Homogenized Milk

Scientist Robert Anderson Ph.D Exposes a Myth behind New Zealand's favourite health
food.

Is anything more aggravating than buying what you understand to be organic food only to
discover that it is not organic and that industry has, once again, "meddled" with it?

My wife returned from a supermarket recently having purchased a bottle of "Simply

Organic" milk. On reading the label more closely we found it was nothing of the sort. In
the fine print we read that, as well as being pasteurised, this so called "organic milk" was
also homogenised.

But, you ask, "homogenising was developed for the benefit of consumers, surely?" Not
true. Homogenising was developed to reduce the fat particles to such a fine extent they no
longer separate out, so that the milk lasts longer on the shelf. It is only one of many
processes food is now subjected to entirely for commercial purposes. Consumers have to
contend with foods being irradiated, genetically engineered, homogenised and processed
using any other novel method that will benefit the corporations producing it.
Homogenising extends milk shelf-life to 11 days or so. It has no beneficial food value; in
fact, the very opposite.

According to government statistics, 50 percent of New Zealanders die from heart disease,
25 percent from cancer and five percent from diabetes. Now, it seems, homogenised milk
may be a leading contributor.

Dr Kurt Oster, head of cardiology in Connecticut, has been researching and gathering
evidence about homogenised milk for over 20 years. This questionable process began
being introduced by dairy companies as far back as 1932. Most of the milk consumed in
the US is now homogenised. Dr Oster's findings conclusively show that in the process of
extending shelf life and stopping the cream separating out of milk, medicine has a clear
culprit for increased arteriosclerosis. Dr Oster's findings link the formation of the plaque
which clogs arteries directly to ingesting homogenised milk.

According to Dr Oster, with Dr Donald Ross of Fairfield University and Dr John Zikakis
of the University of Delaware, homogenising allows the enzyme xanthine oxidase (XO)
to pass intact into the blood stream. There it attacks the plasmologen tissue of the artery
walls and parts of the heart muscle. This causes lesions that the body tries to heal by
laying down a protective layer of cholesterol. The end result is scar tissue and calcified
plaques with a build-up of cholesterol and other fatty deposits. We call these
arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis. According to these experts, dietary cholesterol is not
the main cause of heart attacks; it is homogenised milk.

Finns consume about 272kg of milk each per year; 90 percent is homogenised, meaning
245kg of homogenised milk per Finn per year.
Swedes drink about 60 percent as much milk, but only 2 percent of it is homogenised
(only 4.9kg per year). The death rate from heart attack in Finland is more than three times
the Swedish level (about 245/100,000 compared with only 75/100,000). These statistics
should serve to warn us that something is seriously wrong.

Homogenisation could also be one of the major reasons for allergies to milk. As Dr Oski
said in the finish of his disturbing book, Don't Drink Your Milk, 4 "Milk has no valid
claim as the perfect food. As nutrition, it produces allergies in infants, diarrhoea and
cramps in the older child and adult, and may be a factor in the development of heart
attacks and strokes."

Fragmenting the fats - how it works

Homogenisation forces the milk under extreme pressure, through tiny holes. This breaks
up the normally large fat particles into tiny ones and forces the fat to form tiny molecular
clusters, thus ensuring that the molecules do not regroup and form a cream layer on top of
the milk. Instead, in this denatured state, they stay suspended in the milk. However, not
only do they not regroup, the process also makes digestion almost impossible. The tiny
molecules enter the bloodstream directly as undigested fat - not exactly the best for
human health.

Xanthine oxidase has a very specific function in our bodies. It breaks down purine
compounds into uric acid, which is a waste product. The liver of several animals,
including humans, contains Xanthine oxidase specifically for this purpose.

