The (not so) hidden dangers of homogenized milk

Milk is a mother’s natural way of providing substance to her young. It is a perfect delivery mechanism to supply a baby with lactoferrins, immunoglobulins and proteins, the nutrition necessary for development. Homogenization takes that perfect process and transforms it into something else. The goal of milk treatment is to add consistency to the liquid. Without it, the cream would separate. While the end goal is practical, the means add hidden dangers to what is a naturally healthy drink.

What does homogenization do to milk?

Milk contains globules, or clumps, of butterfat that rise to the top of the liquid. Homogenization is a mix that breaks down lumpy areas, so it has a more consistent texture, a particularly attractive feature for commercial distribution. Without this mechanical process, you’d feel and taste the butterfat…or scrape the cream off the top!

The danger of homogenization

Homogenization is an effective way to create a more attractive texture for milk, but it also changes the base structure of the proteins. Raw milk is easier to digest than homogenized products. Once altered through homogenization, the milk becomes more difficult for the body to process.

Every system in the body has a function. Part of the digestive tract’s job is to filter food. Like most filters, smaller substances can slip through the mesh. Through the process of homogenization, long protein chains are broken down into small units that are not digested properly. These smaller chains slip through the filter to enter the bloodstream.

The job of the immune system is to protect the body from foreign invaders. When it detects a foreign body, the system acts to contain and destroy it. This is the same process that occurs when you contract an infection. When undigested protein enters the bloodstream, it has the potential to trigger an immune response that can lead to inflammation and a host of unpleasant symptoms.

The same mechanism that breaks protein chains will also reduce the size of the fat globules in milk. Butterfat does not disappear. The lumps become so small that you don’t know they are there. This makes them small enough to bypass the filter in the digestive tract. Once in the blood, that fat can increase the risk of heart disease.

Do hormones trigger cancer?

A secondary problem to homogenization is the introduction of hormones into the body. Digestion removes most of the potentially harmful elements in cow’s milk, but homogenization allows certain substances to bypass that protective filter. This includes:

• fat
• proteins
• hormones
• steroids

Some of the components are natural elements of milk, while others are fed to the animal to increase production. When it comes to hormones and steroids, the human body doesn’t know the difference between what is natural and what is artificial. When humans ingest a growth hormone given to the cow, it can trigger the proliferation of cancer cells.

alter the process

When homogenization changes the structure of the milk, it alters the natural process. This can put people at risk of serious illness. Homogenization can increase the chances of developing:

• Digestive problems
• autoimmune problems
• heart disease
• Cancer

A study by Connecticut cardiologists Oster and Ross showed that bovine xanthene oxidase (BXO) was able to survive digestion. The doctors’ article, published in the Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine (vol. 163:1981), states that antibodies to milk were elevated in male patients diagnosed with heart disease.

In addition, there was evidence that the fat globules changed shape during homogenization to become irritating to artery walls. This irritation causes the body to create cholesterol to protect the walls as an insulator. This may be one of the reasons for the increase in heart disease among young people.

In an attempt to improve milk, the dairy industry has gone against nature. Raw milk is a natural substance. Homogenized milk is not. Common sense tells you that going against a natural process is going to be a problem. Medical science is hiding the fact that there are hidden dangers in cow’s milk homogenization that can lead to chronic illness and even the possibility of terminal illness.