It turned out that this beloved beverage can be harmful instead of the expected benefit.
Currently, there is a growing body of evidence that pasteurization of milk may deprive the body protection from various types of allergies, as well as destroy a number of vital nutrients.
As is known, the method of pasteurization is heating milk to 72 degrees for 25 seconds, which allows to eliminate bacteria E. coli and other potentially deadly pathogens, such as Salmonella and Listeria. However, this process can also destroy useful elements that protect people from a number of diseases, in particular allergies.
The study of more than 1100 children from the German pediatricians of the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich showed that children who regularly drank unpasteurized milk were significantly less likely to develop asthma. The results of this large-scale long-term studies are consistent with the findings of earlier studies.
A new study also indicates that fatty acids omega-3 present in raw milk, can be a reason for its use. According to immunologists, these acids help the body produce chemicals that reduce the harmful inflammation.
Asthma, as you know, puts an inflammatory allergic reaction in the respiratory tract. This factor partly explains why children who consume raw milk are less likely to develop asthma. Our body cannot produce fatty acids omega-3, but they can be obtained from food e.g. dairy products and fish. However, the authors of the study are constrained from recommendations of switching to raw milk. They point to the possible danger associated with the potentially fatal bacteria that may be present in raw milk.
Instead, experts are urging dairy producers to develop methods of processing, which will be softer than pasteurization, and will be able to maintain the beneficial components in milk, eliminating all potentially dangerous pathogens.
