Take a really tiny tube, force a bunch of milk through it at a few thousand pounds per square inch and what do you get? Homogenization.
Raw milk is actually an emulsion of fat droplets in water which, if allowed to stand, will separate into two layers: skim milk on the bottom and cream on the top. By breaking fat particles into smaller pieces through homogenization, the fat becomes evenly dispersed throughout. Basically it’s why you don’t have to shake your milk before you drink it. Sounds simple enough, right? Apparently not; it’s just one of the many pre-shelf processes associated with health issues including atherosclerosis and heart disease.
Dr. Kurt Oster originally hypothesized a link between homogenization and arterial degradation in the 70’s, arguably the most hotly debated issue surrounding homogenization still today. He suggested that xanthine oxidase (XO), an enzyme found in cow’s milk, becomes easily absorbed into the blood stream once broken down through the homogenization process, ultimately damaging arterial walls. A relatively large enzyme, XO is not thought to be absorbed in its natural form. However, Oster reasoned that once reduced to between .2-2 microns in size, XO can pass intact and unmetabolized through the digestive track and deplete plasmogens. Damage to arterial walls can lead to both atherosclerosis and heart disease.
But before you go purging your kitchen of dairy, do a little research; like most controversial issues, the evidence is debatable. There currently exists no research to conclusively support nor refute this theory. Nonetheless, there’s a reason minimally processed dairy is being found more and more on supermarket shelves across the nation. From synthetic hormones to corporate farming, not all milk is created equal and it’s got some consumers calling foul.
Read More:
Milk Pro/Con-Professional arguments for and against all things milk (Website)
Wikipedia-Homogenization (Wiki)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homogenization
*Be sure to read YGR’s Product Review for Snowville Creamery’s Unhomogenized milk here
Dairy is for baby cows, which turns a calf into a 300lb beast in a year (all science aside and listening to ones inner truth, how that intuitively support your weight goals?) Dairy = Veal = Torture.
Try hemp mylk (which is also a good way to support an alternative to pesticided cotton): 1 cup hemp seeds, 2 cups water, blend in high powered blender, enjoy!
July 31st, 2008 at 3:13 pmI found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you down the road!
August 12th, 2008 at 12:53 pmColl blog, thanks.
August 23rd, 2008 at 9:49 am