Raw milk is indeed much, much better than pasteurized milk from Holstein cows (I saw one tonight on a local farm that looked quite sickly). Still, I tried it for about a month and couldn't tolerate it. Allergic to something in it. Perhaps the casein. I think I'm ok with the lactose. If I were to recommend milk to anyone, it'd be raw from the types of grass fed cows recommended on the Rheo Blair site to be sure. But I can't tolerate it very well. I do sometimes eat organic cheese and sour cream, but only small amounts. I use almond milk in favor of cow's milk now and tolerate it perfectly well.

Thanks for mentioning this for those who love their dairy. If you're going to drink milk, RAW is definitely the way to go providing it comes from the right cows fed the right feed (grass).

Here's a snippet from Rheo's site on raw milk:

"What is raw milk? Raw milk is the natural unaltered milk usually from cows, goats or sheep but in some countries it is camel or buffalo. It is not heated above the animal's highest body temperature which is usually 101-105 degrees F. (38 degrees C.) Raw milk is not pasteurized, homogenized or frozen, nor has it been altered with additives, chemicals, light or homogenization.* Here are a few important characteristics to be aware of when considering whether to drink raw milk and which raw milk.

1. Real milk comes from real cows of old fashioned breeds such as Jerseys, Guernseys, Red Devons, Brown Swiss and Milking Shorhorns, among others. The source of most commercial milk is the modern Holstein, bred to produce huge quantities of milk--three times as much as the old-fashioned cow. She needs special feed and antibiotics to keep her well. Her milk contains high levels of growth hormone from her pituitary gland, even when she is spared the indignities of genetically engineered Bovine Growth Hormone to push her to the udder limits of milk production.

2. Real milk comes from cows that eat real food: GREEN GRASS, for example. NOT soy, commercial feeds or corn,

3. Real milk is not pasteurizied which destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamins C, B12 and B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer. Nor is real milk homogenized, a process that breaks down butterfat globules so they do not rise to the top. Homogenized milk has been linked to heart disease.

4. Real milk contains butterfat and a lot of it. Average butterfat content from old-fashioned cows at the turn of the century was over 4% (or more than 50% of calories). Today butterfat comprises less than 3% (or less than 35% of calories). Worse, consumers have been duped into believing that low-fat and skim milk products are good for them. Only by marketing low-fat and skim milk as a health food can the modern dairy industry get rid of its excess poor-quality, low-fat milk from modern high-production herds. Butterfat contains vitamins A and D needed for assimilation of calcium and protein in the water fraction of the milk. Without them protein and calcium are more difficult to utilize and possibly toxic. Butterfat is rich in short- and medium chain fatty acids which protect against disease and stimulate the immune system. It contains glyco-spingolipids which prevent intestinal distress and conjugated linoleic acid which has strong anticancer properties.

5. Real milk products contains no additives. Powdered skim milk, a source of dangerous oxidized cholesterol and neurotoxic amino acids, is added to 1% and 2% milk. Low-fat yogurts and sour creams contain mucopolysaccharide slime to give them body. Pale butter from hay-fed cows contains colorings to make it look like vitamin-rich butter from grass-fed cows. Bioengineered enzymes are used in large-scale cheese production. Furthermore, many mass produced cheeses contain additives and colorings and imitation cheese products contain vegetable oils. **"