In some ways, I feel like I’ve been holding out on you.  I’ve written about a variety of topics since the inception of this blog, yet I’ve neglected writing on one topic that is very near and dear to my heart.  Mostly because I wanted to do the topic justice, since it’s one I’m especially passionate about.

Ready?

Let’s talk about raw milk.  Yes, you can laugh.  That was a lot of build up to talk about… milk.

Your first thought about raw milk may have been the same as mine when I first learned about it.  ”Isn’t drinking raw milk dangerous?  There was a reason pasteurization was invented…”

You’re half right.  Pasteurization came into use for raw products when industry developed.   When products are mass-produced, packaged, shipped, and consumed miles from their origin, pasteurization is a necessary thing.   It definitely saves lives.

Yet when milk can be consumed locally, the health benefits of raw milk far outweigh that of drinking pasteurized milk.     In a conversation with “my” farmer this week, he shared that they haven’t had a single person get sick from their milk in the 50 years they’ve been milking cows.

It’s actually much more likely that one would get sick from drinking pasteurized milk.  Raw milk has built in anti-microbial properties that actually help keep pathogens from growing in the milk.  Pasteurization destroys those, so any pathogens that get into the milk after pasteurization can grow unhindered.

Health Benefits

1. Digestion. Our bodies weren’t designed to digest pasteurized milk and pasteurization is directly linked to the rise in lactose intolerance.  Many people who are lactose intolerant can drink raw cow’s milk without any trouble.

2. Immune Support.  Pasteurization destroys all the bacteria in the milk – including good probiotics that our body needs to be healthy.

3. Good Fats.  Raw milk is FULL of good fats.  These fats are actually good for us, and absolutely essential for our bodies to function properly.  Heart disease comes from trans fats and other bad fats, NOT from the good fats found in raw milk.

4. Free of junk!  Raw milk is free of antiobiotics, hormones, and GMO’s!

5. Healing.  Raw milk can actually be healing to our bodies.  The Mayo clinic used to administer what they called the “Raw Milk Cure“, obtaining favorable results against cancer, weight loss, kidney disease, allergies, skin problems, urinary tract problems, prostate problems and chronic fatigue.    If you’d like a recent story, this mom cured her Lyme disease by drinking only raw milk.

Two More Reasons

Two more reasons to drink raw milk – the picture at the top of this post is a cow I call  Bessie.  She’s a Brown Swiss dairy cow, and our milk comes from her.  I love knowing that.  She and the other Brown Swiss cows have been producing milk on this particular farm for over 50 years.  She lives outside in a huge pasture, and wanders around being a cow with all her cow friends.

Along with all the health benefits, raw milk tastes AWESOME.  It is rich, creamy, and so delicious.

Where To Find Raw Milk

Hopefully, you live in a state where it’s legal to drink raw milk.  If you don’t, come visit me and we’ll get you some to try.     RealMilk.com has a listing of dairy farms, both cow and goat milk, where you can get milk.

photo credit: word of wisdom

Butter has gotten a bad rap in recent years. I used to cringe when my toddler would want to eat butter all by itself. Recently, I caught myself happily handing it over to my littlest “butter-demander”. Why?  I look at butter in a whole new light.

Butter can be good for you!  It’s a source of fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K and it contains important trace minerals like magnesium, zinc, chromium, selenium and iodine.

What about the fat?

Fat, despite what we’ve been taught through the years, is actually very necessary for our bodies.  Good fats are essential to developing a healthy brain.  You want to eat the right kind of fat, of course, and if you choose butter wisely, it counts!   Read more about Taking the Fear Out of Eating Fat from the Weston A Price foundation.

Margarine is actually full of unhealthy fats, and margarine-eaters have twice the rate of heart disease as butter-eaters!  (Nutrition Week, March ’91)

Choosing a brand of butter at the store, as with most products these days, can be a challenging experience. We definitely aren’t lacking in choices, yet how does one even start in finding a healthy brand?

In my opinion, the easiest way to choose a healthy butter in the store is to choose one with the fewest ingredients. Some brands will have an ingredient list over 15 items long! Some have a refreshingly simple ingredient list: sweet cream, salt. Ahh.

You also want to choose butter that is hormone, steroid, and antibiotic free.   The Organic Consumers Association has a list of the brands that are hormone-free, like Brown Cow.

