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

Our bone broth tested negative-ish for heavy metals 🥳 NATURAL AND CLEAN

Over the past few months a bunch of people asked us if we tested our bone broth for toxic heavy metals. When we get the same question a lot, we of course look into it. My first question was --- Is there an issue with toxic metals in bone broth? As it turns out, yes, there "can" be an issue! Heavy metals are naturally present in our environment. We need the "good" heavy metals to thrive: iron, zinc, magnesium, copper, etc. But, we can 100% do without the toxic heavy metals: arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, etc. Too many toxic heavy metals can lead to a host of pretty awful issues: nervous system damage, cardiovascular issues, cancer, endocrine disruption, kidney damage, and so on. Our body is designed to excrete heavy metals through urine (and a little bit through sweat, hair, and breastmilk too)... but only so much. There's a limit. If you're overloaded, your body will store those heavy metals in your bones, blood, tissues, and organs. Similarly, if an animal is exposed to heavy metals via food, water, air, dust, or soil, those heavy metals accumulate in the bones. Maybe the farm's soil or air is contaminated from a nearby factory. Maybe the pipes for the water has lead solder connecting them. Maybe the feed a farm is buying was grown on contaminated soil or processed on contaminated equipment. And, of course, a main purpose of bone broth is drawing out as much as possible from the bones. If there are heavy metals in bones, they will make their way into the broth. This is especially true when you pre-soak with apple cider vinegar and simmer for 48 hours to make it thick and gelatinous (like our broth). And that led me to my second question --- Should I be concerned about every bone broth? Where is the fear coming from? Well... it seems it might be a little political. There was a study done in the UK in 2013 that scared a lot of people. It's titled "The Risk of Lead Contamination in Bone Broth Diets". This study found high levels of lead in organic chicken bone broth, which is quite concerning. And, in fact, this one study is still cited in articles written today! Let's dig a little deeper. Let's go farther than the short abstract. Here are the broths tested in the study and their test results for lead: (9.5 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus skin and cartilage(7.01 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus bones(2.3 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus meat(0.89 parts per billion): Tap water alone cooked for the same amount of time as a control. But, they only used organic chicken from one farm. And, there's zero information about that farm, their practices, the feed, and the broth recipe. Did they use vinegar or wine in the broth? Was the chicken's water contaminated with lead? What was the quality of the feed and the soil? Were the chickens raised indoors or outdoors? So many unanswered questions! All we get is that it was one "organic chicken" that created a lead issue with broth. Another curious thing is that the broth with skin and cartilage contained more lead than the broth made with just bones. Bones are where lead is stored, so why wouldn't the broth made with bones only contain more lead? It's an odd result. Moreover, the abstract of the study specifically called out "bone broth diets" like GAPS and paleo. They even go so far as to write, "In view of the dangers of lead consumption to the human body, we recommend that doctors and nutritionists take the risk of lead contamination into consideration when advising patients about bone broth diets." That's quite curious. Why are they worried about these diets? Are the researchers anti healing through food? Who funded the research? Is it political? My opinion? This study is not comprehensive. It does not speak to all bone broths. But it does cover a potential issue if the water or animals are overloaded with heavy metals. What I glean from this study is that we need more research. We don't need fear to spread and people to stop drinking broth from this one study. Regardless of whether the fear was fabricated or legit, we tested our bone broth anyway. After all, it's always nice to validate that your food choices are as clean as you think. For Miller's, here were my concerns before testing: What if there's mercury in the fishmeal in our chicken feed?What if the soil that our animals live on is contaminated?What is the well water that the broth is made with is contaminated?What if the Celtic sea salt has lots of heavy metals? We got the test results back. I was super excited. But, I was also confused. At face value, it appeared that our bone broth tested NEGATIVE for arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. You can find the test results right here! You'll notice that, for every sample, the results are "<0.01 mg/kg" and "<0.02 mg/kg". I asked the lab what the "<" means. They said that it indicates their limit of quantitation (LOQ), the lowest concentration that can be accurately tested using the test procedure in that sample type. So the results simply report that none of the metals tested were found in the sample above the specific reporting LOQs. Whether or not they were present below this LOQ is information that is not provided by the test. When talking to the lab, I told them what we needed and assumed that this test would go below a 1 ppb. So, when the results came in, I assumed that a "mg/kg" was the same as a part per billion (ppb). Ummm... that math wasn't write! A "mg/kg" is actually a part per million (ppm). That means that the test we ran had results saying that the broth had less than 0.02 ppm (or 20 ppb) of arsenic and lead. And, it had less than 0.01 ppm (or 10 ppb) of cadmium and mercury. For some reference, the EPA says that less than 15 ppb of lead is safe in drinking water. Not saying that I agree, but it's a good reference point. These results are good. It means the broth definitely isn't overloaded with toxic heavy metals. But, it's not good enough!!! We need to test again! We really need to a lower LOQ. We need to know the results with an accuracy of as low as 1 ppb. It looks like the lab we sent the original samples to doesn't have an LOQ that low. So here I am on the hunt for a lab to do it again. As soon as I can, I'll send samples in again and paying for more expensive testing to get the info you deserve. Stay tuned! I hope to have the new results in by the end of April 2025. Do you worry about toxic metals (or other junk) in your food? Where have your fears stemmed from? I'd love to hear from you. You can comment below (no account required) or contact us 😊 ----- Sources The risk of lead contamination in bone broth dietsBone Broth and Lead Toxicity: Should You Be Concerned?Bone Broth and Lead Contamination: A Very Flawed Study in Medical HypothesesBone Broth, Collagen, and Toxic Metals: A Research Review

