Yesterday on Pete's 29th birthday, we went to Mahaffey's Farm in South Carolina so the girls could run around and play with some of their baby goats (though, they are not little babies anymore!) and cats and dogs. While we were there, we picked up a gallon of raw goat milk for Avery.

We have been buying their delicious grade A goat milk off and on for some time now, and usually it's about the same price as the goat milk in the stores once you add in the gas it takes to get to the farm. Just recently the prices on the goat's milk in the stores have increased to $3.69 and $3.99 per QUART of goat milk...almost $16 a gallon! Thankfully, Avery is the only one who drinks it, but it's too pricey. Mahaffey's milk is $5 per half gallon, so about $6 cheaper. We calculated it out that it will cost about $3 to $4 in gas to go the extra 13 miles to the farm, so it is slightly cheaper now to get their milk regularly! We are so thrilled about this because Grade A Raw Goat Dairy is by far more healthy for Avery than the ultra-pasturized milk in the stores.

One of the MAIN reasons we're so excited to give Avery raw goat's milk is because raw milk has been shown to help rid your body of allergies over a period of time. I have also researched it's supposed to help with eczema. This is an amazing article on how raw milk cuts children's allergies

Raw milk has an amazing source of nutrients including beneficial bacteria such as lactobacillus acidolphilus, vitamins and enzymes, and the calcium in raw milk is more bioavailable than that which is in pasturized milk, so I've researched.

The pasteurization process, heats the milk to 145 degrees - 150 degrees F and s it there for at least half an hour. Then the temperature is reduced to no more than 55 degrees F, completely changes the structure of the milk proteins (it denatures the proteins) and this is not very healthy. Now, pasturizing milk DOES kill germs and bad bacteria, BUT it also destroys the milk's beneficial bacteria along with many of its nutritious components.

When you pasturize milk, you destroy live enzymes, vitamins, and you destroy beneficial bacteria. If you leave raw milk out it will sour naturally but pasteurized milk will rot. This is because the beneficial bacteria in the raw milk helps to keep decomposing bacteria under control. The pasturized milk does not have any beneficial bacteria left to keep it from rotting, basically.

(www.realmilk.org)