Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook That Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and The... (13 page)

Another factor contributing to the degradation of today's milk is pasteurization. We have been taught that pasteurization is beneficial, a method of protecting ourselves against infectious disease, but closer examination reveals that its merits have been highly exaggerated. The modern milking machine and stainless steel tank, along with efficient packaging and distribution, make pasteurization totally unnecessary for the purposes of sanitation. And pasteurization is no guarantee of cleanliness. All outbreaks of salmonella from contaminated milk in recent decades—and there have been many—have occurred in pasteurized milk. This includes a 1985 outbreak in Illinois that struck over 14,000 people causing at least one death. The salmonella strain in that batch of pasteurized milk was found to be genetically resistant to both penicillin and tetracycline.
¹²¹
Raw milk contains lactic-acid-producing bacteria that protect against pathogens. Pasteurization destroys these helpful organisms, leaving the finished product devoid of any protective mechanism should undesirable bacteria inadvertently contaminate the supply. Raw milk in time turns pleasantly sour, while pasteurized milk, lacking beneficial bacteria, will putrefy.

But that's not all that pasteurization does to milk. Heat alters milk's amino acids lysine and tyrosine, making the whole complex of proteins less available; it promotes rancidity of unsaturated fatty acids and destruction of vitamins. Vitamin C loss in pasteurization usually exceeds 50 percent; loss of other water-soluble vitamins can run as high as 80 percent; the Wulzen or anti-stiffness factor is totally destroyed as is vitamin B
₁₂
, needed for healthy blood and a properly functioning nervous system. Pasteurization reduces the availability of milk's mineral components, such as calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and sulphur, as well as many trace minerals. There is some evidence that pasteurization alters lactose, making it more readily absorbable. This, and the fact that pasteurized milk puts an unnecessary strain on the pancreas to produce digestive enzymes, may explain why milk consumption in civilized societies has been linked with diabetes.
¹²²

Last but not least, pasteurization destroys all the enzymes in milk—in fact, the test for successful pasteurization is absence of enzymes. These enzymes help the body assimilate all bodybuilding factors, including calcium. That is why those who drink pasteurized milk may suffer from osteoporosis. Lipase in raw milk helps the body digest and utilize butterfat.

After pasteurization, chemicals may be added to suppress odor and restore taste. Synthetic vitamin D
₂
or D
₃
is added—the former is toxic and has been linked to heart disease
¹²³
while the latter is difficult to absorb.
¹²⁴
The final indignity is homogenization, which has also been linked to heart disease.

Powdered skim milk is added to the most popular varieties of commercial milk—one-percent and two-percent milk. Commercial dehydration methods oxidize cholesterol in powdered milk, rendering it harmful to the arteries. High temperature drying also creates large quantities of cross-linked proteins and nitrate compounds, which are potent carcinogens, as well as free glutamic acid, which is toxic to the nervous system.
¹²⁵

Modern pasteurized milk, devoid of its enzyme content, puts an enormous strain on the body's digestive mechanism. In the elderly, and those with milk intolerance or inherited weaknesses of digestion, this milk passes through not fully digested and can build up around the tiny villi of the small intestine, preventing the absorption of vital nutrients and promoting the uptake of toxic substances.
¹²⁶
The result is allergies, chronic fatigue and a host of degenerative diseases.

All the healthy milk-drinking populations studied by Dr. Price consumed raw milk, raw cultured milk or raw cheese from normal healthy animals eating fresh grass or fodder. It is very difficult to find this kind of milk in America. In California, New Mexico and Connecticut, raw milk is available in health food stores, although such milk often comes from cows raised in confinement.

In many states you can buy raw milk at the farm. If you can find a farmer who will sell you raw milk from old-fashioned Jersey or Guernsey cows (or from goats), tested free of tuberculosis and brucellosis and allowed to feed on fresh pasturage, then by all means avail yourself of this source.

