What to Do with Raw Milk

I have been eating a fairly low carb diet for the past twelve years, ever since I moved to Missouri to start Project Bow, and it has kept me healthy. I am not overweight, I am seldom sick, and most of the time I feel fine. But... things could be better. And that's why I am looking into raw milk.

I enjoy eating many different kinds of foods, including meat, fruits and vegetables, nuts, cheeses, yogurts and even cakes and sweets. When I was little, I could eat anything, and just about everything agreed with me. As I grew older, fewer and fewer things agreed with me. I had to start to restrict my diet, just so I could have a good day.

The first thing that had to go was liver. I can't eat that, anymore, although I used to enjoy liver with fried onions. Later, I pretty much eliminated Coca-Cola and other sugary carbonated drinks. I still can have an occasional Coke when I eat out. But the only reason I can afford to do that is because I hardly ever eat out.

I learned that bread was not good for me, and neither was cake. Eliminating store bought bread in the United States was not hard for me, because it does not even taste like bread. If I were in Israel it would be more of a problem. But I do occasionally bake cakes, because I have a human daughter and a chimpanzee son, and there's no reason they should be entirely deprived, just because I can't enjoy cake without taking a punishment.

When I bake a cake, I try a piece, too. And sometimes I can get away with that. And sometimes I can't, and I feel very bad the next day. So I repent of my evil sin of indulgence, and I swear to do better in the future. But complete abstinence is hard, and I personally don't believe that that is the best answer to every "substance abuse" problem.

I accept the low carb credo, and I abide by it, more or less. I understand that highly processed foods, like sugar and flour and other carbs play a real number on our system and can result in spikes in our blood glucose that can lead to weight gain, insulin resistance and diabetes. I also understand that sugar feeds parasitic yeast cultures in our body, and especially those in our GI tract. So staying away from carbs is a good idea for anyone who has these problems.

It's just that .... wouldn't it be great to be somebody who doesn't have problems? Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a body that knows how to eliminate excess blood sugar and excess bacteria in the gut without depriving the person who inhabits it of the joys of normal carbohydrate intake? I still am a big fan of eating more fat than carbs. I just don't want to feel that I can't have an occasional carbohydrate treat if I want one.

I have also read that having the wrong bacteria in the gut can cause mental issues, including anxiety, depression and autism. One way to fight bad bacteria in the gut is to take antibiotics designed to kill them. I have anecdotal evidence that this really works. One time I had the flu and antibiotics were prescribed to me. One side effect was that my gut felt as good as new for about a week! I thought I was cured. But, of course, living on antibiotics is a very bad idea. What else can we do? We could repopulate the gut with good bacteria. The good bacteria would then help to drive the bad ones out -- or at least keep them in check.

 I am going to try to repopulate my gut with the right kind of bacteria. One way to do that is to take probiotics, but it would mean trusting a drug company to process the cultures correctly, and I am not that trusting. Another way is to drink raw milk and to make milk by-products that are chock full of good bacteria.

What does raw milk taste like? It's a lot like store bought milk, only richer and creamier. It is good for you, higher in fat, and therefore lower in carbs, and with a hint of the taste of mother's milk. But if you want the real benefits of raw milk, try it after it has gone sour! Store bought milk has to be thrown out the moment it goes bad, but raw milk keeps getting better and better!

I am still learning about the process of turning raw milk into other products chock full of good bacteria, so I will just include a few videos here by Sarah Day. She seems to know a lot about the topic! The first video is about separating milk and cream.

The next is about how to make cream cheese and  liquid whey.




And this one is about how to make sour cream!

Have you ever wondered about how to make buttermilk and butter? Sarah Day will show us how.



Of course, you can also just drink the plain milk raw, which is good, too.