Milk is a touchy subject.  For food pyramid preaching nutritionists, milk is the perfect food - the best source of Calcium, Potassium and Vitamin D you can find. For other folks it's nothing but a dairy industry supported pseudo health drink that makes people fat and doesn't benefit bone growth the way we thought. And then there are those raw milk nut jobs that think pasteurization is two steps from Satan. So who is right?

For milk to be helpful in the human body it must be of high quality - ideally fresh milked from healthy cows, definitely not homogenized (well get to that) and enjoyed in moderation. Milk can be difficult for anyone to digest, especially for infants with immature digestive organs. In Aryurvedic uses, milk is often boiled and flavored with cardamom, ginger, turmeric or nutmeg to aid in digestion.

Nutritionally, raw milk is far superior to pasteurized milk because pasteurization effectively zaps the naturally occurring beneficial enzymes that aid in digestion, but it is widely unavailable in the States. In many parts of the world cow's milk is brought to a quick boiled and then quickly cooled. This breaks down protein chains, making them easier to digest and causes fewer allergic reactions. Some cultures even boil an onion with milk that cuts down on mucus generation.

Pasteurization happens just below boiling temperatures and doesn't completely dismantle the protein structures making milk even harder to digest. Homogenization of milk - the process that allows large dairy operations to use milk from many different cows and sell it with a consistent fat content - allows the enzyme xanthine oxidase to enter the bloodstream instead of being excreted as is the case with raw milk. This damages the heart, arteries and eventually clogs them.

The most important aspect to consider with milk consumption is the quality of the source. Modern cow milk contains 400% more pesticides than the same amount of grains or vegetables. Ingestion of these pesticides causes hormonal imbalances when ingested and should be moderated. Make sure the milk you consume is from animals raised without drugs, antibiotics, without pesticide-laden feed or forage.

If you have problems digesting cow milk, goat milk is a very beneficial and digestible alternative. Goats are very clean animals and enjoy a variety of feeds that translate into milk rich in minerals and other nutrients usually lacking in our bodies. Goat's milk is a strong, natural source of fluorine, which helps build immunity, protect teeth and strengthen bones - but fluorine is lost in pasteurization.

Goat's milk is often easier for folks to digest than cow's milk because of its soft curd and smaller fat globules. Because of this, goat's milk is homogenized in its natural state, although most commercial operations pasteurize it per USDA regulations.

The case for milk is a sensitive subject and in the end, what matters the most is how you respond to it's effects.