Some stores now carry pasteurized but not homogenized milk from cows raised on natural feed. Such milk may be used to make cultured milk products such as kefir, yoghurt, cultured buttermilk and cultured cream. Traditionally cultured buttermilk, which is low in casein but high in lactic acid, is often well tolerated by those with milk allergies and gives excellent results when used to soak whole grain flours for baking. If you cannot find good quality raw milk, you should limit your consumption of milk products to cultured milk, cultured buttermilk, whole milk yoghurt, butter, cream and raw cheeses—all of which are available in all states. Much imported cheese is raw—look for the words "milk" or "fresh milk" on the label—and of very high quality.
¹²⁷

For butter from pasture-fed cows and organic ghee by mail order, See
Sources
. See also www.Realmilk.com for a listing of raw milk and milk products from pasture-fed animals.

VITAMINS

The discovery of the first vitamins, in the early 1900s, began the era of modern interest in diet and nutrition. Pioneering chemists found that certain "unknown substances" in food were essential to life. They discovered that fat-soluble vitamin D and water-soluble B vitamins were necessary to prevent diseases like rickets, beriberi and pellagra; and that vitamin C, a factor present in many fresh foods, prevented scurvy. By the 1930s, scientists had discovered many more vitamins and had catalogued their effects. Public interest in the subject was intense, and articles on vitamins often appeared in magazines and newspapers.

The study of vitamins has not waned since the early days of research, and the subject of food science has proved to be far more complex than scientists at first imagined. The early discoveries led some researchers to conclude that all vitamins necessary to life could be supplied in their isolated factory-produced form as vitamin pills. We now know that vitamins do not exist as single components but as parts of a complex of compounds, each part contributing to the whole. For example, vitamin C used to treat scurvy and other deficiency conditions is more effective when given as a natural food concentrate, which includes minerals, rutin and other analogs.
¹²⁸

As many as seventeen water-soluble vitamins labeled B have been discovered, present in different proportions in different foods, but all working together synergistically; vitamin D may have as many as twelve components of which several are active;
¹²⁹
vitamin P has at least five components. Most vitamins produce optimum results in the presence of certain naturally occurring "cofactors," such as trace minerals, enzymes and coenzymes, as well as other vitamins.

The bewildering array of factors in foods now known to be essential has led well-informed nutritionists to recognize the futility of providing all factors necessary to life in pill form. While supplementing the diet with certain isolated vitamins has proven temporarily beneficial for many disease conditions, the best source of vitamins for most of us in the long term is properly prepared whole foods. For this reason, the importance of eating nutrient-dense meals, rich in vitamins and their cofactors, cannot be underestimated.

Vitamin and mineral content of food varies enormously with farming methods.
¹³⁰
Nitrogen fertilizers produce initial high yields, in part by pulling minerals from the soil. In time, commercially fertilized soils become depleted, and the foods grown on them suffer accordingly. Overall, vitamin and mineral content of American fruits and vegetables has declined significantly during the last fifty years.
¹³¹
The revival of interest in compost and natural fertilizers, rich in minerals including trace minerals, is due in part to the realization that healthy soil is the basis of health for all life forms. Scientific assays have shown large differences in vitamin and mineral content between foods grown with nitrogen fertilizers and food grown organically. For example, cabbage can vary in its iron content from 94 parts per million to 0 parts per million; tomatoes can vary in iron content from 1,938 parts per million to 1 part per million. Vitamin A content of butterfat varies with the season as well as the soil; even the protein portion of grains and legumes will vary with soil fertility. Some commercially raised oranges have been found to contain
no
vitamin C!

Food processing affects vitamin content to varying extents. Some vitamins are heat-sensitive while others survive heating fairly well. Steaming and waterless methods of cooking preserve vitamins better than rapid boiling, and vegetables cooked in an acidic liquid preserve vitamins better than those cooked in an alkaline medium. Oxidation is a prime cause of vitamin loss. Long periods of high heat used in canning are destructive to some vitamins but not all. On the other hand, cold temperatures and freezing have little effect on vitamin content, and air or sun drying preserves or even enhances nutrient content. Some methods of food preservation and processing actually make nutrients more available—these include simmering bones in acidic liquid to make broth, culturing of dairy products, sprouting and traditional methods of pickling, fermenting and leavening.

