REAL FOOD

I've been reading a book called Real Food: What to eat and why and it's really got me thinking about the foods that I eat. As a mom and someone who is struggling with health problems, I have been feeling motivated to eat better. This book has changed my perspective on what is healthy and I'm just so excited about it I want to share it with you all. The premise of the book is about going back to our roots, to traditional, non-processed, fresh food from the earth, the way God sends it to us. You may be shocked by what is presented in this book as healthy for you, and you may or may not agree. But it feels so right to me, that the healthiest food is the least changed from the way God made it. I thought I would write some summaries of what I'm reading for your benefit. And if you are enticed enough, maybe you'll pick it up.

Milk

We've all been taught that the best milk is the lowfat milk. Sure, fat makes it taste better, but the less fat you can withstand the better. Fat is bad. It clogs your arteries, increases your risk for heart disease, and makes you fat. Right? Wrong. According to Real Food, milk fat is good for you. But not the kind of fat found in regular store bought milk. The best milk is raw milk. Here's why.

Properties in raw milk. 1) Raw milk contains folic acid, vitamins A, B6 & C. These vitamins are heat sensitive and destroyed when pasteurized. By law, all store milk is pasteurized. 2) Raw milk contains important heat-sensitive enzymes: phosphatase to help your body absorb calcium and lactase to help digest lactose in milk. 3) Raw milk contains beneficial bacteria that aids in digestion, boost immunity (yes help you not get sick) and eliminate dangerous bacteria. 4) Raw Cream (made from raw milk) contains a cortisone-like (anti-inflammatory) agent which combats arthritis, arteriosclerosis and cataracts. 5) Raw butter contains myristoleic acid, which fights pancreatic cancer and arthritis.

ALL THESE GOOD THINGS ARE DESTROYED BY PASTEURIZATION.

Pastuerization. Pasteurization (heating milk to high temperatures to kill pathogens) was put in place in the early 1900s to combat outbreaks of disease like tuberculosis, which originated from poor-quality milk. The problem was...as mass milk production was born, dairy farmers found it cheapest to raise milk cows next to whiskey distilleries so they could feed the cows cheap distillery slop. The hygiene of the distillery dairies was very poor, cows were malnourished, and the milk they produced had so little cream (a sign of poor milk quality) that it could not even be made into butter or cheese. Additionally, the distillery slop was too acidic for the cow's belly which created a breeding ground for cow disease (bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis). Pasteurization was invented to sterilize the milk in hopes of halting fatal outbreaks but still allowing the continued sale of milk. The law of pasteurization continues today. The problem with it? Heat kills good stuff in milk.

If you're still interested in reading, tune in again. I'll add more as I read.......