Silica found in many Whole Foods milk brands

[Jennifer]

I just heated up a big glass of the Saint Benoit brand. It tastes good. It has a ton of fat sitting at the top of the bottle which is not easy to remove at all unless you use one of the devices mentioned in this thread.

I get rid of some of the fat by heating up the milk in a sauce pot, and letting the fat settle at the top while it cools down. A lot of fat still remains I'd say.

Have you tried using a turkey baster to remove the cream or drinking from the bottom of the milk container with a straw once the cream has risen to the top? I get raw goat’s milk from a farm every week and when I get it home, I put a straw in each jar and let the cream rise to the surface—it takes about 3–5 days because goat’s milk is naturally homogenized—and when I’m ready to drink it, I just drink from the bottom until I hit the cream line.

also apparently the holstein cows have been bred for many years to produce copious amounts of milk which is lower in quality and percentage of fat. that is the white/black cow and the common milking cow in the US. it is claimed the A1 protein is a result of genetic mutation, but that is the mainstream claim, i wonder if the A1 protein resulted due to cows being raised/fed in extremely unsanitary ways or if they were possibly fed cow meat or something. because the jersey and guernsey cows, human breast milk, sheep milk, camel milk, goat milk etc are apparently all A2... the A1 is a modern thing supposedly result of a genetic mutation

Not that I necessarily believe in the A2 theory but from my understanding, just because a cow is Guernsey or Jersey, unless they’ve been tested, there’s no guarantee that they produce 100% A2/A2 milk. In regards to Holsteins, I thought this was interesting:

“During the past year, all cows and heifers were genotyped at the University of Minnesota’s research dairy herd in Morris. The A2 status of the cows and heifers in the herd is listed at the bottom of Table 1. You can see that over 50% of the Holsteins in the herd, have A2A2, which was not expected because this trait was not selected for. The 1964 genetic line Holsteins, had a lower percentage of animals that were A2A2 at 26%. Uniquely, the crossbred cows and heifers ranged from 36 to 50% of animals that were A2A2, as expected.”

Breeding for A2 Milk | West Central Research and Outreach Center

By Brad Heins, Associate Professor of Dairy Science, and Glenda Pereira, PhD Animal Science student May 2019

wcroc.cfans.umn.edu

 

[Dr. B]

I don't know what fat percentage this one has, but if it's judge the layer of fat at the top then I'd say not much! Reading your last message I'm starting to think that perhaps the whole milk varieties are not as fatty as they seem? Skim milk is 1%, semi skimmed is 2%. 3.25% is not that much higher?

The process you described makes perfect sense. Even if someone likes whole milk, who wants to drink so much fat? All that fat is really useful for making other products and it would be a waste to leave it in the milk.

The brand Saint Benoit is from Jersey cows, and they advertise that in the package.

Thanks for such an insightful post.

yeah but the 3.25% is something youre likely looking at with the common grocery store brand whole milks. but yeah you can calculate, 2% milks usually have 5g total fat, while whole milks have 8g total fat, so based on those numbers whole milk would be 3.2% fat. but if youre getting the unaltered special brands of milk they may have 10g fat or more per cup, as well as more protein.
it may be safer to just get the high fat milks and remove the cream off the top. some of the non homogenized brands have several inches of a cream layer.

 

[Dr. B]

Have you tried using a turkey baster to remove the cream or drinking from the bottom of the milk container with a straw once the cream has risen to the top? I get raw goat’s milk from a farm every week and when I get it home, I put a straw in each jar and let the cream rise to the surface—it takes about 3–5 days because goat’s milk is naturally homogenized—and when I’m ready to drink it, I just drink from the bottom until I hit the cream line.



Not that I necessarily believe in the A2 theory but from my understanding, just because a cow is Guernsey or Jersey, unless they’ve been tested, there’s no guarantee that they produce 100% A2/A2 milk. In regards to Holsteins, I thought this was interesting:

“During the past year, all cows and heifers were genotyped at the University of Minnesota’s research dairy herd in Morris. The A2 status of the cows and heifers in the herd is listed at the bottom of Table 1. You can see that over 50% of the Holsteins in the herd, have A2A2, which was not expected because this trait was not selected for. The 1964 genetic line Holsteins, had a lower percentage of animals that were A2A2 at 26%. Uniquely, the crossbred cows and heifers ranged from 36 to 50% of animals that were A2A2, as expected.”

