Why we dig the raw food movement

People keep trying to convince me that when Ol’ Dirty Bastard wrote the opening lines (and hook) for his 1995 track Shimmy Shimmy Ya, he was talking about something other than how he liked his dairy products.

I don’t believe them. And neither should you. Yep, ODB is definitely talking about raw milk*

Subi Superfood is a raw food powder, which means that instead of heating them, we freeze dry our ingredients to preserve the nutritional content. Because we don’t use heat, we protect all of the phytonutrients in our fruits, veggies, or superfoods so they can do you the most good possible.

You see, heat changes the chemistry of food, that’s why humans started cooking in the first place. Most of the time, heat from cooking makes the nutrients in food more accessible for our digestive systems. It also kills bacteria that could be dangerous and can improve the flavor of some food. But sometimes, raw products retain benefits their heat-treated versions have lost.

Like raw (or unpasteurized) milk, for example.

Raw Milk? Really?

Yeah, really.

Firstly, let me take the bull by the horns and talk about safety. The argument in favour of pasteurization (the process of heating milk to kill bacteria) is that it makes milk safer - less likely to give you a foodborne illness. And it does, nobody will deny that.

But the point is that responsibly produced unpasteurized milk is already safer than lots of foods you probably don’t even think of as risky!

This isn’t a statistics class (shudder), so I’m not going to get into the nitty gritty here, but if you do want more details you can find a really comprehensive explanation here. This is just too good not to mention though: “you have a greater chance of dying from eating raw oysters than you do of getting sick from drinking unpasteurized milk.”

Costs & Benefits

But why would I take on ANY extra risk?

Basically, for me, the extra benefits of raw milk are worth the (miniscule) extra risk, relative to pasteurized milk. As well as being better for the environment, my community and the cows, raw milk is superior in terms of nutrition, health, and flavor.

Firstly, pasteurization has been shown to reduce the amounts of manganese, copper, and iron in milk. It also destroys or makes it harder for you to absorb Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, & Vitamin C from milk. I’m already getting plenty of vitamins and minerals from Subi, but I could always use more. And honestly, I resent all that nutrition going to waste through pasteurization.

Raw milk is also reputed to be easier to digest than pasteurized milk. Apparently, lots of people with lactose intolerance no longer suffer from their symptoms after they switch to raw milk. Similarly, there’s evidence that European kids who drink raw milk growing up gain some protection from developing asthma or allergies.

Most importantly, it’s delicious. Like really, really delicious. I’ve been drinking it a lot lately and the natural sweetness and texture of raw milk just blows my mind!

ODB, Me and Raw Dairy

Ultimately, whether or not you choose to include raw milk in your diet is a personal choice, and one you should consider carefully. If you’re elderly, pregnant or have a condition that weakens your immune system you might be at additional risk. But if you do your research and decide to try raw milk you can use this tool to find out where you can get some.

Personally, I’m going to keep shimmy shimmying because I like it raw. 

*I have no evidence whatsoever for this statement. But what else could he be talking about?