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Super Healthy Milk In Your Diet

Super Healthy Milk

By Jo Robinson

        In my on-going research into the health benefits of grassfed products, I have been particularly impressed by the differences between the milk of grassfed and grainfed cows.  Approximately 85 to 95 percent of the cows in American dairies are raised in confinement and fed a grain-based diet.  New research shows that a cow raised on her natural diet of pasture has five times more of a cancer-fighting fat called “conjugated linoleic acid” or CLA than milk from confinement dairies.  CLA research is still in its infancy, but a host of new studies suggest that CLA may be the most potent cancer fighter in our diet.  The human population studies are especially intriguing.  Recently, French researchers compared CLA levels in the breast tissues of 360 women.  The women with the most CLA in their tissues (and thus the most CLA in their diets) had a 74 percent lower risk of breast cancer than the women with the least CLA.  If an American woman were to switch from grainfed to grassfed dairy products, she would have levels of CLA similar to this lowest risk group.  Unlike other cancer prevention strategies, switching to grassfed dairy products requires no self-denial and no change in eating or cooking habits.  In my opinion, the fact that our American milk supply is so deficient in CLA is a national tragedy.
        With all the excitement being generated by CLA, however, other benefits of grassfed dairy products can be overlooked.  Milk from grassfed cows also has an ideal ratio of essential fatty acids or EFAs.  Bear with me for a moment, because although this science is rather complicated, it is very important for human health.  There are two types of fat that are essential for your health and cannot be made in your body---omega-6 fatty acids and omega-3 fatty acids.  A growing body of research suggests that a diet with roughly equal amounts of these two fats is ideal.  Such a diet is linked with a lower risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders, allergies, diabetes, obesity, dementia, and various other mental disorders.[1] 
         Whether a cow is on an all-grass diet or a typical grain-based dairy diet greatly influences the fatty acid balance of her milk.  The reason is simple: grass has far more omega-3s and fewer omega-6s than grain.  If you take away some of the grass and replace it with grain, you greatly alter the EFA ratio of the milk. 
        Take a few moments to study the chart below showing the omega-3 and omega-6 content of milk from cows fed varying amounts of pasture.[2]   The green bars represent omega-3 fatty acids and the yellow bars represent omega-6 fatty acids.  As you can see, when a cow gets all her nutrients from pasture (represented by the two bars on the far left) her milk has an equal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, the ratio that is believed to be ideal for human health.  Take away one third of the pasture and replace it with grain or other supplements (represented by the two bars in the middle) and the omega-3 fatty acid content of the milk goes down while the omega-6 fatty acid content goes up.  Continue with this process and replace two-thirds of the pasture with a grain-based diet (illustrated by the two bars on the far right) and the milk will have a top-heavy ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids.  The milk that you buy in the supermarket has this unbalanced ratio of EFAs because it comes from cows given liberal amounts of grain.

 Unfortunately, buying organic  milk will not alter this picture because most of the large organic dairies also use a grain-based dairy ration.  Milk from a cow fed large amounts of organically certified grain will have the same fatty acid imbalance as milk from a cow fed a similar amount of ordinary grain.  For an ideal ratio of EFAs, cows need to be raised on fresh pasture.
          Milk from grass-based dairies offers you yet more nutritional benefits. (I'm beginning to sound like a TV infomercial: “But wait! Don’t buy yet! There’s more!”)  In addition to giving you five times more CLA and an ideal balance of EFAs, grassfed milk is also higher in beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E.  This vitamin bonus comes, in part, from the fact that fresh pasture has more of these nutrients than grain or hay. (When grass is dried and turned into hay, it loses a significant amount of its vitamin content.)  But there’s another factor involved as well.  A cow produces considerably less milk on a grass diet than she will on a grain-based diet.  (Which, of course, is why the vast majority of our dairy cows are supplemented with grain.) A cow that yields only modest amounts of milk may be a problem for the producer, but she’s a blessing for the consumer. Why?  Because, as a general rule, the less milk a cow produces, the more concentrated the vitamin content of that milk.[3]  A cow has a set amount of vitamins to transfer to her milk, and if she’s bred, fed, and injected to be a Super Producer, her milk contains relatively fewer vitamins per glass.  In other words, her milk is a watered down version of the real thing.  A purely grassfed cow will yield a lower volume of  milk, but every glassful of that milk will be enriched with extra vitamins.
          When you add up all the nutritional benefits of the milk from grassfed cows you can understand why I am such an advocate of grass-based dairying.  In addition to lecturing and writing about grassfed products, I have also taken steps to ensure that my family and friends have access to the real thing.  Most of the cheese my family eats is either imported from Ireland or New Zealand (countries where most dairy cows are still raised on pasture) or produced by American grass-based dairies. (Many of these US producers are listed on http://eatwild.com)   
          Regrettably, I have been unable to locate an American supplier of butter from pastured cows, so have had to rely on Kerrygold butter imported from Ireland. (The Irish butter costs twice as much as ordinary butter, but slightly less than Horizon or Organic Valley organic butter.) Recently, I was interviewed on National Public Radio about grass-based farming and happened to mention the  Kerrygold butter. As soon as the interview was over, the radio station received numerous calls from listeners wanting to know where they could get some of this Irish butter.  (Go to www.kerrygold.ie)  I regret that I wasn’t able to refer them to an American supplier.  As soon as there is a “www.grassfedbutterUSA.com,” I’ll let the world know.
              Oh, I forgot to mention the most important thing.  Grassfed dairy products taste delicious and the butter and cheese have a deeper yellow color than ordinary products. (The yellow comes from the added amount of beta carotene.)  Slice some homestead cheese from a grass-based dairy or place a cube of Kerrygold butter on the table and everyone will notice the difference.  Also, all your cookies and cakes will have that rich buttery color that hasn't been seen since Grandma's day. (You do bake, don't you?) 

  Jo Robinson is a New York Times bestselling author.  To learn more about the health benefits of grassfed products and to purchase her books, Why Grassfed Is Best! or The Omega Diet, go to eatwild.com or call 206-463-4156 during West Coast business hours.

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