The Diet Dictocrats have set minimum daily requirements for a few key vitamins and minerals, but many investigators feel that these standards are far too low. These critics contend that minimum daily requirements are sufficient to prevent acute deficiencies but not enough to support optimum health, especially as individual requirements for specific vitamins and minerals vary widely. In fact, a typical profile of nutrient requirements is one in which the individual has average needs with respect to most vitamins and minerals but requirements far in excess of average for a few specific nutrients.
¹³²
Consumption of sugar, refined flour and hydrogenated fats, and of alcohol, tobacco and many drugs, depletes the body of nutrients, resulting in higher vitamin and mineral requirements for users. Stress of any sort causes the body to use up available nutrients at a faster-than-normal rate.

Space permits only a most cursory summary of the major nutrients in our food.

  
Vitamin A:
This all-important vitamin is a catalyst on which innumerable biochemical processes depend. According to Dr. Price, neither protein, minerals nor water-soluble vitamins can be utilized by the body without vitamin A from animal sources.
¹³³
Vitamin A also acts as an antioxidant, protecting the body against pollutants and free radicals, hence against cancer. Vitamin A stimulates the secretion of gastric juices needed for protein digestion, plays a vital role in building strong bones and rich blood, contributes to the production of RNA and is needed for the formation of visual purple. Sources of preformed vitamin A (called retinol) include butterfat, egg yolks, liver and other organ meats, seafood and fish liver oils. Provitamin A or carotene is also a powerful antioxidant. It is found in all yellow, red, orange or dark green fruits and vegetables. Carotenes are converted to vitamin A in the upper intestine. Vegetarians claim that the body's requirements for vitamin A can be met with carotenes from vegetable sources, but many people—particularly infants, children, diabetics and individuals with poor thyroid function—cannot make this conversion.
¹³⁴
Furthermore, studies have shown that our bodies cannot convert carotenes into vitamin A without the presence of fat in the diet.
¹³⁵
Dr. Price discovered that the diets of healthy isolated peoples contained at least
ten
times more vitamin A from animal sources than found in the American diet of his day. The high vitamin A content of their diets insured them excellent bone structure, wide handsome faces with plenty of room for the teeth and ample protection against stress of all types. It is best to obtain vitamin A from natural sources like yellow butter, egg yolks, organ meats, fish, shellfish and cod liver oil as high amounts of synthetic vitamin A from supplements can be toxic, especially to those with impaired liver function and to those whose diets are otherwise poor. High levels of natural vitamin A have no toxic effects, in spite of the medical establishment's dire warnings to the contrary. Antibiotics, laxatives, fat substitutes and cholesterol-lowering drugs interfere with vitamin-A absorption.

