Cultured : An Ancient Blessing for the Modern Day by Mary Marble

In ancient times, was associated with abundance and blessings from the Lord. Milk, and were highly prized that were valued for their life sustaining qualities.

2 Nephi 26: 25 Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price.

Deuteronomy 26: 8-9, 11 And the Lord ...hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee...

Proverbs 27: 27 And thou shalt have ’ milk enough for thy , for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.

Isaiah 7:22 And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land.

(All scriptures have emphasis added.)

The references above to butter notated in the KJV that the Hebrew translation was "." are a traditionally cultured milk product, where the natural, healthful are allowed to culture the milk, thus transforming it into a rich food. For thousands of years, traditional cultures have soured or cultured milk products to produce nutrient dense foods such as: , , , , clabbered milk, cultured butter, and raw .

There are many who find that they cannot tolerate pasteurized milk because of (milk ) intolerance, but are able to tolerate some or all of these cultured foods. This is in large part because the beneficial bacteria that culture the milk eat the lactose and produce (which is what causes the sour of plain yogurt, kefir, etc). These wonderful bacteria process and partially digest both the lactose and many of the proteins in the milk, making the milk much easier to digest.

Much research has been done in recent years on the ecosystem of the body - scientists estimate that 90% (by number, not mass) of the cells in our bodies are not even us - they are microscopic bacteria and fungi that live primarily in our digestive tract! There is much that has been written about the health of this body's ecosystem, and that the digestive tract is the seat of our immunity. To put it very simply, when the gut is populated with healthy bacteria (such as are abundant in cultured dairy products), they help us digest our food, produce essential nutrients from food that is indigestible to us (like fiber), and protect us against pathogenic bacteria and viruses.

When we begin to understand the delicate balance of the ecosystem of our digestive tracts, we are able to see how damaging antibiotics can be to the body. While they are sometimes necessary to overcome a serious bacterial infection, antibiotic use always leads to a damaged digestive tract because these powerful drugs do not differentiate between the pathogenic, disease-causing bacteria, and the life-giving, beneficial bacteria. Antibiotics wipe them all out, and often this allows undesirable strains of bacteria and fungi (Candida) to colonize in the wake of even one course of antibiotics and alter digestive function and health.

Thank goodness that we have been provided with a way to heal this important balance in the body! Eating cultured foods every day can repopulate the intestines with these amazing bacteria. Yogurt is the most widely known cultured , but most commercially available products are loaded with toxic chemicals, and artificial sweeteners such as high-fructose corn syrup, sucralose, aspartame, and food dyes. Additionally, many commercial have just a couple of strains of very weak bacteria. Because sugars and artificial sweeteners kill the beneficial bacteria, these yogurts are not only not a good probiotic food, but are much more harmful than helpful. On the other hand, plain yogurt with "live active cultures" is a great food. If you don't like the sour taste of plain yogurt, you can sweeten it with raw honey or maple syrup, and add fruit and sprouted nuts. Make sure to buy organic, full yogurt - organic to avoid all the hormones, pesticides and other toxins that permeate conventional dairy.

The most powerful cultured milk is kefir. I was introduced to kefir over 8 years ago, and our family has been drinking it daily for about 6 years. Where a good yogurt has 6-8 strains of beneficial bacteria, kefir has over 30, and 6-8 beneficial strains of (not to be confused with pathogenic Candida strains). Kefir is cultured by placing kefir "grains" (small gelatinous proteins that house the beneficial bacteria) into a jar of milk. You allow the milk to sit on the counter for 12-24 hours, and the bacteria do their job transforming the milk into kefir. After straining out the now thick, yogurty liquid, you place the "grains" back into a clean jar, and add milk to begin the process again. Kefir is quite sour, but our family likes it made into a with berries, bananas and honey to taste. Prepared this way, it is a delicious that even picky eaters will love. While home cultured kefir is by far the cheapest option, there are also delicious plain, commercial available. Again, I would encourage buying and consuming organic and full fat kefir.

Prior to drinking kefir daily, my family suffered from typical stomach bugs, flus and colds several times a year, causing my children to miss several days of school a year, and my husband to miss work. After making kefir a daily part of our lives, we VERY rarely get sick, and even then, it lasts a day, is mild, and gone quickly. I attribute this largely to eating probiotic foods on a daily basis and eating a real foods . Additionally, I have been able to completely reverse an autoimmune disease that I've suffered from for 10+ years.

I want to end with a little info on the importance of the quality of the dairy that you consume. Conventional often feed their cows very substandard fare - GMO soy and corn, old bakery products full of refined and processed carbohydrates and transfats.1 These toxins all come out in the milk. If the cow is eating transfats, the milk will contain trans as well.2 On the other hand, when a cow (or ) is fed on its natural diet - grass, with hay and sometimes a little grain in the winter - it's milk is MUCH more nutrient dense. The levels of the fat soluble are many times higher than in conventional dairy, which give pastured butter it's lovely yellow color.3 Have a hard time getting enough fatty fish in your diet for those important omega-3 fatty acids? Try pastured dairy - the amount of omega 3's in grass-fed dairy is double what you'd find in conventional dairy. 4

What about the fat? Don't we often hear that full fat isn't good for us? More and more research is being done that disproves the cholesterol and myths. One study found that women who consumed full-fat dairy versus low-fat dairy were 50% less likely to suffer from infertility issues.5 All of our sex hormones are made from cholesterol, and for optimal fertility, we need to be consuming full fat dairy, the way God made it, for the body to produce the hormones needed to conceive, sustain a healthy pregnancy, and give the baby building blocks for a healthy brain. Another recent study revealed that children who drank full fat milk had less than children who ate low-fat dairy. 6

In conclusion, for many, full fat, grass-fed dairy, especially when cultured, is a delicious, nutrient dense food provided by our Heavenly Father to nourish and bless us!

For more information on healing the digestive tract and probiotic therapy, read:

Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, M.D.

The Body Ecology Diet by Donna Gates

Helpful websites about culturing dairy and purchasing kefir starts: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/introduction-milk-kefir http://www.culturedfoodlife.com/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8inJzX-6yE

References Cited:

1. http://www.cheeseslave.com/will-the-real-california-happy-cows-please-stand-up/

2. http://www.whatsonmyfood.org/food.jsp?food=MK

3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21183013

4. http://www.eatwild.com/articles/superhealthy.html

5. http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/22/5/1340.long

6. http://www.dietriffic.com/2013/03/21/full-fat-dairy/