There is a growing movement in the health and wellness community to avoid highly processed foods.
Milk got caught up in the movement. Online wellness influencers claim that raw milk is healthier and safer than the regular pasteurized milk you buy at the grocery store. But health experts are starting to have a different opinion.
“It is a common belief among raw milk supporters that pasteurization reduces the nutritional value of milk, but that is simply not true,” says a registered dietitian. jamie nadeau told USA TODAY. “It makes no sense to weigh the pros and cons and choose raw milk.”
Dietary and food safety experts tell you what you need to know about the safety issues that arise with raw milk.
What is raw milk?
Raw milk is milk that has not gone through the pasteurization process, an important food safety step that involves applying heat to kill disease-causing microorganisms. Megan DavisDVM, MPH, PhD, is an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
“Risks exist with some foods, such as fresh produce, which is why we recommend thorough cleaning procedures for fresh fruits and vegetables. We also recommend edible animal products such as meat and milk, especially meat The milk you eat and drink is processed with thousands of other milks,” says Davis. “It’s not a risk from one animal, it’s a risk that any one animal out of a thousand or more could shed its skin or become contaminated with a particular pathogen.”
Some people believe that raw milk is healthier than pasteurized milk because it is “less processed.” That’s not true, Nadeau says.
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“There are very few nutritional changes that occur after pasteurization,” she says. “Pasteurized milk is just as nutritious as raw milk and much safer.”
If you are looking for less processed milk, we recommend purchasing commercially pasteurized but not homogenized milk, also known as cream top. “It goes through the food safety steps of temperature and pressure, but it doesn’t go through any additional processing steps,” she says.
There’s also a misconception that the bacteria in raw milk is good for your gut, but Nadeau adds that those ideas are “unrealistic.” She recommends foods like yogurt, kefir, kombucha, and probiotic supplements if you want to incorporate more gut-healthy foods into your diet.
Is it safe to drink raw milk?
Several major health organizations, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the American Academy of Pediatrics, all warn against the consumption of raw milk; consuming raw milk can pose serious health problems. Not only the person ingesting it, but also those around them are at risk.
That’s right. Davis points out that consuming raw milk can actually pose a threat to the health and safety of those around you, even if you don’t consume the milk. And people with weakened immune systems, such as “infants, children, pregnant women, and the elderly,” are especially susceptible to getting sick.
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“Raw milk is not safe to drink because it may contain harmful pathogens,” Nadeau says. “Some of the pathogens found in raw milk can cause serious, life-threatening illnesses such as Guillain-Barré syndrome and hemolytic uremic syndrome.”
Bacterial contamination is not the only risk. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently Bulk test The company supplied large quantities of raw milk to the United States in response to the avian influenza that began spreading rapidly among cows in California earlier this year.
Good news. Pasteurization is designed to kill all of these harmful bacteria and viruses, Davis says. Experts say pasteurization is an easy choice when considering the potential risks and comparable nutritional value.
“Unfortunately, even if you get raw milk from a reputable farm, there’s no way to guarantee that it’s safe,” Nadeau says. “You can get sick from the same brand of raw milk you drank before, from the same source. You can get sick no matter how healthy the animals are or how well-maintained the farm is. There is.”
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