Sharing TA: Thanks to Keith for sharing this study which echoes the findings of many others and anecdotal information from informed patrons of non-pasteurized. ta Fresh milk keeps infections at bay A study by researchers of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich shows that infants fed on fresh rather than UHT cows milk are less prone to infection. The authors recommend the use of alternative processing methods to preserve the protectants found in the natural product. A pan-European study, led by Professor Erika von Mutius, Professor of Pediatric Allergology at LMU and Head of the Asthma and Allergy Department at Dr. von Hauners Childrens Hospital, reports that fresh cows milk protects young children from respiratory infections, febrile illness and inflammation of the middle ear. Their results appear in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. As untreated cows milk may itself contain pathogenic microorganisms and could pose a health risk, the researchers argue for the use of processing methods that preserve the protective agents present in raw milk. The findings are the latest to emerge from the long-term PASTURE study, which is exploring the role of dietary and environmental factors in the development of allergic illness. The study initially recruited 1000 pregnant women who were asked to document their childrens diet and state of health at weekly intervals during the first year of life. Among children who were fed on fresh, unprocessed cows milk the incidence of head colds and other respiratory infections, febrile and middle-ear inflammation was found to be significantly lower than in the group whose milk ration consisted of the commercially processed ultra-pasteurized product, says Dr. Georg Loss of Dr. von Hauners Hospital, first author of the new paper. Ingestion of farm milk reduced the risk of developing these conditions by up to 30%, and the effect was diminished if the milk was heated at home before consumption. Conventionally pasteurized milk retained the ability to reduce the risk of febrile illness, while exposure to the higher temperatures used in UHT processing eliminated the effect altogether. Importantly, the positive impact of raw milk could be clearly separated from the confounding effects of other elements of the childrens nutrition. Impact on inflammation The effects of diverse milk treatments are presumably attributable to differentially heat-resistant components present in fresh milk. Compounds that are sensitive to heating seem to play a particularly important role in protection against respiratory-tract and ear infections, says Loss.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 03:23:32 +0000
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