Here at North Hill Farm Dairies we love our raw milk and we

have always known that it is not only unbelievable tasty but it

is very good for you. 

 

This is why …..

All mothers, including cows, provide natural enzymes in their milk. These enzymes act like a toolkit to enable infants, whose digestive systems are not yet fully developed, to absorb and utilise all of the nutrients available in the milk. Possibly the most important enzyme is Lactose enzyme that helps digest milk sugar.   The pasteurisation process (heat) destroys the greater proportion on these natural enzymes.

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Fresh raw milk contains a full range of B & C vitamins which are destroyed by heat treatment (pasteurisation) and have a shelf life of about 7/10 days before the concentration starts falling.

The calcium in raw milk is fully soluble and digestible and is one of the best sources for us humans.  In order to make best use of calcium, your body needs soluble vitamin D. Whole raw milk is full of fat-soluble vitamin D but it’s only soluble and digestible when there is plenty of raw milk-fat available for it to dissolve in. So in order to get the maximum calcium and vitamin D from your milk, you need to drink it raw and full-fat. Skimmed milk contains hardly any vitamin D and therefore less calcium can be absorbed by the body.

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Another fat-soluble vitamin available abundantly in raw milk is vitamin A. Like vitamin D however, if the fat in the milk is damaged or removed, the levels of vitamins drop to almost nothing. This can happen when milk is being carted around by tanker, collected from the dairy and delivered via multiple pumps and pipes to the processing plant. During all this upheaval, the milk becomes aerated and oxidation of the fats occurs. This can cause milk to taste “off” and also significantly reduces the amount of vitamins available in the milk. Milk drunk straight from the farm has not had excessive aeration and pumping. The fat soluble vitamins are conserved and the flavour remains fresh.

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Another major advantage of raw milk is that is full of beneficial bacteria particularly for the gut health and fighting infection, these again are destroyed by the pasteurisation process.

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