Is milk healthy?
In my opinion, milk is a superfood!
It contains a great spectrum of vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and protein. The downfall? We pasteurize it, which unfortunately damages some of the nutrients along with the enzymes that benefit our digestion and immune system.
If our body is able to digest milk, it is a liquid source of easy energy & nutrition.
If our body is unable to digest it, then it can be a source of inflammation- so listen to your body and perhaps read below to decide if goat, cow, another, or NO milk is right for you.
Our body naturally produces less and less lactase enzymes as we grow older, (unless we have adapted otherwise). This is why we notice people tend to get upset by dairy at an older age.
Are you lactose intolerant?
If we cannot train the body to produce the lactase enzymes needed for digestion, our goal should be to reduce/eliminate our exposure to lactose- the sugar found in milk.
One way to aid our digestive process is with fermented dairy products. These active foods (like yogurt, kefir, cheese, etc.), contain enzymes and bacteria that can be easier to digest. Small exposures to dairy can train the system to produce lactase enzymes, therefore correcting a gas and bloating response.
I have blogged about this before, undigested foods can become a source of inflammation, 'ama' so keep this in mind if you are consuming dairy but having a bunch of pain, inflammation and/or stomach/gastric upset.
Can dairy heal?
In Ayurveda, dairy and/or coconut milk is warmed with spices or cooked into ghee to help heal an irritated digestive system.
To make a soothing milk remedy: slowly heat milk on the stove to a low simmer. Use full fat milk, and if you can find unhomogenised, this will be milk that has been through one less processing step. Add spices that are known to stimulate and assist our digestive system, like cinnamon, sea salt, turmeric, ground pepper, nutmeg, clove, cardamon, even cocoa... Sweeten with raw honey after it has been taken off the simmer. Alternatively you can sweeten with cane sugar, maple syrup, agave, or leave unsweetened!
Samantha