# Elixir of Life...or Potion of Death???



## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

EVERYONE who has ever drunk raw milk...I'd like to hear your story. Have you, or anyone you know, gotten sick from it? Have you, or anyone you know, gotten healthier since drinking it? Or has it had no effect? Any interesting anecdotes?
*Please only post to share your true story. Don't post just to express your opinion on raw milk.* Let's keep this factual!


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

My fam and I only drink raw milk, we have NEVER got sick from it, we have gotten allot healthier from it!


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

:thumb: Oh, and if you'd like to mention some specific health problems it has helped, that would be great!


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

Allergies, high/low blood sugar, and diabetes are just a few that RAW goat milk has helped me and my fam, there are countless more that I can't think of right now!


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## Wild Hearts Ranch (Dec 26, 2011)

I've never had any reaction to it. A friend gave some to his elderly, immune-compromised father who did get slightly sick so I do NOT recommend it under those circumstances.


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## lovinglife (Jun 6, 2013)

I don't believe anyone will get sick from fresh raw goats milk. But thats just me. I gave it to my elderly Mother after a joint replacement, she did great. It helps with more things than I can name. It is a great buffer, my Mom never once got acid reflux, helps digestion, remember it is a LIVE food, opposed to dead food which is what pasturized is. As a society we eat way too much dead over processed food. We should try to eat more whole raw foods, including fresh goat milk!


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

If the goat is perfectly healthy, there is no reason her milk won't be good, but, if a goat may be a little ill or has an unknown past, I wouldn't give
that raw milk to someone with a compromised immune system. I drink all my goats' milk, raw, but to give it to someone else, I would make sure they
would know of any possible complications that could occur.


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## lovinglife (Jun 6, 2013)

What kind of complications are you refering to?


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## Wild Hearts Ranch (Dec 26, 2011)

The goat was healthy, but there's always the chance of a few bacteria sneaking their way in.


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## dreamacresfarm2 (May 10, 2014)

We drink it Raw and for me personally I have found it to be a food my body craves when can't get it. For me it has helped with joint health and overall heath. I find my joints are far more flexible with less discomfort when raw goats milk is a part of my diet.


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## christinajh (Jan 24, 2013)

I have found that I can tolerate other milks products more now I've been drinking goats milk. Before all I could tolerate is a touch of butter, and I can do ice cream now as long as it's just a serving. Before I'd get so sick off any dairy. I can't explain.why it has helped, but it has


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

I have been drinking raw goat milk since the early 80's.

My sons were raised on it.

One of my sons was raised on raw goat milk from birth. He is still drinking it 30 years later.

None of us has ever gotten sick from it. In fact, my kids were seldom sick as kids, even when the rest of the school had the flu or colds.

I am never sick. I can't remember when the last time was that I had a cold or the flu. I work in a hospital, so I am surrounded by germs. 

I have Rheumatoid arthritis, have had it since I was 6. The raw goat milk seems to help ease the pain and stiffness of the disease. When the girls are dry and I have to drink store bought cows milk, my joints are very stiff and painful. When I drink my raw GM, my joints are not as painful or stiff.

I drink a ton of the raw, high fat GM. I just had my yearly physical, including cholosterol count. My HDL is very high. In fact, my doc said she has never seen an HDL so high and congradulated me on it! The LDL was low, as were the triglycerides.


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## SunnydaleBoers (Jul 28, 2012)

We've milked cows on a commercial level (we sold our herd back in 2009) and now keep a couple of Jerseys around as family milk cows. We do drink and enjoy raw milk, but typically have a gallon of skim milk from the store in the fridge, especially when the girls are dry. We strictly raise meat goats, however I think the same concerns would apply to dairy goats as to dairy cattle.

Overall, I think raw milk from a well managed herd won't cause any adverse health effects, but I would be leery of giving it to the very young, the very elderly and anyone who's immuno-compromised. Milk is a nearly perfect environment for bacteria to grow, which is why pasteurization took off like it did. 

Milk it needs to be handled and stored properly from the time it leaves the cow till the time you drink it. If you're buying it from a producer I'd want to know what their somatic cell count is (less than 50K is ideal), what their milking procedures are, and how the cows are housed and cared for (i.e. how clean is their barn and parlor? Do the cows have udders and legs that look clean, or are they caked in manure? What do you vaccinate for? etc)

Brucellosis, Listeria, and tuberculosis are the 3 Big Nastys that can be transmitted through raw milk- cattle can be vaccinated against all three of those as well. It's also possible to transmit strains of e.coli, salmonella, staph, and several others as well- these are all bacteria that will be related to mastitis. Keep in mind that it is possible for cattle to transmit those bacteria without showing any clinical signs of mastitis.