Celebrating the Heritage of Corn on National Popcorn Lovers Day

You've probably heard a lot about GMO corn and its controversies, but did you know that corn, or maize as many Native Americans call it, is a cherished heritage food? Let's take a closer look at corn and learn about its history.

If animals eat wheat, does the gluten transfer to the eggs and meat?

We've been getting this question a good amount lately --- If your chickens and pigs eat wheat, which contains gluten, then do your eggs, chicken, and pork contain gluten, too? Super interesting question. I mean, the saying "you are what you eat" holds true to some extent. But... digestion is the opposite of simple. The short answer is --- Gluten in animal feed does NOT transfer to eggs or meat. Eggs are meat are naturally gluten-free. You see, just like you, when an animal eats gluten, the gluten is broken down into amino acids during digestion. Then, those amino acids are reassembled into a variety of things that support life and growth - proteins, hormones, neurotransmitters, etc. We have anecdotal evidence, too. There are many Miller's customers with Celiac disease or gluten sensitivities that handle our eggs, chicken, and pork without any issues. In fact, some say that our eggs and meat are the only they can tolerate - wow! A little caveat --- cross contamination. Here are two scenarios: What if a butcher uses products on meat or surfaces that contain gluten? I mean the list of approved sanitizers is loooong. This isn't a worry with our foods. Our eggs and chicken only ever touch water. And our pork is washed in organic apple cider vinegar.Can gluten be added to foods like sausages or pies or lunchmeat? Yes. Some baking sodas and spice blends contain gluten. And some trace ingredients (that don't need to be on the label) like maltodextrin or modified food starch may contain gluten. This isn't a worry with our foods. We try to keep things as pure as possible. Intolerances and sensitivities can be complicated. Some people react to parts of gluten, not the whole molecule. During digestion, gluten is broken down into peptides in your intestinal tract. Then, those peptides are broken down into amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of life. They're reassembled (with other things like broken down vitamins and minerals) into important stuff that your body needs - proteins, tissue, enzymes, hormones. People with confusing (and sometimes inconsistent) reactions might be having a reaction to a specific peptide or part of a molecule. It might now be the whole molecule that's giving you trouble! That's why many people with gluten sensitivity do fine with sourdough and/or einkorn (in fact, we even have a customer with Celiac disease that loves our sourdough einkorn crackers). Sourdough partially digests the gluten for you and possibly changes the way your body breaks it down. And einkorn is a heritage grain that contains a completely different kind of gluten compared to conventional wheat - gluten AA. There's actually a certain test you can take to give you more info. It's called a Zoomer test. Instead of simply seeing if you're reacting to a whole protein, it sees how your body responds to individual peptides. Neat! Or maybe people aren't reacting to wheat itself. Rather, they're reacting to chemicals sprayed on wheat. Many people with gluten sensitivity go to Europe and eat all the bread. Why is this? Well, maybe it's because glyphosate is banned in Europe. But here in the US, we're still spraying it on conventional wheat to dry it out quickly and get it ready for harvest. It could be that some people are reacting to a chemical on wheat... not the wheat itself. I mean, glyphosate is known for disrupting the gut! This could explain why some people don't do well with some eggs and meat but do just fine with ours. After all, we have the highest natural standards and aim to give you the purest food possible, down to the nitty gritty. What have you experienced? Are you sensitive or allergic to gluten but can handle eggs and meat? How do our eggs and meat feel for you? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below (no account required - just start typing) or contact us 😊 ----- Sources Are Eggs From Grain-Fed Chickens Safe to Eat on a Gluten-Free Diet?Zoomers Food Sensitivity Testing 101: Your Path to Food Sensitivity AwarenessIs RoundUp Giving You a Pain in the Gut?