I’ll admit it: I’ve been obsessed with goats for a long time – long before I finally realized my dream of having a dozen or more romping around in my backyard. And while they are as adorable as they seem, they do take work, and sometimes a lot of it. Especially when it’s time to milk. I even ended up having carpal tunnel surgery one year because I had milked so many goats by hand over the seasons!
But it’s worth it. Having that milk and those milk products literally farm to table is so worthwhile. Not only because the freshness can’t be beaten but because of the many health benefits of goat’s milk – both raw and pasteurized – over cow’s milk from the store. What follows are just eight incredible ways goat’s milk can improve your life.
1. It’s Good for the Skin
Goat’s milk is rich in triglycerides and essential fatty acids, which have a pH similar to humans. The fatty acids help make goat’s milk products less irritating to and more easily absorbed by our skin. These fatty acids and triglycerides are also super moisturizing.
Goat’s milk also contains precious skin minerals like selenium and is loaded with vitamins, particularly vitamin A, the most essential vitamin for the skin. As with other kinds of milk, goat’s milk contains lactic acid, an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA). It helps gently exfoliate, hydrate, and brighten the skin.
Goat’s milk has unique nourishing properties that make it the perfect ingredient to add to anything that touches your skin, from your shaving cream to your moisturizer. It is an anti-aging wonder and a lifesaver for dry and sensitive skin. Goat’s milk is an active ingredient for improving skin conditions, even helping to reduce acne and blackheads. In addition, it helps moisturize, smoothen, and whiten your skin.
2. Better for the Digestive System in a Variety of Ways
- Easy on the Gastrointestinal Tract: The gastrointestinal tract (GI) includes the stomach and intestine, which helps regulate the entire digestive process. People who experience discomfort from cow’s milk often have an easier time digesting raw dairy from goats. It’s also associated with fewer incidences of gas, bloating, and diarrhea.
- Prebiotic and Anti-Inflammatory: Goat’s milk contains powerful anti-inflammatory molecules called oligosaccharides, which have been shown to prevent pro-inflammatory bacteria from collecting on the stomach and intestinal lining, reduce instances of sepsis while promoting the growth of healthy “friendly” bacteria (prebiotics), which are crucial for healthy digestion, immune function, weight loss/obesity prevention, insulin sensitivity, diabetes prevention, and more.
- Aids IBD: For people with a healthy GI tract, both cow and goat milk in their raw state should be easy to digest. But many of us don’t know if we have a disruption in the GI. If you’ve tried raw milk from cattle and had a reaction, you likely have a condition in the GI. Whereas cow milk can irritate an upset GI, goat milk is actually found to be soothing. Studies have shown that goat’s milk is less irritating to the bowels and may hold promise as a healing agent in all inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).
3. Improves Lactose Tolerance
The fat in goat milk is smaller and lower in lactose than cow’s milk, making it easier to digest and a fantastic alternative for those who have trouble consuming cow’s milk.
Some people also have trouble with pasteurized milk because the heating process destroys milk’s natural enzymes. Raw, unprocessed goat’s milk contains less lactose than raw cow’s milk and provides the lactase necessary to break the milk sugar down. That may help explain why many who are lactose intolerant can consume raw goat dairy without issue.
4. Goat Milk Helps Prevent Milk Allergies in Kids
Goat milk has plenty of A2 casein and, therefore, is high in protein, just like human breast milk. Thus, it helps prevent inflammatory diseases of colitis and irritable bowel syndrome. Goat dairy, in general, is similar in structure to human milk, while cow’s is not. Both goat and human milk are rich in oligosaccharides. They contain many of the same amino acids and proteins, and both contain a comparatively high antioxidant and mineral selenium concentration. Babies are often given goat milk as the first source of protein after breastfeeding, making them less prone to milk allergies than cow’s milk.
5. It’s a Complete Protein
Raw goat’s milk contains all essential amino acids in optimal amounts, making it a complete protein. This whole protein has the right amount of all essential amino acids, which, by definition, our bodies can only get through diet. An “incomplete” protein may also have all the necessary amino acids but in insufficient proportion. A complete protein is crucial for biological processes, from digestion to transporting nutrients and building tissue.
6. Helps Reduce Cholesterol Levels
Studies have shown that goat milk consumption decreases plasma triglyceride concentration, positively affecting lipid metabolism, similar to olive oil. Lipid metabolism synthesizes and degrades lipids in cells. It is also involved in the construction of cell membranes.
People with problems such as high blood cholesterol should have goat milk. It may help reduce cholesterol levels in the arteries and
gall bladder.
Cholesterol is a critical component of your brain and is the most essential nutrient for healthy functioning synapses. A severe deficiency in cholesterol will cause death. Minor or increasing deficiencies are associated with severe cognitive decline, memory loss and Alzheimer’s, weight gain, heart disease, diabetes, insulin resistance, and aging, to name a few.
7. Good for Bones and Blood
Goat’s milk is rich in calcium, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus; our bodies easily digest and absorb these minerals. Therefore, goat’s milk helps treat nutritional deficiencies such as bone demineralization, repairs iron and magnesium deficiency, enhances the body’s ability to use iron, and even boosts the formation of red blood cells.
- Insulin Resistance: An adequate amount of insulin helps balance blood glucose levels.
It also restores the leftover glucose in your liver when your bloodstream has excess glucose. Research has shown that goat’s milk prevents insulin resistance, which increases blood sugar levels and can eventually lead to type 2 diabetes. - Anemia: Studies have shown that goat milk is more beneficial than cow milk in
preventing and healing both anemia and bone demineralization.
Goat’s milk is rich in the minerals that replenish bones and blood and increases their bioavailability, meaning your body can absorb and use more of these minerals.
8. The Perfect Food?
Goat’s milk is rich in essential fatty acids, niacin, potassium, and vitamins B6, A, E, and D, and healthy cholesterol (vital for proper brain function, sex hormones, and more). It provides more calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, selenium, and vitamin K2 than cow’s milk. Without K2, calcium tends to deposit in the arteries rather than bones and teeth, causing hardening of the arteries. The K2 in goat’s milk helps to protect your heart by ensuring that calcium goes where it’s needed. In other words, consuming goat’s milk could save your life!
This list is by no means exhaustive, but it’s easy to see how beneficial goat’s milk can be in many areas of your life and your health. There are increasing numbers of locations dealing in goat’s milk products, from soaps and lotions to milks and cheeses. If you haven’t already jumped on the goat bandwagon, it’s time to give it a try. You’ll be glad you did!
Lori Hubbard, MA, is Editor-in-Chief of Natural Nutmeg and Essential Naples magazines. She has a masters in written communication and a certificate in digital publishing. When she’s not wordsmithing or designing, she’s probably playing with her dogs or goats.