Milk and dairy of Lord Krishna

[Guest guest]

After two and half years of rich breast milk and then raw cow milk up

to age 11 years, enjoying 24 carat gold health at 58, author believes

that he is qualified to write these lines in praise of cow milk and

dairy produced from Lord Krishna's cow.

 

Though dairy products are builder and not cleansers cow ghee is used

as a prelude to some Ayurvedic panchkarma procedures. It gives

grounding, mass, sweetness, and usually coolness to meals. For these

reasons, it is excellent for children, teenagers, pregnant and

nursing mothers, those seeking calm and grounding, and convalescents.

 

It is superb for Vata, miserable for Kapha and at times quite

beneficial for Pitta. Cow milk offers calories, calcium, protein,

and some vitamins. It builds bones and teeth, and in Vata strengthens

the heart and nervous system. In Kapha it can do the opposite for the

heart, adding congestion where it is not needed. Its cool sweetness

is good for tonifying Pitta, if the appropriate products are used.

Many ayurvedic medicines for Vatic disorders are made in cow ghee,

and most of these can cure diseases of central nervous system,

especially when allopathy fails to do so. Today, the hormonal

imbalance of peri-menopausal women and teenagers and women in child

bearing ages (PCOS) can all be tackled with grace using such

ghrutams. While many western herbalists are sceptic of using fats in

diseases like MS, author found the use of ghrutams quite beneficial.

 

As Robert Svoboda points out in his excellent book Prakruti, Your

Ayurvedic Constitution, dairy has gotten a bad name in health circles

more through its methods of preparation and mode of consumption than

through its innate qualities. In the West, it is usually served cold,

unspiced, homogenized, with other foods, and in excess. Its high-fat

content, heaviness and coldness does not lend it to these uses.

Served in this way, it can increase one's risk of heart disease,

cancer or obesity. Dairy needs to be used skillfully and not in

excess.

 

Cow's milk was highly regarded by the Ayurvedic sages, being lighter

and easier to digest than most dairy. Author can quote several

original Sanskrit shlokas wherein milk, curd, buttermilk, ghee is

recommended as a medicine or anupana or ingredient in medicine. In

fact some prominenet Vaidya of Gujarat have written books on use of

milk and buttermilk. Dairy invigorates and works well for both Vata

and Pitta, so long as they are not allergic to it. Unfortunately,

cow's milk was introduced extremely early to Western babies of the

post-war period, for widespread sensitivities to it as a food now. If

it agrees with you (i.e. does not cause diarrhea, gas, congestion, or

other discomforts) it is an excellent and balancing food, when

properly prepared.

 

Preparation is the key. There has been a lot of controversy over raw

versus pasteurized homogenized milk in the last few decades. In

Ayurveda, raw milk is recommended whenever possible, and milk is

always boiled before serving. Pasteurization removes harmful

organisms such as bacteria , viruses ,

protozoa , molds and yeasts. It may also denature the proteins of

pasteurized milk further, causing their breakdown into shorter amino

acid chains which are then easier to digest. In general, boiling

makes it safer and easier to digest; this is especially true when it

is raw. The boiling process also warms a usually cold product as will

the addition of warming spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, ginger,

and black pepper. A bit of honey added after cooling to look warm

will also balance the qualities of the milk, warming and drying it.

 

Pasteurization has made the consumption of mass-produced dairy safer

in terms of eliminating the chance of bacterial infections for large

groups of people. But its lower heating point does not make the dairy

more digestible nor does it eliminate the risk of potential viral

contamination. The incomplete heating of pasteurization seems to

cause the partial breakdown of proteins into tangled coils. These

disorganized tangles are difficult for digestive enzymes to hold on

and break down for some people. The homogenization process is another

controversial one. It apparently splits the fats down into small

enough globules that some pass into the blood stream whole,

initiating a complex process which may lead to a greater tendency to

create atherosclerotic clots. Whether such a tendency actually exists

is still being hotly debated in medical and health circles. In any

case, the cow's products extolled by the ancients is not the same as

that sold in most markets today

 

A propoganda is going on that cow milk introduced too early, may

cause Diabetes type I (IDDM); But Indian research does not support

the existence of a protective effect of breast-feeding on the risk of

IDDM, nor do the data indicate that early exposure to cow's milk and

dairy products has any influence on the development of IDDM.

Source: {http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN & cpsidt=1051117)

 

If you really wish to obtain the benefits of cow milk as described

not only in Ayurvedic texts but also Mahabharat, Bhagvad Gita, Garud

Purana, Upnishadas etc, start thinking of including an Indian cow in

your family. In contrast to buffalos and Jersey cows, Indian cows can

not be tied in the house. She wishes to graze in sun, which normally

no other animal likes. More amazing info on Indian cow can be found

in archives of ayurveda group.

 

, Nandita Shah <shahnandi

wrote:

>

> No I can¹t give Ayurvedic references to milk as a white poison, but

even

> today any Ayurved will tell you that milk causes mucous formation.

>

> Also Jain scriptures have written about milk and milk products as

vigai and

> mahavigai and in the important fasts like ambil milk products are

not

> allowed. If you ask any knowledgeable Jain monk, he will tell you

this. But

> almost every Jain Monk and all Jains today are the highest

consumers of milk

> and milk products. Most of the Jain monks after 60 are suffering

from heart

> disease, hypertension, asthama, cancer and diabetes, and some even

obesity,

> despite travelling constantly on foot like in the past.

>

> Dr Nandita Shah

>