Raw milk or fermented dairy and lactose intolerance. Why might it help?

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posted on

April 2, 2025

*Originally written on 10/22/21. Updated on 4/2/25.

I was misinformed. At some point, I read that raw milk contains lactase. As it turns out, this is not true!

It's true that raw milk contains many live enzymes that are inactivated during pasteurization. This is true for milk from all mammals - cows, goats, buffalos, humans, mice, whales, etc.

It contains the protease enzyme, which aids in the digestion of protein. It contains the lipase enzyme, which aids in the digestion of fat. It contains the phosphatase enzyme, which decreases inflammation and reduces the risk of heart disease and Type-2 diabetes. And, there are numerous other examples.

But, what about lactase? Lactase is a specific enzyme that’s necessary to break down lactose, milk sugar.

When a baby is born, it naturally produces lots and lots of lactase in its intestines, which is used to break down breast milk. But, as that human gets older and older, it naturally produces less and less lactase.

Lactose intolerance is when a person either produces none or not enough lactase. In turn, they are unable to fully digest lactose, which typically leads to bloating, diarrhea, cramps, nausea, and other uncomfortable side effects.

The mainstream medical solution to this is avoiding dairy altogether (which is such a shame, since it can be such a nourishing food), supplementing with an artificial lactase enzyme, or drinking Lactaid or other lactose-free dairy products.

Ever wonder how lactose-free dairy exists? Well that has to do with lactase, too! They add artificial lactase enzymes that consume all lactose in the final product.

I’ve heard countless anecdotal stories from people who are lactose intolerant... but can handle raw milk. If raw milk doesn’t contain lactase, then why is that?

Raw milk contains beneficial bacteria that can jumpstart your body into producing lactase, which then breaks down lactose in the intestinal tract. Amazing!

These Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria bacteria are virtually nonexistent in pasteurized milk, since heating the milk to 145F kills 95-99% all living microorganisms. And that's fine for many people who don't get tummy troubles after eating dairy. But for others, raw milk is a better, gut healing fit.

And what about yogurt and kefir and cheese, even when it's made from pasteurized milk? I've heard some people say they can handle those but not pasteurized milk itself.

The probiotic strains in yogurt and cheese made from pasteurized milk can do the same thing as raw milk! And, the enzymes in kefir actually digest lactose themselves!

Plus, the process of fermenting dairy reduces the amount of lactose in the final product. After all, those probiotics are eating the lactose and creating lactic acid, which is what gives yogurt and cheese and kefir it's "tang".

Keep in mind that these effects may take time. If a lactose intolerant person drinks raw milk or eats yogurt or kefir, they may still have issues at first. This is one big reason that it’s recommended to introduce raw milk or reintroduce dairy slowly.

Going back thousands of years, humans developed lactase persistent genes through natural selection. This allowed them to digest dairy into adulthood and to live in colder climates, consuming dairy in the colder months when foraged foods were unavailable.

So, this makes me wonder, with the popularity of pasteurized and lactose-free dairy in the past 100 years, are we selectively breeding out the lactase persistent genes?

This is why the Miller’s Bio Farm tagline is “Inspiring Healthy Generations”. It’s not just about your health now, but the health of the future generations to come.

Can you handle raw milk but not pasteurized or vice versa? Can you handle yogurt, kefir, and cheese but not milk?

I’d love to hear your story. Contact us or join the conversation below (no account required!).

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Sources

Raw Milk Institute, Letter to Medical Professionals about Raw Milk
Mayo Clinic, Lactose Intolerance
Raw Milk Institute, Raw Milk and Lactose Intolerance
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Lactose digestion in humans: intestinal lactase appears to be constitutive whereas the colonic microbiome is adaptable
Healthline, 9 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Kefir
Wiley Online Library, The effect of yogurt fortified with Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium sp. probiotic in patients with lactose intolerance

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Health and Nutrition

Raw Dairy

Does varying yolk color affect the flavor of honest eggs?

