lvysaur
Member
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2014
- Messages
- 2,287
One recurring phenomenon I notice in milk is that the degree of pasteurization corresponds to the speed and intensity of spoilage. Highly pasteurized milk goes bad very fast, and smells very bad when it does.
The byproducts of protein digestion smell much worse than the byproducts of carbohydrate digestion. Plant matter has a much more pleasant odor when spoilage sets in than animal products do. Plant matter also takes much longer to go bad than animal products. Spoilage by digestion of carbohydrate simply turns the product sour (as in yogurt), but spoilage by digestion of protein usually produces malodorous gases like hydrogen sulfide and ammonia.
It is also widely reported that highly processed milk incites symptoms of lactose intolerance, while less processed milk does not.
It could be that pasteurization (and if so probably homogenization as well, since high temperatures are achieved with the high pressures used) can affect the structure of the carbohydrate itself, via the Maillard reaction or some similar process, and that this structural change makes it harder for lactase to hydrolyze, resulting in a reduced rate of lactose digestion.
In the human, this means that lactose can make it to the intestine and act as a fiber/prebiotic.
In the fridge, this means that protein-digesting bacteria are less opposed by the lactose-digesting bacteria, and can proliferate much more quickly, making the milk spoil fast and bad.
Milk Homogenization and Heart Disease - A Campaign for Real Milk
The byproducts of protein digestion smell much worse than the byproducts of carbohydrate digestion. Plant matter has a much more pleasant odor when spoilage sets in than animal products do. Plant matter also takes much longer to go bad than animal products. Spoilage by digestion of carbohydrate simply turns the product sour (as in yogurt), but spoilage by digestion of protein usually produces malodorous gases like hydrogen sulfide and ammonia.
It is also widely reported that highly processed milk incites symptoms of lactose intolerance, while less processed milk does not.
It could be that pasteurization (and if so probably homogenization as well, since high temperatures are achieved with the high pressures used) can affect the structure of the carbohydrate itself, via the Maillard reaction or some similar process, and that this structural change makes it harder for lactase to hydrolyze, resulting in a reduced rate of lactose digestion.
In the human, this means that lactose can make it to the intestine and act as a fiber/prebiotic.
In the fridge, this means that protein-digesting bacteria are less opposed by the lactose-digesting bacteria, and can proliferate much more quickly, making the milk spoil fast and bad.
Milk Homogenization and Heart Disease - A Campaign for Real Milk
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