However, as Dr Oster said, "When foreign XO, such as that from cow's milk, enters the
bloodstream it causes havoc by attacking specific targets within the artery walls." The
"specific target" which Dr Oster refers to, as mentioned earlier, is the plasmologen tissue
making up the artery cell walls. Plasmologen is vital as it holds together the cell
membranes within the artery walls. Any damage from foreign Xanthine oxidase causes
lesions to the artery walls. The body, in its efforts to protect and repair them, immediately
responds by "patching" the damage with calcified plaque. In the later stages of
arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis, arteries lose their elasticity as additional calcium is
deposited. Calcification of the arteries can contribute to high blood pressure which is
actually not a disease by itself, merely a symptom. It has been found in some samples that
plasmologen was missing in artery wall lesions and plaques. The mystery was solved
when researchers found XO in the plaques. The two substances cannot co-exist.

So what should we do?

Firstly, we must minimise non-preferred fats in the diet. Preferred fats include fish oils
and seafood oils, evening primrose oil, flaxseed oil, olive oil, and small amounts of
butter. Non-preferred fats include homogenised milk fats, processed oils, margarine and
excess animal fat. The use of trans-fatty acids (bad fats) potentially results in
deterioration of cell membranes and a degradation of the immune system.
If you still opt to drink milk, make sure that you carefully read the label on your next
bottle. Homogenised is not organic!

EVEN STANDARD MILK PASTEURISATION BRINGS PROBLEMS

It changes calcium into an insoluble form which we can no longer absorb. The old myth
that you can get calcium from milk is very shaky indeed and we have major increases in
osteoporosis even though plenty of milk is consumed.1 It is a common misconception
that dairy products are a good source of calcium. But the amount of phosphorus also in
milk blocks its absorption. People who drink a lot of milk have even been found to have a
higher incidence of osteoporosis. Furthermore, the Lee Foundation for Nutritional
Research has shown that pasteurisation destroys the vitamin A, around 38 percent of the
vitamin B complex, and about 50 percent of the vitamin C content of milk. Research has
also shown that an anti-cancer metabolite contained in raw milk is destroyed in
pasteurisation, and many enzymes are also damaged. A recent study by Auckland
medical researchers,2 published in the latest issue of the New Zealand Medical Journal,
also suggests a strong link between consuming milk with A1 beta-casein - which most
New Zealanders consume each day - and heart disease and Type 1 diabetes.

One of the most outspoken opponents of dairy products is American, Dr William Ellis,
who said: "Over my 42 years of practice, I've performed more than 25,000 blood tests for
my patients. These tests show conclusively, in my opinion, that adults who use milk
products do not absorb nutrients as well as adults who don't. Of course, poor absorption,
in turn, means chronic fatigue."3

While pasteurising may well ruin several valuable components in milk, homogenising
makes it much worse.

Robert Anderson Ph.D

References:

1. People in the US and Scandinavian countries consume more dairy products than
anywhere else in the world, yet they have the highest rates of osteoporosis (Clin Ortho
Related Res, 152; 35, 1980). This fact emphasises the threat of excessive protein in the
diet and suggest that dairy products offer no protection against osteoporosis, probably
due to the high protein content of milk (Am J Clin Nutr, 41; 254, 1985).

2. All cows' milk in New Zealand contains the A1 beta-casein protein and this has been
shown recently to increase rates of heart disease and childhood diabetes. Diabetes, heart
risk linked to NZ milk, 24.01.2003, NZ Herald. Original article see Jan issue New
Zealand Medical Journal.

3. Healthview Newsletter, Virginia, Spring 1978.

4. Published by Mollica Press.

Bob Anderson is a former lecturer in Chemistry, Physics, Lab Technology and Nuclear
Medicine, and holds an honours degree in Chemistry and Physics from the University of
Birmingham, and PhD in Science Education. Since retiring he has worked as a member
of PSRG, publicising issues surrounding GE.

To read more about Milk, homogenised and unhomogenised and A2 Organic Milk go to
Ridge Organics

Devil in the Milk The A1/A2 Controversy- Keith Woodford