I think for every proponent of raw milk you find, you'll also find someone who has had personal experience with the negatives. We've been approached multiple times about selling raw milk but so far have declined those offers. The risk makes me nervous and I have yet find an umbrella policy that covers raw milk sales!


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## ariella42 (May 22, 2014)

Pasteurization was invented to slow spoilage due to microbial growth. However, before the practice became widespread, people consumed unpasteurized dairy (and other) products with few ill effects. The reason it became commonplace was because we came to a point in history where dairy products had to be transported and stored for longer periods, leading to bacterial growth and illness. Most people don't have the option to go to the barn in the morning and get their milk for the day, so we've come to a place where people accept pasteurization as the norm.

Raw milk will always be more risky than pasteurized because none of the microbes are killed off at the beginning of the process. However, more people in the US get food poisoning from leafy greens than anything else, so you have to take that into account. I drink fresh goats milk when it's available, and I'm looking forward to being able to drink the milk from my girls when they're older. If you take proper precautions and drink it when it's fresh, you're unlikely to get sick from it. However, I would avoid giving to anyone with a suppressed immune system, just in case.

As for raw milk being an elixir of life, I've seen no scientific evidence to that point, but then, there have been very few studies done on the subject. There are many people who will give you anecdotal evidence of the benefits of a lot of things, but if there's nothing to back it up, then it's just anecdotal. 

Personally, I believe that if I have the choice to buy rare steak or raw oysters (both of which are far more likely to cause food-borne illnesses), then I should have the option to buy raw dairy products too. To me, education is more beneficial than having blanket bans, but that does mean that people should know the risks as well as potential benefits.


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## Wild Hearts Ranch (Dec 26, 2011)

Not only that, but before the vast majority of diaries went to Grade A production there were many lower class ones with very poor management and high rates of contamination (during the transition time when dairy became industrialized but before regulations became stricter.)


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## Barnes19 (Sep 8, 2013)

Can't vouch for health benefits personally, although I've heard of plenty.

But I've drunk plenty of raw milk, both cow and goat, and I'd never dream off getting sick from it!

I have heard that cows milk has a growth hormone in it that is the same as human breast milk ... which can cause rapid growth in tissue, its been linked to breast cancer. 

Goats milk doesn't have that same hormone ... so thats a plus. But that makes no difference whether its raw or killed. I would never pasteurize 'homemade' milk.


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## armortrails (Jan 8, 2014)

My family and I only drink raw milk and have never gotten sick from it. Although, I can't really say that we are any healthier. 
Luckily, we really never had any health problems before or after drinking raw milk. 
I have read the health testimonials about raw milk too, but who really knows if it was the milk. I drink it because I just like the taste better.

However, I wouldn't feel comfortable giving it or selling it to anyone else.

There is some scientific evidence that people that live on farms develop immunity to the germs and/or bacteria that's carried in their animals. 
Although, there have been very few serious illnesses from raw milk over the last 10 years, most have been in people that tried raw milk for the first time.

This doesn't really surprise me. There are some people that live in such sterile environments that any germs or bacteria can overrun their systems. I have even heard about some children that got deathly ill just from going to a petting zoo.

It's funny, I take such care to sterilized everything I use to milk, just to watch my kids go out and kiss the goats and roll around with them on the ground in goat poop.


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## FarmerInaDress (Mar 15, 2013)

Yes I drink it and I also eat and make cheese that was from raw milk. I have never gotten sick. I don't currently drink my own milk raw, because at the moment I have to milk in the barn and I do not think that is sanitary enough for raw milk consumption. I think a lot of the fear about raw milk is overblown. You are just as likely to get sick at a salad bar from unwashed spinach or cantaloup, yet nobody gets up in arms about it.


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## Sweetpea8 (Jun 6, 2013)

My family has drunk raw milk from different kinds of farms for years. It hasn't healed our allergies, but it does help us to be able to tolerate other pasteurized milk products we would otherwise have to cut back on. We have never gotten sick. I do have a friend though who doesn't drink raw milk, but she and her family did while visiting a friend and they did get diarrhea and vomiting and they thought it was the milk because the husband drank a lot of it and he was the sickest. So I do think it is wise to start off slowly when getting used to raw milk.


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

Even good bacteria, to a person unused to it, can cause bloating and diarrhea. I've experienced it after taking probiotics. Not sure if it can cause vomiting though; that was probably bad bacteria!


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

we drink raw goats milk..have for 9 years...never had an issue...we have a few families with bran new babies on the milk..who couldnt drink moms milk or any formula and are thriving on it...it all comes down to being clean...frankly the stuff they sell in the store my granpa called white sweat of the cow lol...nothing but garbage...then add in the hormones and who knows what ..no thank you


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

I was diagnosed with Chronic fatigue syndrome a few years ago, and since I've been drinking raw goats milk I have had far less symptoms and my depressive symptoms are not as bad either.. Also, my allergies are not as severe..;-)


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