View attachment 22882

Breeding for A2 Milk | West Central Research and Outreach Center

By Brad Heins, Associate Professor of Dairy Science, and Glenda Pereira, PhD Animal Science student May 2019

wcroc.cfans.umn.edu

oh yes thats interesting and yes thats true even jerseys and guernseys have to be tested. some of the websites stated guernseys are 95% A2 and jerseys are 40% A2 so with guernseys those are the highest percentage of A2A2 cows.

 

[Jennifer]

oh yes thats interesting and yes thats true even jerseys and guernseys have to be tested. some of the websites stated guernseys are 95% A2 and jerseys are 40% A2 so with guernseys those are the highest percentage of A2A2 cows.

Another interesting thing I came across a while back was on the site of one of the popular grass-based farms in my State. They had this to say about their cows:

Horns:

If you come out to visit our cows, you will notice that a majority of the herd carry horns on their heads. All cattle grow horns, unless they are naturally polled (horns are inherited as an autosomal recessive trait, for all the scientists out there). On Brookford Farm, we believe the cows should keep their horns. It gives them their own character and a greater awareness of their surroundings, allowing them more self-confidence. There are some major nerves that lead into the horns, making the dehorning process painful and potentially neurologically damaging. In addition, the horns are used for thermoregulation in the summer, when blood flow through the horns increases to dissipate heat. A German study even shows that milk from cows with horns is much easier to digest than without. The downside of horns is that they often use them to defend themselves and their place in the hierarchy both in the barn and on pasture, which is why horned cattle require more space.

Our Cows | Brookford Farm

www.brookfordfarm.com

I’m still looking for the German study they are referring to. If I find it, I’ll be sure to post it.

 

[Dr. B]

Another interesting thing I came across a while back was on the site of one of the popular grass-based farms in my State. They had this to say about their cows:

Horns:

If you come out to visit our cows, you will notice that a majority of the herd carry horns on their heads. All cattle grow horns, unless they are naturally polled (horns are inherited as an autosomal recessive trait, for all the scientists out there). On Brookford Farm, we believe the cows should keep their horns. It gives them their own character and a greater awareness of their surroundings, allowing them more self-confidence. There are some major nerves that lead into the horns, making the dehorning process painful and potentially neurologically damaging. In addition, the horns are used for thermoregulation in the summer, when blood flow through the horns increases to dissipate heat. A German study even shows that milk from cows with horns is much easier to digest than without. The downside of horns is that they often use them to defend themselves and their place in the hierarchy both in the barn and on pasture, which is why horned cattle require more space.

Our Cows | Brookford Farm

www.brookfordfarm.com

I’m still looking for the German study they are referring to. If I find it, I’ll be sure to post it.

thats interesting. the horned cows are probably more natural. and thats another question which isnt answered with regards to the organic label. do you think most female cows have their horns removed even at Amish and raw milk farms

 

[Jennifer]

thats interesting. the horned cows are probably more natural. and thats another question which isnt answered with regards to the organic label. do you think most female cows have their horns removed even at Amish and raw milk farms

Of the three farms I’ve gotten raw milk from, all three had cows with horns, and cows can also be naturally polled through selective breeding, but I’m not sure how common these are. Edit: I just checked the milk genomic site that I frequent, and found this:

Over the last 10,000 years, humans selectively bred cattle to produce more meat or milk. The raw ingredient of this process is genetic (DNA) variation in the cattle population, i.e., the genetic differences that make individuals different from each other. Consequently, today’s cattle are unlike their undomesticated ancestors, both in form and function as the former were bred to be highly specialized for the dairy or beef industries. Even over the last 60 years, scientists calculated that global livestock productivity has remarkably increased by 20–30% largely due to selective breeding [4]. In the dairy industry, this means more milk from each cow. But horns are still present in many cattle breeds, particularly dairy breeds, because in the past they were a low priority in most breeding programs [1]. However, in the modern dairy production system, horns threaten injuries to handlers and other cattle; the everyday competition between cattle for feed, water, and shade is intense. Horns are clearly an animal welfare issue in this production system. Consequently, about 80–90% of dairy cows have their horns or horn buds removed each year in the U.S.A, usually when the animals are very young [1, 5, 6]. Similar rates also occur in many other countries.

Genetic Editing Eliminates Dairy Cattle Horns, AKA Dehorning

Thanks to the advancements in gene editing, researchers have discovered a method of dehorning, or breeding out horns from dairy cows.

milkgenomics.org

 

[jyb]

Reading this thread I get the impression that premium milk in the US (organic, Whole Foods) is filthier than the cheap milk I would give to feed a cat.

