Dr. George Heard was a dentist in the early part of the 20th century who first practiced in Alabama, where he had a majority of patients with tooth decay that required fillings and extractions — ultimately resulting in false teeth. He later moved to a small town in Texas where he was stunned to find very few cavities (average of 1.2 decayed spots per child between the ages of 6-18).
No, it wasn't fluoride. There were other Texas towns that had just as much or more fluoride in the water — and their incidence of tooth decay was greater.
Dr. Heard attributed the town's excellent dental health to diet. Particularly homegrown vegetables from beds rich in minerals, whole grain bread, and plenty of raw milk. And avoidance of white flour and refined sugar.
I asked every patient who came to me: “How much milk do you drink every day. Do you drink raw milk? Do you drink buttermilk and clabber?”
For years I made inquiry of my patients as to their milk habits. Almost invariably I found that the possessor of a mouth full of sound teeth had been a consistent milk drinker from early childhood. A surprisingly large number liked either buttermilk, clabber or both.
The significant fact is that the milk those patients drank came from cows that had grazed on native grass in Deaf Smith County pastures. In winter, as a rule, the cows had grazed on green wheat.
from “Man Versus Toothache” by Dr. George W. Heard, copyright 1952
Why in the world are we drinking skim milk from GRAIN-fed cows? Not to mention cows that are fed corn, soy, dead animals, day-old pastries, etc. Skim, pasteurized milk is completely devoid of nutrition. You may as well drink water.
And cows that are forced to eat grain and other things are not healthy. Grain makes them sick. Which requires more antibiotics, etc. Which is why you don't want to drink pasteurized milk. Not only is it devoid of nutrition, it is from sick cows that are pumped to the gills with antibiotics (and hormones in many cases).
And just what are all those antibiotics doing to the delicate balance of flora in your intestinal tract, the very seat of your immunity?
Do you think the antibiotics are killed or inactivated by the pasteurization process? Does anyone know? I don't know — I'm not a microbiologist, for godsakes.
But I do know that it can't be good to drink milk from sick cows who are pumped with antibiotics. I don't know how you can dispute that logic.
Cows are meant to eat grass in spring and summer, and hay in fall and winter. They are not meant to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in cramped factories eating grain and other abnormal things out of troughs.
Where are you getting your milk? Do you know the dairy? Do you know what they feed the cows?
If you like to drink milk (I hope you do, it's very good for you and delicious), not to mention eat cheese, ice cream, and butter, here are some good posts to read on my friend Beatrix's blog. These two posts illustrate the difference between real, healthy grass-fed-cow-produced raw milk and factory farm swill.
Please educate yourself:
The Sweet Sound of Cowbells Ringing Out in the Fields:
http://constantstateofflux.wordpress.com/2007/10/24/the-sweet-tone-of-cowbells-ringing-out-in-the-fields/
STOP DOING IT NOW:
http://constantstateofflux.wordpress.com/2007/09/21/stop-doing-it-now/
Think you can't get raw milk, pastured eggs, and grass-fed meat? Well you're probably right that you won't find it at Safeway. You might not even find it at Whole Foods (unless you live in California which does sell raw milk — for now…).
Here are some resources to help you find good real milk and grass-fed animal food:
http://www.realmilk.com/ (click on WHERE to find sources for real raw milk)
