As many of you may know, Ayurvedic practitioners are big fans of animal milk. Cow’s milk is extremely nourishing and I always make sure our patients know how to seek out the best type of milk and how to take it in the correct way. Milk, as I have mentioned in so many other videos and writings, is the only food that can make ojas on the same day you drink it. Of course the milk has to be from grass-fed cows, non-homogenized, boiled and taken on an empty stomach or cooked into grains.
But now I’d like to discuss the amazing health benefits of goat’s milk. Even though a large part of the world’s population consumes more goat’s milk than cow’s milk, people are not as familiar with its healing properties, especially here in the United States where it is much less popular than cow’s milk.
So let’s look at some interesting facts about goat’s milk which might make you want to include it in your diet, even if you’re not allergic to cow’s milk.
To begin with, one of the main benefits of goat’s milk is that the chemical composition is far closer to human milk than cow’s milk. Its protein is A2 just like human breast milk. Most cow’s milk nowadays contains the A1 protein which is more difficult to digest, creating problems in those people sensitive to A1 proteins.
Many of my patients who told me they were allergic to cow’s milk were surprised that they could digest A2 cow’s milk without any problems. I’ve seen this happen over and over in my practice through the years. It turns out it was just the A1 protein that they were having a hard time digesting. This is why many people find it easier to digest goat’s milk, since it is always A2. Another reason people are less sensitive to goat’s milk is because it contains less lactose than cow’s milk.
Goat’s milk is easier to digest because it is made up of small fat particles, much smaller than those found in cow’s milk, making them easier to break down and assimilate into the blood stream. Plus, these small fat particles form a softer smaller curd in the stomach. These soft small curds are more quickly broken down by stomach enzymes, making it easier for the stomach to digest as compared to cow’s milk. And goat’s milk contains twice the amount of medium chain fatty acids as compared to cow’s milk. This makes it easy to digest as the fat molecules are smaller and get converted into energy quickly.
And the minerals found in goat’s milk are more bioavailable, which means that they too are also easier to digest and absorb into the cells than cow’s milk. In fact, both cow’s milk and goat’s milk are rich in calcium, but the calcium in goat’s milk is easier to absorb. Speaking of absorption, many people are deficient in iron and copper because they cannot absorb them well. Goat’s milk increases the uptake of both iron and copper in the digestive tract.
Nowadays just about everyone has destruction of the gut micro biome, or the friendly bacteria in the gut, from all the pharmaceuticals they have taken: medicines such as antibiotics, birth control pills, vaccines, acid reflux medicines and steroids all destroy the delicate balance of good bacteria which should remain in our gut for proper digestive and immune system functions.
Once these medications destroy these bowel flora, it is easy for infections to grow, especially candida albicans yeast, and parasites. H. Pylori, and other bad bacteria can also proliferate once their surveillance team, the friendly bacteria, die off.
It is really good to know that goat’s milk has high values of caprylic acid, medium chain triglycerides, which are used in malabsorption syndrome. Keep in mind that the friendly bacteria break the food you eat down into very small particles for absorption into the bloodstream, so when they become depleted you will have less absorption of nutrients in the blood stream, known as malabsorption. Many people take caprylic acid for their yeast overgrowths, but they would be surprised to learn that goat’s milk not only contains caprylic acid but also caproic and capric acids as well. In fact, the names of these fats are derived from the word capra, the Latin word for goat, because they are found in high levels in goat’s milk.
Due to these amazing compounds, goat’s milk is famous for its anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties and even has anti microbial activity against staph aureus, which causes diseases like pneumonia, UTI’s, sinusitis, infective endocarditis, and osteomyelitis. It even has anti-bacterial properties against E. coli, cholera, salmonella, klebsiella pneumoniae and shigella dysentery.
Therefore it plays a huge role in GI protection. And in protecting the lungs: research has demonstrated the effectiveness of goat’s milk in treating tuberculosis.
Cow’s milk contains trace amounts of selenium but there are very high amounts of it in goat’s milk, which is also important for our immune systems to fight off infections. Selenium is also used by the thyroid gland to make its hormones as is iodine, which is also found in goat’s milk. I know a lot of people take the synthetic versions of these in a supplement form, but the body can utilize the natural versions found in the food much better, without the side effects the synthetic versions can sometimes create.
If you want to lose weight, it’s best to consume goat’s milk over cow’s milk since it is a lighter milk in general than cow’s milk, but also, goat’s milk contains compounds called “milk fat globule membranes” (MFGM’s). MFGM’s surround the fats in the milk and make them soluble. New research in humans shows that ingesting MFGM’s leads to weight loss and reduced insulin resistance.
Another reason it is much easier to lose weight when consuming goat’s milk is because it has high levels of medium chain fatty acids, much more than in any other milk. These fatty acids are used to make energy and aren’t stored as fat, which is why it can actually lower cholesterol and help with conditions like heart disease and intestinal disorders. In fact, its healing properties are similar to olive oil, which means it increases your good cholesterol while reducing the bad ones.
Plant-based milks contain little to no protein at all. Goat’s milk on the other hand contains 8 grams of protein per cup.
The high levels of potassium found in goat’s milk help to reduce blood pressure because potassium is a vasodilator that relaxes the blood vessels. This is good to know for those suffering from high blood pressure.
And goat’s milk contains a substance called bio-organic sodium which contributes to the goat’s agility and nimbleness. This element is also responsible for enhancing joint health in humans.
When you milk a cow, the cream rises to the top. This is the kind of milk you want, as stated before. It’s called non-homogenized milk. Unlike cow’s milk, goat’s milk does not settle. Therefore goat’s milk is less processed because homogenization, the process of forcefully breaking up the fat globules in milk to achieve emulsification, is not necessary.
Many people tell me they are not willing to try goat’s milk due to its gamey taste. What I have found, though, is that it depends on what the goats are eating and how the milk is processed. If you can find either raw goat’s milk or a good quality goat’s milk from a farm or a food co-op, and not the highly processed versions usually found in the supermarkets, you will be surprised that it tastes exactly, if not better, than cow’s milk.
Goat’s milk is definitely recommended for longevity. Many research teams have been sent to Sardinia to see why Sardinians have nearly 10 times more people living over 100 per capita than in the United States. It was found that at the bottom of the mountain people were fairly healthy, but at the top of the mountain they lived the longest. The reason? At the bottom they were consuming cow’s milk, but at the top they drank mostly goat’s milk. Many cite this very important fact as one of the contributing factors to the Sardinians’ extreme longevity.
So again, if goat’s milk is something you’ve never considered, you might want to give it a try. It is highly nourishing and easy to digest and assimilate, and perfect if you want the health-giving benefits of milk but want to keep your weight down. It is great for babies and children and even adults who are lactose intolerant and sensitive to cow’s milk.
And on one final note, goat’s milk can even help improve your complexion because the fatty acids and triglycerides found in goat’s milk have moisturizing qualities and keep the skin feeling soft. Plus the high levels of Vitamin A found in goat’s milk can improve your complexion, fight acne and improve the skin health overall.
Please give it a try. It is a big part of my diet, in addition to the nourishing cow’s milk I take throughout the week. I think you’ll really benefit from it as well.
Thank you,