As you know, we don't add any color to our feed. This is why our pastured corn & soy free eggs are called "honest yolk eggs". "Color" includes unnatural stuff like dyes as well as natural stuff like marigold and paprika. Nearly all egg farmers nowadays do this... even the natural ones. Why? People demand consistent color yolks, thinking it means a certain quality. Little do most know, yolk color is superficial now. At Miller's, we know this for a fact. Curiosity made us to send our eggs for testing, and there was zero nutritional difference in our orange vs yellow yolk eggs. What mattered most was the farming practices and quality of the feed, and our eggs came out on top for most tests. We really love having varying yolk color. It's an indicator of what the birds are eating. It tells our farmers how their pasture is doing. If the plants are too mature, not diverse enough, it's too wet or dry, or if chickens aren't eating the pasture, we'll see that with the yolk color! Now, we've had an array of responses since we removed the color from our feed. One baffling one is --- the light colored yolks don't taste as good as the dark colored yolks. Is this true? I mean, removing the color is only a superficial change. It shouldn't affect the flavor. Well, we needed to find out. So... we did a blind tasting on the farm a few weeks ago. Here's what that looked like: The results? The whole team agreed -- all eggs tasted the same! The biggest factor affecting egg flavor was the yolk to white ratio. The more yolk, the more flavor. It's spring, and our hens are out on pasture 100% of the time. An egg develops for about 6 weeks inside a chicken, so it takes some time. But... you should start to see darker yolks now. Have you noticed a change in yolk color? Have you noticed a flavor change? Would you prefer consistent colored yolks or honest yolks? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us 😊 PS: The egg shortage is 100% over, and we have plenty of eggs now!! That means egg bundles are back!

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A customer shared his farm food order with us on Instagram. Thanks for sharing, Nick! It included this amazing video of the volcano that can erupt from our fermented pickles: What's going on here? Why so many bubbles? Conventional pasteurized vinegar pickles (you know, the kind that are considered "normal") don't bubble at all. What you're seeing is the fermentation. When fermented pickles are made, it's a very simple process. The following is mixed in a jar: Cucumbers, well water, celery seed, mustard seed, dill, garlic, Celtic sea salt, and whey. Then, the jar sits with a loose lid for 3-7 days, until it's done fermenting. The seeds and herbs are in there for flavor only. The cucumbers, water, salt, and whey are what make the magic happen. Note that there is no powdered culture added. Yes, whey is added and it has probiotics, but it simply helps jumpstart the ferment. Even without the whey, those pickles would ferment. It would just take a little longer. This is because raw veggies naturally have lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in them. When you mix them with water and salt, it creates the perfect environment for them to grow. Pretty cool, right? The living microbiology (the LAB) grow and multiply. They eat the naturally occurring sugars and starches in the cucumbers and produce CO2, a gas. The fermentation carbonated the pickle brine! The fermentation made the volcano! It's also a sure sign that there's plenty of good probiotic stuff for your gut in that jar. The white stuff is yeast (most likely KAHM yeast). Another thing to notice in the jar is how the liquid is whitish, not clear. There's nothing unsafe about it. Yes, you can eat it! It's a natural part of fermentation. You see, KAHM yeast thrives in acidic environments. As that probiotic goodness ferments and creates CO2, it also creates lactic acid. The lactic acid not only gives pickles their distinct sour flavor but also makes the brine acidic. KAHM yeast is naturally in the air. It will land on a ferment and think "Gee, this would be a great home." And then it grows. It typically makes a film on the top of a ferment, but it can also sink to the bottom. With volcanic pickles, it gets all mixed up in the brine and will eventually settle. Fermented veggies are an acquired taste. Nick, who shared the volcanic pickles video, reported that: "The pickles are absolutely delicious. I love them!" But... we sometimes get complaints about the flavor of the pickles and the white stuff. Is Nick's palate simply more accustomed to ferments? Were some jars of pickles actually off? It's really hard to say... especially when you're not there smelling and tasting it yourself. What I do know is that fermented veggies are an acquired taste. They're very different from the distinct pasteurized vinegar pickle flavor you likely grew up with. Fermented pickles have umami to them (think about that "weird" flavor in miso or a very sharp aged cheese). They have a lot of tang. 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However, it can have an off-putting flavor, especially when there's too much. If it's on the top of the brine, simply scoop it off. If it's all mixed up in the brine, let the jar sit for a day or two so it settles. Once it sinks to the bottom of the jar, you can remove the pickles and clean brine (leaving the white stuff at the bottom), clean the jar, and then put the pickles and brine back in. Voila! With this in mind, you might be wondering... Can ferments become unsafe? If a lacto-fermented veggie goes wrong, it will be pretty obvious. It may have a repulsive smell, flashy colors (like pink or black mold), or a foul flavor. While a normal ferment should have a sour, tangy smell, a bad ferment will smell putrid or rotten. This can be a little tricky, especially if you're new to ferments. The flavor can be wild! Often you simply need to trust your gut. Although getting used to ferments can take some time and know how, it's worth it. Why? They're just so darn good for your gut. 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