Is eating Raw milk products and yogurt safe???

[Ihurt]

I have been pondering trying raw yogurt but am not sure about it's safety. I talked to my dad about it and he is absolutely against it! He worked for a dairy for over 30 years and said that you can get deathly sick from a bad batch of raw milk! He basically told me not to chance it. He said true, if you own your own cow and know where your getting it, it is probably a bit safer, but he said that is just it, I would not know the source well enough. He said even the most careful person can make a mistake with it. He said it is all about the handling and how many different containers this milk is put in before it gets to your door. All it would take is one unclean pipe or container that had maybe some dried milk in it that started to spoil. If you put good milk on top of that, your done, you have bad raw milk. One bad apple spoils the whole bunch he said.

I take low dose antibiotics daily to prevent the bad UTI's I get. Right now I have had to up the augmentin due to a UTI I got due to a colonoscopy I had done. I have not been right since that test. Anyhow, I do take very high doses of oral probitoics in order to help prevent C-diff and other gut issues while being on the antibiotics. I also eat organic yogurt daily with live active cultures in it. But I have been reading that raw yogurt is better and has more benefits in terms of probiotics. But I am not sure what to do.

Has anyone else on here consumed raw milk products??? Is it really that unsafe??

 

[Beach]

I was curious about eating raw cheese myself awhile back. I began ordering some Amish made cheese at first. Later I found a local store selling unpasteurized cheddar cheese. To my surprise I think there is a difference in how the cheeses, pasteurized verses raw, are handled by my gut. I digest the raw cheese easier.

I haven't read much into raw milk products. From what I've seen though, those that advocate raw milk products also tend to advocate for eating or drinking grass fed cow items.

I guess the typical farm lot produced milk, where grains are fed to cattle along with using antibiotics, is where one more often runs into trouble with food poisoning.

The grass fed raw Amish cheese really tasted grassy! It took awhile to get used to.

 

[hugh]

I wouldn't drink it but i won't touch the 'safe' stuff either...

Thousands do it, but it is a matter of trusting the source and handling and that's not easy.
Get yourself a cow:smile:

"Raw Milk Warning - Unfair Cherry Picking By CDC, Says Weston A. Price Foundation"
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242162.php
" According to several reports, in 1985 over 160,000 people across the USA became ill from consuming pasteurized milk products, says the Weston A. Price Foundation."

 

[Ya noy]

My husband and I buy raw milk from grass fed cows, and use it to make our kefir, pretty much every day. Only we pasteurize it ourselves first. To pasteurize, you just heat the milk up to between 160-180 degrees for a couple seconds, and let it cool before adding kefir grains. Kills most of the live bacteria though, both good and bad.

But we also buy raw milk because it's not subjected to the chemical processing of homogenization, in which the fat globules are artificially suspended, so the butterfat doesn't float to the top. Raw milk tastes better too, and makes yummier kefir.

Our raw milk comes from a small farm, about 20 miles from our house, but they also have a pickup location, right by our house. The farm is open to the public, and we've gone there to visit. We our eggs from them too, from grass fed chickens. The chicken coop is on wheels, and after the chickens go to bed at night, they hook it up to a tractor, and move it to a new location, so the chickens always have nice fresh grass to graze on, every day.

 

[Ihurt]

Thank you all for the replies.

Hmmm, I guess it is a matter of knowing the source then.

Hugh: Ha ha, buying a cow would be ideal and the safest bet!! To bad I don't I don't live on a farm, I would get one:lol2:

I am a bit leary of trying it though. I am so afraid after what my dad said to me about it. He said you can become deathly sick from drinking contaminated raw milk. I have a girlfriend who her and her husband also get their raw milk from a pick up location. I mean I do honestly believe that it is probably More healthy for the body, but again you have to know your source I guess and be able to trust it. My dad said that if you have a tiny farm, meaning you have like one healthy cow only and use the one bucket you clean for when you milk the cow, you have a better chance of not getting sick. The problems start when it becomes commercial and you have a lot of cows, containers and lots of different handling that the chances go higher for getting contaminated milk. My dad said all it takes it a hair line crack in a bucket, pipe, silo and that crack does not get totally cleaned. HE said it will start to grow bacteria and when you put the new milk in there, the bugs get into the new milk and they will multiply like crazy. It does not take long for it to be overrun with bad bacteria. My dad also said temperature of milk is very important in terms of shelf life. Anytime the temperature of the milk goes over 40 dgrees, every degree takes one day off of the shelf life. Even if the milk was brought back down under 40 degress, you still cannot reverse it, you lost that day.

Geez, the only reason I am interested in eating raw yogurt is for the probiotic properties. But the more I hear, the more I think it is not worth the risk.

Well, like Hugh said, I think I gotta get my own cow!

 

[nogutsnoglory]

I definitely believe in the health benefits of raw pasture raised organic dairy but its risky. If you are immune compromised I'm not sure it's worth the gamble. Some people have gotten so deathly sick or even died.

 

[AlliRuns]

Why even consider taking the risk if you know your immune system is already compromised? It doesn't seem worth it.

 

[kiik]

If you can't digest normal milk, raw milk has a lot of calories and suits those who are on a liquid/low-residue diet. Not sure how big the risk is though, especially since many are already on immune system modulators.

 

[The Real MC]

My doctor recommended greek yogurt since my resection. Zero problems, and I actually noticed reduced swelling after eating it.

Certain live cultures in yogurt are friendly bacteria for your digestive system. One theory behind the cause of Crohns is the over-sterilization of the public water system that removed these friendly bacteria, which correlates to the rise of new cases starting over 100 years ago.

 

[hugh]

in France, raw milk is happily sold in vending machines on street corners....

http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/the-french-paradox-and-raw-milk/
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/3130...-milk-farmers-france-unveils.htm#.UZs8wxUcBzB

Government Data Proves Raw Milk is Safe
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/government-data-proves-raw-milk-is-safe/

im not saying drink it, im just saying ?????deadly????? really????
make up your own mind

 

[nogutsnoglory]

It is not worth the risk in people with immune disorders. Grass fed and grain fed cows have been linked to dangerous bacteria.

http://www.foodsafety.gov/blog/raw_milk_3.html