Superiority of Goat Milk

[Guest guest]

Superiority of Goat Milk

JoAnn Guest

Oct 24, 2006 14:47 PDT

 

----------------------------

 

G.F.W. Haenlein And R. Caccese,

Univ. of. Delaware, Newark

 

To most people today, especially in the more developed countries,

the term milk is synonomous with cow's milk, as if cow's alone

possess a singular ability to produce mammary secretions.

 

Perhaps nowhere has the feeling been more prevalent than in the

U.S., where over 10 million cows are maintained to provide an

abundant, clean source of nourishment and refreshment to our

country,

producing more than 125 billion pounds of milk annually.

 

Yet on a world-wide basis, there are more people who drink the milk

of goats than from any other single animal.

 

Over 440 million goats (world-wide) produce an estimated 4.8 million

tons of milk that is predominantly consumed locally, or processed

into various types of cheeses.

 

Here in the U.S. there are approximately a million dairy goats

actively producing milk.

 

Most of the upsurge in goat popularity has been the result of a

growing

trend towards attaining some measure of

self-sufficiency on the part of many people, for both economic and

aesthetic purposes.

 

A goat will eat little, occupy a small area and produce enough milk

for the average family (a good milker will produce about a gallon a

day).

 

As the interest in dairy goats and their products continue to rise,

it is apparent that many misconceptions, discrepancies and

exaggerated claims are being perpetrated.

 

A comparison of cow and goat milk seems to be in order, so that some

prejudices against goat milk may be erased. Also, while goat milk is

somewhat unique, it is certainly not a magical elixir.

 

 

Diet also plays a large role in the palatability of goat milk, as

well as cow milk. While cows are usually rather closely regulated as

to

what they may eat and when, goats are often allowed to consume a

large

variety of materials at any time, including browsing.

 

This kind of feeding may allow a certain " off " taste or smell to b

transferred to the milk, just as cows may produce a " garlicky " milk

from some spring pastures. What comes out is based on what goes in!

 

If goats and cows are similarly managed, the smell and taste of both

milks are quite comparable.

 

Goat milk is similar to cow milk in it's basic composition. In

average, cow milk contains about 12.2% dry matter (3.2% protein,

3/6%

fat, 4.7% lactose and 0.7% mineral matter).

 

Goat milk contains about 12.1 dry matter (3.4% protein, 3.8% fat,

4.1% lactose and 0.8% mineral matter).

These figures are only averages of course, as there are considerable

differences between breeds and among individual dairy cows in the

US,

and 6 breeds of dairy goats producing milk.

 

The Saanen is best known as the Holstein of the goat world,

producing a

high quantity of milk with somewhat low fat levels.

 

However, there are also differences that give goat's milk a place

for

special purposes.

 

In Summary:

 

1. Goat milk has a more easily digestible fat and protein

content than cow milk.

 

2. The increased digestibility of protein is of importance to

infant diets (both human and animal), as well as to invalid and

convalescent diets.

 

3. Goat milk tends to have a better buffering quality, which is

good for the treatment of ulcers.

 

4. In under-developed countries, where most consumption is low,

goat milk is an important daily food source of protein, phosphate

and

calcium not available otherwise because of a lack of cow milk.

 

5. Goat milk can successfully replace cow milk in diets of those

who are allergic to cow milk.

 

Fat

 

One of the more significant differences from cow milk is found in

the

composition and structure of fat in goat milk. The average size of

goat

milk fat globules is about 2 micrometers, as compared to 2 ½- 3 ½

micrometers for cow milk fat.

 

These smaller sized fat globules provide a better dispersion, and a

more homogeneous mixture of fat in the milk. Research indicates that

there is more involved to the creaming ability of milk than merely

physical size of the fat globules.

 

It appears that their clustering is favored by the presence of an

agglutinin in milk which is lacking in goat milk, therefore creating

a poor creaming ability, especially at lower temperatures.

 

The natural homogenization of goat milk is from a human health

standpoint, much better than the mechanically homogenized cow milk

product.

 

It appears that when fat globules are forcibly broken up by

mechanical means, it allows an enzyme associated with milk fat,

known as

 

xanthine oxidase to become free and penetrate the intestinal wall.

 

Once xanthine oxidase gets through the intestinal wall and into the

bloodstream, it is capable of creating scar damage to the heart and

arteries, which in turn may stimulate the body to release

cholesterol

into the blood in an attempt to lay a protective fatty material on

the scarred areas.

 

This can lead to arteriosclerosis. It should be noted that this

effect is not a problem with natural (unhomogenized) cow milk. In

unhomogenized milk this enzyme is normally excreted from the body

without much absorption.

 

Another significant difference from cow milk is the higher amount of

shorter-chain fatty acids in the milk fat of goats.

 

Furthermore, glycerol ethers are much higher in goat than in cow

milk, which appears to be important for the nutrition of the nursing

newborn.

 

Goat milk also has lower contents of orotic acid which can be

significant in the prevention of fatty liver syndrome. However, the

membranes around fat globules in goat milk are more fragile which

may

be related to their greater susceptibility to develop off-flavors

than cow milk.

 

 

Goat milk… is higher in minerals, calcium, potassium, magnesium,

phosphorus, chlorine and manganese; but is lower in sodium, iron,

sulphur, zinc and molybdenum.

 

www.meyenberg.com

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets