doesn't mean you won't get sick. This is just our personal experience.

Also, ask around in your local Weston Price FB group!

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[IxAMxSQUISHY]

I recently discovered raw milk and the benefits. It’s amazing how it’s illegal in half of the US even though there has been 0 deaths in the US (there have been cases of illness due to poor hygiene practices, storage etc) but one of the highest digestive forms of vitamins we need. I’m lactose intolerant and haven’t drank milk in decades and casually had ice cream on rare occasions. I have had 0 issues drinking raw milk & or the ice cream from raw milk. Our government deems alcohol & tobacco & fast food as sellable but not raw milk that is highly digestible form of calcium. Our country is so unhealthy overall despite the fact we are health crazed. We as a society are malnourished & suffer from so much (immune disorders, allergies, cancer, heart disease, tooth decay) that it’s insane more people haven’t connected the dots.

[elizabethhusom]

I am sorry you had trouble with explaining the truths of raw milk. My story in a sentence: since drinking 1/2 gallon of raw milk daily, vitamins and mineral levels are higher, I have no more skin issues, better gut situation, sleep soundly, energy is through the roof, I haven't been ill, and most important; I have temporal lobe epilepsy that has been uncontrolled via meds-yet on raw milk, I haven't even had brain fog.

[TiffanyM]

Central florida- I just got home about an hour ago from the local farm with a gallon of raw cows milk, $10. Sticker says milked this morning.
Here in Florida, they have to mark it "not for human consumptions- animal consumption only" wink 😉
Same farm sells yogurt, keefer, butter, ricotta, cottage cheese - all raw. Eggs, honey, kombucha, cheesecake, whole chickens, pork buy the pound, and on and on.
I just poured me a nice glass.

[Shellsea]

My husband has stomach issues with A1 raw milk, but he handles A2 raw milk just fine. ❤

[nicoleallen]

We are totally blessed to have a family doctor who is also a homesteader! He highly encourages raw milk for everyone! We now have a dairy cow for almost a year!

[catelizabeth]

I pay $8 a gallon 🙃 (East TN)
Also, a cow produces so much more milk than just what a single calf can consume. As far as that argument goes.

[allisonstoddard]

Before starting baby in raw milk do you recommend mama starts drinking it so it’s first passed through breastfeeding ?

[farmthreads]

Hallo lisa, my husband is a dairy farmer in south africa and we drink our raw milk and love it.

[kendrawhitt]

Lisa, what are your thoughts on transitioning to raw milk for the first time while you are currently pregnant? I am wanting to start drinking it but I am a little hesitant only because I am already pregnant and I’m not only experimenting on myself (I’m probably just still in my head about it).

[amitloutube]

I am in balkan and I am really interested in raw milk because I love milk but with standard milk I get bloated I tried goat milk but same bloating but I do amazing on kefir so something in Standard milk... I have one raw milk agency but I am scared about food poisoning... May be I will boil it after getting raw milk

[ComeAlongKay]

In your experience is raw a2 organic goat or cows milk an issue on Candida and keto diet? I know the sugar in raw milk is suppose to digest different or so I’ve heard and some lose weight on it so definitely seems different sugar wise and the caprylic acid in goats milk is supposed to be anti Candida.

[marissa]

Wow, just listening to this as we're going to tour a dairy to today and buy a cow share for milk. $12/gal in Colorado 😬 We're still sold though.

[oneofmany]

My husband and I were both raised with conventionally raised raw dairy (holstein, which I think is A1 milk?). I could be wrong, but I think the whether the milk is A1 or A2 depends on the breed of the cow? Being raised on raw milk, it was very difficult to drink store-bought milk, and don't even get me started on the skim milk - ewww! So I just didn't drink milk during my college years. My first real job out of college was actually at a small organic grass-fed dairy farm where I learned more of the dairy processing side of things. To sell in stores in that state, the milk has to at least be pasteurized, so there was no getting around that; however, they did not homogenize the milk. Anyway, I drank plenty of good milk and dairy products while I worked there. :) Then I moved down South and didn't drink milk because I couldn't stand store milk and I didn't think the quality was worth the extra calories. So when my children were born, I didn't even give them cow milk after weaning them because I didn't think the benefits outweighed the health risks of drinking such garbage. And I didn't think the organic homogenized milk was worth the extra price, either, since it is ultra pasteurized and I had learned about the homogenization process and its effects on nutrient assimilation. I do not think it is possible to homogenize milk without an expensive machine, for those wondering. If you want the cream mixed in, just shake the jar. ;)
Anyway, a few years ago, I joined the WAP Foundation to find a local raw milk source because we moved to a state that is allowed to sell raw milk through farm shares. As luck would have it, I discovered that our closest source was just a few short miles down the road. So we are back to raw milk and homemade dairy products - yay! And these cows are grass fed Jersey cows, which I was told is A2 milk. I have yet to delve into making raw cultured dairy products (I pasteurize the milk before adding culture because that's how I was taught.), however, I have an uncle who does make raw milk cheese from 100% grass-fed belted Swiss cow milk. I think, by law, raw milk cheese has to be aged for at least 60 days.
For me, if the milk goes sour or if its over a week and a half old, I pasteurized it or use it for baking. Just my preference. :) If anyone has any good recipes for what to do with the buttermilk that is a byproduct of making butter, please share! Has anyone tried culturing that kind of buttermilk?

[meve]

What's the difference between A2 and raw milk? Are there still benefits to A2?

[kathytegreene]

Lisa, thank you for your video. You are so amazing!
I am 61 and I drink raw Kefir from a local farm. Before I drank it, I visited the farm. They are a lovely family and it was very sanitary. I felt good about it. I sampled a small amount to start with. Kefir helps me sleep. I mix Kefir with blueberries and spinach (not for everyone). I credit it for easing my mild arthritis and rejuvenating my old teeth. I find it relaxes me. In my generation, we had commercials telling us to drink milk for strong bones and teeth. There are several enzymes in raw milk that are destroyed with pasteurization in grocery store milk. I paid $8 for a half gallon at the farm. Worth every penny. There is another place I know that sells kefir for $17 per half gallon but it is much closer. Same milk.

[melindercaudell]

I grew up drinking raw cows milk. I literally drank it has an infant. My parents boiled it an gave it to me as an infant. I am 56 and healthy. We had a cow we milked.

[judithsenecal]

I just found a souce of raw milk after months of research!! (it's illegal all together in Canada, even having a cow share is illegal!) for 10$ cad a gallon (8$ usd).
Thanks Lisa for educating me on the benefits of raw milk :)

[Jsumm]

Honesty. I love this, and you. Thank you for sharing and not being afraid to go against the norm ❤

[Anonymous-mvte]

Thanks for sharing and reposting this. For good and real info and needs to be known. ❤

[HomesteadHealing]

Loved this!! We have really been wanting to do raw milk and have been scared lol youve made me feel a lot better, and I looked into the research and statistics as well, im lactose intolerant and ive been wanting to see if it helps me. Thanks so much! Also in Idaho we can buy it at any store, and our neighbors also have dairy cows! Haha so easy for us too.