Organic milk is in great demand these days and the price is almost double the cost of other milk, so should we still go for it? Does it really have all the health benefits it is claimed to have? Moms are usually confused over the organic milk hype. They often fail to realize that will organic milk provide all the nutrients that are required for their child’s growth.
What is the advantage?
Evaluating the health claims, so far, research does not support any great advantage, except that organic milk has an outstanding shelf life.
Weigh the benefits
To define milk as organic the U.S. department of Agriculture specifies four conditions which can also attributes to the benefits it has.
1. The cows should not be treated with any antibiotic. Even if they are on treatment they should not return to the herd for a period of 12 months. This is a major contention on people’s forum that the ordinary milk contains antibiotics.
2. Organic milk must come from cows that have not been treated with BGH or bovine growth hormone. This treatment is given to increase the milk production. The concern is that the hormones could raise the risk of hormone related cancers or higher levels of an IGF-1 or insulin like growth factor linked with cancer. But scientific reports negate this theory saying that this is a protein that gets destroyed in the digestive juices and that IGF-1 is already present in our saliva and digestive tracts. Bauman, a professor at Cornell University says that we have to drink 95 quarts of milk to equal that quantity in our saliva.
3.The grass or grains used to feed cows must also be organic and not have any pesticides. But non organic milk is also tested for pesticides and are found to be well within the tolerance levels.
4. Cows must be allowed to graze fields. Here again there is some controversy regarding grain versus grass fed cows. Whether CLA or conjugated linoleic acid, a special type of fat that protects one against cancer is present in grass fed cows or grain fed is not very clear. And also that big dairies may not be following this regulation due to the huge number of cows.
Is there any disadvantage too?
In spite of these regulations, organic milk still has one disadvantage. Because it is produced under special conditions, organic milk is not easily available and has to be carried for long distances. So it is subjected to very high temperatures to kill bacteria in order to keep the milk from getting spoilt. Sure, this process is good to enhance shelf life but, this process kills all vitamins and good bacteria too. Ordinary milk is pasteurized, that means maintaining a constant low temperature to boil the milk. But this does not kill all the bacteria which is why it cannot be kept unrefrigerated for long.
The bottom line
Opinions are still divided about the advantages of organic milk. Research claims that, there is only a slight nutritional benefit of organic milk. It stands to reason that you can go for organic milk if you can afford it. You can also support organic farmers who do not use harmful chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides that pollute the land and environment. So it is a part of the ‘save the planet’ program.