Raw milk is milk just as it emerges from a cow. It's not pasteurized -- a process that involves heating the milk -- nor is it homogenized. Though some people favor raw milk for its purported health benefits, none have been proven scientifically; the nutrient profile and protein content in raw milk is almost identical to that of conventional milk.
Raw Milk
When you buy milk at the grocery store, it's undergone several processes that make it safer and more convenient to drink. The most important of these is pasteurization, which involves heating milk to a high temperature for a very brief period of time. This kills many, but not all, of the bacteria in the milk. According to the FDA, dangerous quantities of bacteria like Listeria persist in raw milk, making it unsafe to drink.
Proteins
Milk contains many different proteins. These include casein, lactoglobulin, and lactalbumin. There are also enzymes in milk. Enzymes are proteins that help regulate and participate in chemical reactions. The enzymes in cow's milk are important to calves, but not to humans; your stomach simply denatures and digests the enzymes in cow's milk when you consume it, just as you digest the other milk proteins.
Protein in Raw Milk
Compared to pasteurized milk, raw milk has the same quantity of protein; you don't lose protein during the pasteurization process. Proponents of raw milk claim that one of the reasons it's better for you is that it has the enzymes intact, but because you don't and can't use the enzymes in cow's milk, it doesn't matter whether they're denatured by heat or by your stomach acid; either way, you digest them in the same manner.
Considerations
Because you get the same amount of protein from milk whether or not it's raw, it's healthier and safer to select pasteurized milk. All milk sold in grocery stores in the United States is pasteurized. Most adults can handle bacterial loads from raw milk, but children and pregnant women, as well as individuals with impaired immune systems, are particularly at risk for food poisoning from raw milk.
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