Having been a member of the veterinary profession for 24 years, I have a much different outlook on the coronavirus than the human medical community. Coronaviruses have been documented in animal populations for decades…and not just in wildlife, but cats, horses and yes, cows. And because I have personally witnessed outbreaks of coronavirus in cattle, it is not surprising to see that the virus appears to be acting similarly in our human population. A veterinary epidemiologist would say that the outcome of coronavirus infections result in high morbidity and low mortality. This simply means that a lot of individuals will get sick but proportionally, not as many as get sick will die. It is my opinion that this will be the case with the Covid-19 pandemic as well. Most of us will get the virus, recover, and maybe not even know we’ve had it! Unfortunately, the human medical field has flooded our homes with information that at times appears to be both conflicting and frightening. On the positive side, it has also encouraged people to do certain things to stay healthy...like simply washing your hands:) When I think of staying healthy, I first consider strengthening my body’s own defense system by re-evaluating what things I choose to eat. And so, perhaps you have been wondering the same thing I have:
“Would consuming raw milk during this pandemic be a good thing or a bad thing?”
Here is my educated opinion:
Raw milk consumed from a farm with good hygiene practices (for cows and people) may actually be of benefit to our immune systems.
Here is why I believe this this statement to be true:
The wondrous truth is that we were created with a spectacular system of defense which is changing as rapidly as the organisms it encounters. When animals living together expose each other to illness, just like humans, their immune systems will develop antibodies (Immunoglobulins, or Ig’s for short) to that specific organism so that the body can fight more quickly and efficiently next time. In cows (and humans), these Ig’s can be passed into the milk and absorbed through the intestinal wall of the nursing baby. Think of it as a kind of passive vaccine. Although Ig’s are highest in concentration in colostrum, (the first milk received after giving birth), there are still Ig’s present in milk throughout a cow’s lactation which can bathe our gut with protection. A safe source of raw milk contains not only Ig’s, but other immune factors that can help keep us healthy.
Here is how we know this statement to be true
1. Raw Cow’s Milk contains not only antibacterial substances such as lactoperoxidase, lysozyme, lactoferrin and xanthine oxidase...but also antiviral substances. These antiviral substances are not active in grocery store heat-treated milk.
I will let the scientific journal abstract just speak for itself here:
“After experimental contamination of bovine raw and heat-treated milks with bovine rotavirus and coronavirus strains, we observed a strong viral inhibition only with raw milks, from which virus recovery was 5x10(-4) %. Between 30% and 80% of the virus was recovered from the heat-treated milks, depending on the level of inoculation. The antiviral substance is heat labile (destroyed within 30 min at 100 degrees C), precipitated by ammonium sulfate and filtrable (0.45um Millipore membrane). It also has neutralizing activity on tissue culture.” (1)
Ok, to summarize:
Substances found in raw milk can kill viral particles…only 0.0005% of virus was found after inoculation
These same anti-viral substances were not active in pasteurized milk… 30-80% of viruses were still found
Temperatures above 149F destroy the antiviral substances in milk (2) and milk found in the refrigerated section of most grocery stores is heated to 161F and therefore will not contain these antiviral components.
2. Raw cow’s milk contains Immunoglobulins which are capable of fighting some human diseases.
Some diseases that we humans encounter are zoonotic in nature. This means that the same organism that infects animals may also infect people. Rabies, certain influenza strains, cryptosporidium, salmonella are just a few examples. Although we are not clear on the mode of transmission, it has been shown that both dogs and tigers are able to be infected with the Covid-19 strain of coronavirus.
Cattle, either though vaccination or natural exposure, will make antibodies/Ig’s to their own strain of coronavirus and will pass these Ig’s into the milk. We know that the Covid-19 strain of coronavirus infects animals and people. And while cows are infected with a different strain of coronavirus (no one has reported Covid-19 in cows), it seems possible that the two coronavirus strains could share some common genetic material. If that were the case, then the Ig’s the cows produce in their milk could potentially help fight Covid-19 in humans.
Think I’m crazy? Here’s an example of how we know this concept works! It is a proven fact that bovine and human rotavirus strains share common antigens. (1) As a result, research has shown that giving cow Ig’s will fight rotavirus in humans. So why don’t we hear more about this? Probably because there is now a rotavirus vaccine available for humans. And, because the other way to offer some kind of immune protection other than vaccination is oral supplementation. The food industry has two problems with creating an oral product: first, it is not cost-effective to incorporate cow Ig’s into human preparations. Second, milk regulations in the US require pasteurization, which means that the Ig’s would be ineffective since we’ve already established that heating milk destroys these factors. (3)
3. Substances found in raw cow’s milk help modulate respiratory health in humans
Immune factors involved in respiratory health are complex mechanisms, so here is another bit of a journal article summary to validate this third statement:
“The existing epidemiological evidence suggests that the consumption of raw cow’s milk contributes to protection against allergies and asthma and respiratory tract infections. In this review, we discussed potential mechanisms by which cow’s milk and it’s components may exert these immunological effects. Bovine IgG can bind to bacterial and viral pathogens, enhance phagocytosis, and may neutralize pathogens. Other milk components like TGFbeta (Tissue Growth Factor) promote epithelial barrier functioning by upregulation of TJ genes and might favor the differentiation of Tregs that can reduce inflammation locally. Finally, recent evidence show an interplay between the gut and lung.” (4)
What does all this mean?
Simply put, scientific evidence proves that drinking raw milk offers immune boosting health benefits for your body, including antiviral protection. Eating real, minimally processed food is the best way you can help yourself to stay healthy! And if you decide you’d like to try adding raw milk to your diet, make sure you know your farmer, because all milk is not equal! :)