Letters to the Editor

My wife had been told she was lactose intolerant her entire life.  About fourteen years ago I was working at an organic grocery store and saw an article that said it could be the hormones that they give the cows. We switched to using organic milk and she does not have any more troubles. We buy organic any time we can.

 

Keep up the good work.

Jeff Kissell

 

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I just wanted to take a minute to correct some of the information in your article about organic milk. Organic does NOT mean the cows are grassfed and don’t receive corn. Organic means the cows don’t receive hormones or antibiotics and that any feed they are fed are certified organic, which in part means non-GMO, no herbicides or pesticides. But most big organic dairies still feed organic corn and or organic soy. Grassfed milk may or may not be organic. And organic milk may or may not be grassfed. The high grass diet is what changes the omega 3 levels whether the dairy is certified organic or not. We run a small raw milk dairy in Excelsior Springs MO, feeding no corn or soy ever, and generally 100% grass fed by supplementing with barley grass fodder. People need to know their farmer to really know what the cows are being fed.
Thanks!
Rachel Moser
Be Whole Again Farm

Rachel,

We agree with you on this. The study you are referencing examined whether the milk from grass-fed cows is healthier than that from corn-fed cows. But certainly, there is more to the word “organic” than simply what they eat. Thanks for writing!

Editor

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I eat organic as much as possible (which is most of my food).  I raise my own food and what I cannot grow here in Alaska I purchase organic as long as it is available in organic.  Example- Key Limes are not available to me in organic.

I choose to eat organic for health reasons.  I have MS and live without any prescription medications for MS. My MS doctor brought an MS specialist from Seattle to evaluate me.  After reviewing my condition and my lifestyle, both stated: “we did not believe the food you eat impacts your MS but whatever you are doing keep it up because you are the healthiest and most physically active MS patient we have seen in years.”  They said all that in one sentence and with only one breath.

 

Debra Lighthart

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Your statement that Omega 3 fatty acids are “good” and O6 FAs are “bad” is incorrect.  Both are good and necessary for Human health.  It is the ratios that matter.  Present day diets in the States are full of grain based foods which are higher in O6 FAs than O3.  This imbalance is what leads to health problems.

People need to add more Omega 3 FAs to bring the ratios into balance while also replacing grains and vegetable sources of fats (high in O6) with healthy animal fats (organically produced) and plant fats like walnuts that have a more balanced fatty acid profile.

Samuel

Samuel,

Great point! Ratios certainly make the difference, and we appreciate your email.

Editor