Goat milk vs. Cow milk

Goat Milk?

Goats aren’t cuddly. They don’t have large, expressive eyes. They’re skittish and noisy and often have oddly shaped heads. It’s not hard to understand why goats don’t enjoy the devoted affection we give to dogs and cats.

But if you’re looking for healthy milk products, you can forget about dogs and cats, of course – and even cows – because goat milk is truly remarkable in a number of ways that cow milk is not.

Goat milkor surgery?

The topic of goat milk was brought up in a surprising e-mail I received from an HSI member named James. At age 27 James consulted a doctor about a stomach pain. Here’s his story:

“I was diagnosed with Duodenal Ulcers, and so very many lesions that the Dr.’s fluoroscope could hardly see through them. He asked ‘when I wanted surgery to get them out?’ I said ‘I’ll think about it and let you know.’

“I didn’t have the surgery, but I did rid myself of the Ulcers. The CURE that worked for me was a quart a day of unpasteurized GOAT MILK, right from the GOATS to my refrigerator. Three months might have been long enough, but I did stay on the regimen for approximately one year.”

After another year had passed, James ran into his doctor and told him how he’d treated his ulcer. When his doctor seemed skeptical, James replied, “You put me in front of your fluoroscope again and look for them.”

“He did, and his only comment was, ‘How did they disappear?’ And when I told him, his only remark was, ‘Huh, I’ve heard of that before.’ End of story. To this day I have not had a recurrence of Ulcers – am now 79 years old.”

Superior nutrition

James’ experience is not uncommon. Goat milk has a reputation for being easy to digest, with a calming effect on peptic ulcers that occur in the stomach and in the section of small intestine (called the duodenum) located just below the stomach.

I checked in with HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., to ask him what it is about goat milk that would have this highly beneficial effect on ulcers. His take: It’s the nutrition. In an e-mail, Dr. Spreen wrote, “Why goat’s milk is good for helping with ulcers may have less to do with the fact that it’s from a goat than the fact that all the nutrients and enzymes are intact, offering superior nutrition over anything pasteurized and homogenized.

“Goat’s milk is actually closer to human milk than cow’s milk (though still with some fatty acid differences). It is naturally homogenized (like human milk), and lower in fat than cow’s milk (just not as financially feasible).

“It’s the ‘raw’ that becomes significant. In the case of goat’s milk it seems to be easier to obtain raw in many local areas (not specifically outlawedyet), and is often better tolerated by infants that cannot handle cow’s milk.”

Butterfat analysis

Dr. Spreen told me that the Weston A. Price Foundation has good information about goat milk. When I went to the WAP web site (westonaprice.org), I found an article about fats with a very specific analysis of the butterfat from goats.

Mary Enig, Ph.D., and Sally Fallon note that a unique six-carbon capric acid (a short-chain fatty acid) is mostly found in goat butterfat. Enig and Fallon write: “These fatty acids have antimicrobial properties – that is, they protect us from viruses, yeasts and pathogenic bacteria in the gut. They do not need to be acted on by the bile salts but are directly absorbed for quick energy.” If you live in a rural area you may be able to easily find a local goat farmer who offers fresh, raw goat milk. City dwellers may need to resort to the Internet where you can find many sources for goat milk products. And if all else fails you could always pick up a copy of Gail Luttman’s book, “Raising Milk Goats Successfully.”