Raw milk’s claimed health benefits put to the test

Published: 5:51PM Friday January 03, 2014 Source: ONE News

Scientists in Wellington are testing claims that raw milk helps prevent asthma, allergies and eczema.

A long time ago the milk we drank actually came straight from cows.

But for more than a century most milk has been pasteurised, whereby it is heated then cooled down to lower the risk of bacterial infection.

Yet some claim raw milk helps relieve the symptoms of asthma, allergies and eczema in children and adults.

Scientists say there still is not solid evidence it is good for your health.

"We were involved in a number of studies in Europe where we found farmers' children had a much lower prevalence of allergies and asthma," said Professor Jeroen Douwes of the Centre for Public Health research.

"And so we repeated the study in New Zealand and also found that farmers' children had about 40% the risk of children in the general population."

Now researchers are trying to prove conclusively whether raw milk is protecting the immune system and boosting the lungs.

"It's quite hard to isolate what it is within the farming environment that may be the beneficial factor. So we are focusing our study on non-farming families specifically," said Amanda Eng of the Centre for Public Health Research.

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Raw milk's claimed health benefits put to the test