We just finished another great workshop: Healing Foods: Fact or Fiction? Foods can be incredible healers. Even though you may have missed the workshop and the long list of foods covered, we want to highlight a few now:

RAW Dairy!

Raw milk and butter from pastured cows, goats, and sheep are some of the most healing foods you can consume. These foods contain conjugated linoleic acid, lactoferrin, lecithin, activator-X, Wulzen factor, lauric acid, and loads of fat soluble vitamins A, D, K, and E.

Brussel Sprouts!

Cruciferous vegetables, high in sulfur compounds, are known for their anti-cancer properties particularly because of their high glucosinolate content. While all cruciferous vegetables have some glucosinolates, brussel sprouts in particular have a unique combination of glucosinolates that make them the most potent of the anti-cancer crucifers.

Keep your eyes open for our next workshop and as always, if you have any questions or are looking for more specific help, don’t hesitate to contact us!

Life Fitness Academy is passionate about whole food nutrition and that means ensuring that we have access to whole, unprocessed foods that God gave for our good and enjoyment. One of those foods, whole, unprocessed raw milk has been embattled for some time.

Recently, representative Ron Paul introduced a bill (HR 1830) that would allow the interstate shipment of raw milk and raw milk products for human consumption. As the Farm-To-Consumer Legal Defense Fund states, “While the consumption of raw milk is legal in all fifty states, the sale of raw milk is illegal in about half the states. Passage of HR 1830 into law would enable everyone to exercise their right to consume raw milk, whether they live in a state where the sale of raw milk is illegal or in a state where the sale is legal but sources are limited.”

We ask you to sign the petition with us which will automically fax your legislators and show your support against a federal ban on our ability to obtain whole unprocessed food.

Here is the link:
Sign the Petition

Do you still have concerns about raw milk? We agree that any milk, including raw milk, is dangerous when it has been produced poorly. When produced well, raw milk far exceeds anything you could buy in the store. We just want to pass on some love to this post at Plumpest Peach. Well said, well said.

Also, while all milk contains IGF- (insulin growth factor) (even human milk), raw milk from jersey and guernsey cows that are on pasture does not have the escalated levels of IGF-1 that is prevalent in conventional milk treated with rbST hormones.

By: Ashley Dance
Milk is a controversial food source for many in the nutrition and fitness field. There is research to back up many different claims for the health benefits or risks. Some say that milk is unnecessary past adolescence and point to animals to make the point. Animals grow up and are weaned off milk and don’t need it once they are grown. Others point to the high fat content and say that the benefits of the protein and vitamins don’t outweigh the amount of fat in it. So skim milk seemed to be the answer. But that is mostly water and loses most of its nutrients in the pasteurization and separation processes. So, here is another option to consider. Raw milk.

Raw milk simply means it is taken straight from the cow and not pasteurized or processed, only filtered and cooled. Pasteurization heats the milk to high temperatures to kill bacteria that is in it. It also kills most of the enzymes that are present. This is necessary when the cows have poor living conditions and are not fed proper food. The high grain diets commercially grown cows are fed changes the composition of the milk. Grass fed cow’s milk have enzymes that help with digestion, and has Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA). CLA is a heart healthy fatty acid that is present in the meat of these cows as well. The enzymes that are present help break down the lactose, which, obviously, is the protein lactose intolerant people cannot digest. Besides missing these healthful substances, commercially produced milk contains antibiotics and hormones that the cows are given. Plus, with so many cows in such a small space infection can spread like wildfire. Not to mention the infections the cows can get on their udders from being milked so often because of the hormones they are given to increase production. Puss often leaks in. Clearly, this milk is not safe to drink unpasteurized.

Until the Industrial Revolution, people drank raw milk all the time and were perfectly healthy. Raw milk is the natural form and the way nature intended it to be used. The problem came about when people tried to cut costs and increase profits and the health of the animals became secondary. Like many foods in our country, the product is not produced correctly in the first place, but instead processed further to “fix” the impurities that occur.

Raw milk is a complete food source. It has all eight essential amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein that your body cannot produce on its own. Animal products are the only things that contain all eight. Besides being a complete protein, raw milk has several helpful enzymes that are destroyed in the pasteurization process. Lysozyme is one of these enzymes and it helps break down cell walls of unhealthy bacteria. Lactoperoxidase is another one that in conjunction with others already in your body help fight other microbes. Immunoglobulins are complex milk proteins that act as antibodies and help resist many viruses. Lactobacilli bacteria are still present in unheated milk which helps break down the sometimes hard to digest protein lactose. When lactose is digested, lactic acid is produced increased absorption of calcium, iron and phosphorous.

Yes, raw milk has a high fat content. But it is a natural fat and your body knows what to do with it. It is not hydrogenated trans fat. Some fat is essential to transport fat-soluble vitamins. Your body cannot use, transport or store vitamins A, D, E and K without fat. Raw milk contains many minerals like calcium and phosphorous as well. Most everyone knows the importance of calcium. To be properly absorbed, calcium needs a certain ratio of phosphorous as well. Conveniently, raw milk contains this correct ratio. Raw milk contains many of the “good” bacteria you hear about all the time. These probiotics live in your intestines and help with digestion. Some pasteurized milk has some of these nutrients added back in, but like everything else, the natural form is more easily and completely absorbed.

The government does not allow the sale of raw milk in grocery stores because of the impurities and diseases that are present in milk that is not properly produced and collected. If you are interested in giving it a try contact us and we’ll help you find a farm that does it right! Also check out http://www.raw-milk-facts.com for more detailed information!