Even better would be to choose organic butter from grass-fed cows.  Better still would be fresh butter, made from fresh raw cream!  If we have our own cow someday, I will definitely be whipping up my own butter!

image credit: Wikipedia

The term GMO is tossed around a lot these days, especially in the healthy food world.  What is a GMO and why are more and more people saying we need to avoid them?

GMO’s are genetically modified organisms and they are made by combining DNA (genes) from different organisms.   I think this technology is fascinating and has lots of exciting applications, particularly in medicine, but in our food is NOT one of them!

At a molecular level, our body absorbs the GMO’s that we eat in our food.   These GMO’s can do all sorts of things inside our bodies that we have almost no knowledge about.   For example, a recent article from Discover Magazine explains how mRNA from rice negatively affects our cholesterol levels.    In essence, mRNA in cells from rice lowered receptor levels in our cells that, in turn, increased our LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.  Who knew?  This example is only the tip of the iceburg in terms of the effect genetically modified foods are having on our DNA.

Why the push for GMO’s?   Among other things, proponents of genetically modified foods say that genetic engineering will increase crop yield and be the solution to the world’s hunger problems.   A heartbreaking article in the Huffington Post reveals just the opposite as it tells the story of how over 200,000 Indian farmers have commited suicide because of crop failure due to GE seeds.

70% of our processed foods now contain GMO’s.  To avoid GMO’s, look for a GMO-free label or buy organic.  I have started buying only organic bread, for example, because SO much of the wheat grown in the US is genetically modified.  Thankfully, Costco has a great organic sprouted wheat bread – check it out if you live near a Costco!

You can influence change in a couple of key ways.  We vote with our dollars, so each time you choose a GMO-free product, you’re sending a message to the corporations that you want GMO-free food!  Various non-profits are waging war on the food industry by campaigning for truth-in-labeling and for keeping our organic foods GMO-free!  Sign these petitions and email your Congressional representatives, sharing your views and opinions on your food supply.   We can make a difference together!

Join us at Food Renegade & Monday Mania!

I’m really excited to introduce you to Blessed [are the] Beekeepers!

Blessed [are the] Beekeepers is a locally owned beekeeping business in Mobile, AL.  Owner Mark Renn maintains multiple bee hives at community gardens in the West Mobile area. They offer a variety of products from honey and beeswax lip balm to dried spice mixes, jams and pickled items (such as jalapenos, banana peppers and pickles).

Mark sent me some lip balms and soaps to try out and I love them!  The lip balm is really moisturizing and smells good.  I love that it’s made with all-natural ingredients and by a small business owner.  His prices are fantastic too – soaps are only 75¢/oz!   Mark also makes custom flavors and labels – these could be a great fundraiser!

Mark has generously offered to do a giveaway for Renaissance Mama readers!  Follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter below and you could win a honey bear full of fresh, local honey, 3 lip balms, and several soaps.  The giveaway will run through 12:01 am on Saturday, so enter soon!

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Tropical Traditions recently sent me a jar of coconut oil to review – and one to give away!  So stay tuned at the end of this post to learn how to win your own jar!

I am a relative newcomer to coconut oil and have to admit that I was slow to try it out simply because I don’t like the taste of coconut.  (Actually, I think what I don’t like is the coconut that comes in the blue bag that also has propylene glycol in it!!  Maybe it’s fake coconut?)

Anyway, coconut oil has been fabulous all the way around!  It only has a mild coconut taste, and I’ve been able to substitute it in recipes for butter and oil with only pleasant results.  I used it in a chocolate chip cookie recipe last week instead of butter, and the cookies were wonderful!  My family and my neighbors devoured them!

I also used it to make deodorant.  I’d been wanting to try making my own for a while, and Tropical Traditions offered me the perfect opportunity!   We’ve been really happy with it and it’s stayed a nice solid consistency in our bathroom.  (Coconut oil melts in the heat, so I may need to keep the deodorant in the fridge during our Texas summers!)  My husband tends to be an opinionated reviewer of my “experiments” and this one has his stamp of approval.

My husband will eat it straight out the jar as well, just for the nutrients!   “Research shows that the medium chain fatty acids found in coconut oil boosts the body’s metabolism, raises body temperatures, and helps provide greater energy which can lead to weight loss.”

I love finding a product that’s so versatile.  I’ve been intentional about trying to simplify my life lately, and coconut oil is a great fit for that.

If you’d like to win a free jar of your own, enter in the Rafflecopter below!  The giveaway is open until Friday at midnight!

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