I’ve decided to revive our In the News posts, because there have been a few interesting articles catch my attention in the past few weeks.
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Milk has been in the news again. My mom was a huge proponent of drinking unpasteurized milk, because the process of pasteurization kills not only the bad bacteria but the good bacteria as well as changes the structure of the fatty acids. Unfortunately, there are many states where it is illegal to sell unpasteurized milk, and people must resort to complicated cow shares to obtain what they are looking for. The one time I attempted to track down someone who offered this kind of opportunity, I was treated with suspicion and nothing came of it. Short of unpasteurized milk, look for a dairy that pasteurizes to the lowest possible temperature for the shortest amount of time. Ultra-pasteurization allows milk to stay good for significantly longer, but the extreme temperatures the milk is subject to does even more damage to the good qualities that milk is supposed to have.
The news of the day is that whole milk and other whole fat dairy may actually help us keep from gaining weight better than the low or non-fat varieties. Did you know that whole milk is actually only 3.5 percent fat? Finally, the kind of cow that produces the milk you drink may be affecting how you feel. The information at this link gets pretty technical, but it is fascinating. Dairy cows fall into two distinct categories, A1 and A2 beta casein. The A2 group seems to be easier on our gut, but the American dairy industry is overwhelmingly A1.
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There was an article out of California last week about a UCLA study on a non-drug treatment for Alzheimer’s that may reverse the disease. This hits near and dear to my heart, considering my grandma suffered from Alzheimer’s and ultimately passed away a week after my mom’s death almost two years ago. Even more exciting (for me) than the suggestion that this horrible disease may be reversible, was that the treatment the UCLA researchers suggested were many of the lifestyle changes my mom had been treating her patients with throughout her career. The subjects “avoided simple carbs, gluten and processed foods. They increased their fish intake, took yoga and meditated. They were instructed to take melatonin, get adequate sleep, incorporate vitamin B-12, vitamin D-3 and fish oil.”