  
Vitamin B Complex:
All the water-soluble B vitamins work as a team to promote healthy nerves, skin, eyes, hair, liver, muscle tone and cardiovascular function; they protect us from mental disorders, depression and anxiety. Deficiency of the B vitamin complex can result in the enlargement and malfunction of almost every organ and gland in the body. The best source of B vitamins is whole grains—refinement thus wastes this essential source. They are also found in fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, seafood and organ meats; they can also be produced by intestinal bacteria. B
₁
(thiamine) was the first water-soluble vitamin to be discovered. Deficiency leads to the disease beriberi. Recent evidence indicates that B
₁
deficiency is the root cause of anorexia and other eating disorders.
¹³⁶
It is essential for the manufacture of hydrochloric acid and has been used to treat constipation, fatigue, herpes and multiple sclerosis. Sugar consumption rapidly depletes vitamin B
₁
. B
₂
or riboflavin is found in a variety of whole foods. Frequent cracks in the lips and corners of the mouth is a sign of deficiency. Deficiency of B
₃
or niacin results in the disease pellagra, characterized by dermatitis, dementia, tremors and diarrhea. The amino acid tryptophan can be converted to niacin and has been used to treat a variety of symptoms indicative of niacin deficiency. Pantothenic acid, vitamin B
₅
, found in organ meats, egg yolks and whole grains, is essential for the proper function of the adrenal glands. It plays a vital role in cell metabolism and cholesterol production. Pantothenic acid can improve the body's ability to withstand stress. Recent studies have revealed that vitamin B
₆
or pyridoxine, found mostly in animal products, contributes to the proper functioning of over one hundred enzymes. Deficiencies in B
₆
have been linked to diabetes, nervous disorders and coronary heart disease. They are widespread in the US because excess B
₁
and B
₂
, added to white flour, interferes with B
₆
function and because Americans no longer have access to one of the best sources of this heat-sensitive nutrient—raw milk. The B vitamin folic acid counteracts cancer by strengthening the chromosomes; folic acid deficiency can result in babies born with neural tube deformities like spinal bifida. B
₁₂
is needed to prevent anemia and nervous disorders as well as to maintain fertility and promote normal growth and development. Usable B
₁₂
is found
only
in animal foods. An early symptom of B
₁₂
deficiency is a tendency to irrational anger. B
₁₅
(pangamic acid) and B
₁₇
(nitrilosides) protect against cancer; the former is found in grains and seeds; the latter in grasses, sprouts, buckwheat, legumes and many fruit seeds. Traditional diets were much richer in nitrilosides than our own.

  
Vitamin C:
A water-soluble vitamin best known for its use in treatment of the common cold, it is also needed for a host of processes including tissue growth and repair, strength of capillary walls, lactation and adrenal gland function. It is vital for the formation of collagen, the body's structural substance. It promotes healing of wounds and is a powerful antioxidant. Dr. Linus Pauling and others have promoted megadoses of Vitamin C for cancer while others have used large doses to treat schizophrenia and drug addiction. But megadoses of isolated ascorbic acid may lead to imbalances and deficiencies in vitamin P. New evidence suggests that vitamin C works synergistically with vitamin E. Hypoglycemics and individuals on a high-protein diet require more vitamin C as these conditions interfere with the metabolism of ascorbic acid. It is found in many fruits and vegetables and in certain animal organs. Vitamin C is destroyed by heat. Alcohol and many common drugs including aspirin and oral contraceptives may reduce vitamin C levels in the body.

  
Vitamin D:
Like vitamin A, vitamin D is needed for calcium and phosphorus absorption and thus is essential for strong bones, healthy teeth and normal growth. It seems to protect against cancer and multiple sclerosis. Deficiency can cause rickets and myopia. The body manufactures vitamin D
₃
out of cholesterol in the presence of sunlight. Although some claim that we can obtain all the vitamin D we need by spending a short amount of time each day in the sun, Price found that healthy primitive diets were rich in vitamin D-containing foods like butterfat, eggs, liver, organ meats, marine oils and seafood, particularly shrimp and crab. Synthetic D
₂
has been linked to hyperactivity, coronary heart disease and other allergic reactions, while synthetic vitamin D
₃
is poorly absorbed. New research indicates that optimal intake should be ten times higher than the US Recommended Daily Allowance, thus confirming the findings of Dr. Price.

  
Vitamin E:
This fat-soluble vitamin is needed for circulation, tissue repair and healing. It seems to help in the treatment of fibrocystic conditions, sterility, PMS and muscular dystrophy. It seems to retard the aging process. A vital role of vitamin E is the deactivation of free radicals. This powerful antioxidant works in concert with certain trace elements, notably selenium and zinc, to prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease. Increased ingestion of polyunsaturated oils requires greater amounts of vitamin E in the diet. It is found in unrefined vegetable oils, butter, organ meats, grains, nuts, seeds, legumes and dark green leafy vegetables.

  
Vitamin K:
This fat-soluble compound is needed for blood clotting and plays an important role in bone formation. Vitamin K given to postmenopausal women helps prevent bone loss. It is found in liver, egg yolks, butter, grains, dark leafy vegetables, vegetables of the cabbage family and fermented soy foods like miso.