Article Gets Goat Milk Right

I've denounced the nutty ideas of goat's milk fanciers, the ones who think that goat's milk is somehow magically better for people than cow's milk. See Goat's Milk for Lactose Intolerants? No. and More Goat Milk Nonsense.

So it's only fair to report on an article getting goat's milk right.

I found it in a letter to the editor on the greelytrib.com website.

The letter writer, Stephanie Smith, a spokeswoman for the Western Dairy Council in Thornton, says:

Be careful about comparing goat's milk to cow's milk; there's no difference.

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The big picture shows milk to be naturally nutrient-rich, delivering various amounts of most of the nutrients people need without a high calorie count. Scientific analysis finds no significant nutritional difference between goat's milk and cow's milk. They contain essentially the same amount of protein, carbohydrate and fat.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, neither goat's nor cow's milk is recommended for infants with cow's milk sensitivity. The good news is that infants usually outgrow allergies to milk proteins by the age of 2. People with lactose intolerance have difficulty digesting lactose -- the carbohydrate in both cow's milk and goat's milk -- and there are many ways to manage this without eliminating dairy foods.

Pasteurization, regardless of whether milk is heated for longer periods of time at lower temperatures or shorter periods of time at higher temperatures, does not significantly affect milk's nutrients. Furthermore, most cows' milk is not ultrapasteurized.

People sometimes complain about "biased" sources, biased by their definition anyone with an interest in the outcome. Somehow the idiots making false statements are never considered to be biased as long as their beliefs are contrary to those of "industry." The truth is that people with the most knowledge sometimes are employed by one side.

Your job as consumers is to get to know enough about the subjects you have concern for to be able to tell when they are just giving the facts out of their expertise and when they are putting a spin on the truth. Here be facts. Goat milk nuts, beware.