Raw Milk September 30, 2009

Weisbecker, Andy. “A Legal History of Raw Milk in the United States.” Journal of Environmental Health 69.8 (2007)

“The Cold Truth.” Dairy Industries International 74.1 (2009)

After Monday’s discussion, I thought it would be interesting to find some information regarding the safety of raw milk. Most of the research that I found supported the claim that pasteurization kills harmful bacteria present in raw milk and that consumption of raw milk is very risky. I had a very had time finding any articles that were in support of consumption of raw milk, and no scientific data. Around the beginning of the twentieth century, as cities grew larger, milk began being transported farther and kept at higher temperatures than before, and many people were getting sick. Data shows that around 1938, about 25% of diseases contracted from contaminated foods came from raw milk, and as of 2002, the percentage has gone down to less than 1%. The article from Dairy Industries International states that many bacteria present in raw milk had been previously unidentified, and in looking more closely at these bacteria, scientists have identified a new species (Chryseobacterium oranimense) that grows at cold temperatures and has the potential to  spoil raw milk. Although it seems that raw milk would be more natural than pasteurized milk, the fact is that in the society we live in today, with the present conditions for food demand, storage, and the treatment of farm animals, it is probably much more safe for people to drink pasteurized milk.

“Can the Mediterranean diet prevent prostate cancer?” September 16, 2009

Itsiopoulos, C. et al. “Can the Mediterranean diet prevent prostate cancer?” Molecular Nutrition & Food Research 53.2 (2009): 227-239.

The article I read this week was a very interesting study into the individual foods that make up a traditional Greek diet and their associations with prostate cancer. As prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men and the sixth highest cause of death in men, it is very important to determine risk factors. The researchers focused on a Greek diet that was characterized by a wide variety of plant foods, olive oil as the main source of fat, low intakes of red meat, low to moderate intakes of dairy, moderate to high intakes of fish, and moderate intakes of wine with meals. A diet like this has been shown to contain important bioactive phytochemicals, like carotenoids, flavonoids, and polyphenols, which may decrease risk for prostate cancer.