 

[Birdie]

The cows at Maple Hill creamery look like Jersey, but I don't see any mention of A2. So probably A1 or they would tout the A2. That's probably the best milk available where I am.

 

[tastyfood]

The cows at Maple Hill creamery look like Jersey, but I don't see any mention of A2. So probably A1 or they would tout the A2. That's probably the best milk available where I am.

Can't the A2 thing be a bit of a marketing plot sometimes? It's also possible brands have to pay more to be able to advertise products as containing A2 protein.

I have some Maple Hill creamery in the fridge now, will let everyone know how it goes with the taste!

 

[tastyfood]

Reading this thread I get the impression that premium milk in the US (organic, Whole Foods) is filthier than the cheap milk I would give to feed a cat.

It is certainly overcomplicated to drink a good milk product here it seems! Haha.

Fortunately it looks like by simply erring towards whole milk from a brand you like, without added vitamins, the problem is solved....

 

[Birdie]

Can't the A2 thing be a bit of a marketing plot sometimes? It's also possible brands have to pay more to be able to advertise products as containing A2 protein.

I have some Maple Hill creamery in the fridge now, will let everyone know how it goes with the taste!

When I started the Maple Hill last February, it tasted good. Then, when the seasons changed, I forget when, the tasted changed and I didn't like it. But, back to using it this year, probably February, and it tastes good again. It seems to agree with me now, but we shall see when the grass changes again. I assume that was what it was that changed the flavor.

I like to think you are right about the A2. I've never known what type I was drinking. I don't remember any big emphasis from Ray on A2 vs A1.

 

[Birdie]

It is certainly overcomplicated to drink a good milk product here it seems! Haha.

Fortunately it looks like by simply erring towards whole milk from a brand you like, without added vitamins, the problem is solved....

Yes

 

[Vileplume]

When I started the Maple Hill last February, it tasted good. Then, when the seasons changed, I forget when, the tasted changed and I didn't like it. But, back to using it this year, probably February, and it tastes good again. It seems to agree with me now, but we shall see when the grass changes again. I assume that was what it was that changed the flavor.

I like to think you are right about the A2. I've never known what type I was drinking. I don't remember any big emphasis from Ray on A2 vs A1.

When you noticed the change in taste, did you also notice a change in the way the milk affected your body?

 

[michael94]

I just heated up a big glass of the Saint Benoit brand. It tastes good. It has a ton of fat sitting at the top of the bottle which is not easy to remove at all unless you use one of the devices mentioned in this thread.

I get rid of some of the fat by heating up the milk in a sauce pot, and letting the fat settle at the top while it cools down. A lot of fat still remains I'd say.

I love the convenience of skimmed milk from US stores but....(insert everything discussed in this thread about vitamin mixes and additives).

If there are no issues with homogenization I may try the Strauss whole milk brand. No vitamins added.

Straus brand is not homogenized

 

[tastyfood]

Straus brand is not homogenized

Yep! My girlfriend got the whole milk gallon jug to make some yoghurt, and when she got the milk out of the bottle all the fat got stuck to the sides at the top. Seems fairly easy not to drink most of the fat layered at the top.

edit: misspelling

 

[Dr. B]

The cows at Maple Hill creamery look like Jersey, but I don't see any mention of A2. So probably A1 or they would tout the A2. That's probably the best milk available where I am.

isnt that an ultra pasteurized brand?

 

[supercoolguy]

Nah, they'll jut ban all food except that produced by his chem-food labs

Probably, last time I bought milk at costco it all had added fish oil

Wut an awesome Idea.

Ghates Food for the entire globe.
Problem Solved, Thanks Billy.

edit:
BTW, Are you anyway related to Meatwad ?

 

[Missenger]

This is pretty high up there on the stupid chart.

 

[Dr. B]

View attachment 22900
This is pretty high up there on the stupid chart.

does it say how much omega 3 per serving? because the 5g total fat and 3g saturated fat is what regular 2% milk has. it might have a few hundred mg per serving which can add up. also ive tried their fish oil milks before and they have an odd flavor.

 

[Missenger]

does it say how much omega 3 per serving? because the 5g total fat and 3g saturated fat is what regular 2% milk has. it might have a few hundred mg per serving which can add up. also ive tried their fish oil milks before and they have an odd flavor.

It doesn't list pufas so it doesn't look like they cared enough to list it, milk has some pufas as well you know.