Why Goat Dairy is the GOAT [Greatest Of All Time]
posted on
May 4, 2024
Is goat dairy the BEST dairy?
Dairy products are a superfood! They are a great source of bioavailable nutrients and let's be honest - they are delicious! BUT there are certainly some people who do not digest dairy well.
If you are one of those individuals, something you may want to pay attention to is the ANIMAL source where it is coming from - goat, cow, sheep, etc., and the processing method (pasteurized, homogenized, etc.) since the source and processing can certainly impact digestibility. anecdotal evidence that for many individuals who cannot digest cow’s milk they can handle goat milk just fine (ref) - including those that are lactose tolerant! (ref, ref)
Now don’t get me wrong, cow milk is great. Especially our A2A2 cow milk (so many of you can't digest any other cow dairy - how awesome! As a note - ALL of our cow dairy products are tested to be A2A2).
But for those that still have issues with A2 dairy, goat milk may be a great thing to try - and for more reasons than goat milk being fully A2 (whereas for cows it depends on the breed and genetics).
1. The fat may be easier to digest
Why?
Goat milk contains smaller fat globules that are naturally homogenized, and the more drastic surface to volume ratio allows for a quicker & smoother digestion process. (ref)
Goat milk is also higher in MCT (medium chain triglycerides) (ref), which can be easier and quicker to digest for some. (16% MCTs vs. 8% MCTs in cow milk (ref), so 2X as much) MCTs also have a ton of antimicrobial (ref) and antitumor (ref) properties.
2. Higher levels of taurine (an amino acid)
Goat milk contains 20-40X higher taurine levels, which has a ton of health benefits including maintaining proper electrolyte balance (ref), improving thyroid function (ref) and thyroid hormone conversion (ref), improving bile and fat digestion (ref), reducing inflammation and complications in diabetics (ref), and even improving hormone production and libido (ref).
3. Contains less lactose
Goat milk is comprised of about 4.2% lactose whereas cow’s milk contains about 5% (ref)
4. Higher nutrient content (more calcium, potassium, magnesium, Vitamin C, Vitamin B3, choline, riboflavin & retinol, chloride, copper, selenium and manganese)
In fact, the reason goat milk is ALWAYS white regardless if they are on pasture (y'all already know our goats are out on pasture) is because goats convert all beta carotene (pre-formed Vitamin A) in grasses into retinol (the more active form of Vitamin A) which is then passed through to the milk.
This may be another reason why goat milk is easier to digest as there are no beta-carotenes or other carotenoids present (that can be hard to digest for those in a low thyroid state).
5. Closest composition to human milk and great for babies and infants (the best human breast milk replacement)
In summary - more of the goat milk is properly digested (ref, ref) and digestion is quicker, resulting in less digestive issues. (ref) (since the reason someone may experience negative digestion symptoms from dairy is when dairy particles are not digested well and hang around the digestive tract)
No wonder there is a ton of anecdotal evidence that for many individuals who cannot digest cow’s milk they can handle goat milk just fine (ref) - including those that are lactose tolerant! (ref, ref)
(Milk, kefir, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, cheese & more!)
HOWEVER, NOT ALL GOAT MILK IS THE SAME!
The first consideration is taste - Well, the taste of our goat milk is sweet and delicious - not 'goaty', as this is a result of management practices and milk temperature regulation.
Our goat milk is frozen immediately after milking to ensure the milk arrives to you fresh, sweet & clean tasting. Goats milk thaws perfectly because it is naturally homogenized, meaning the fat globules stay together, so there is no separation.
The second consideration is WHAT THE GOAT EATS.
Our goats live out their lives on pasture, rotated regularly to a new patch of grass to ensure a varied and nutrient dense diet.
Here is a video of how are goats are raised, with the highest standards.
Rotating outside on pasture ensures abundant sunshine and a diverse nutrient intake with access to diverse forage species. Research now shows that milk from animals grazing on diverse pastures (our goats!) will contain more nutrients. (ref)
DAIRY GOATS REQUIRE GRAIN - all dairy goats require a supplemental feed while being milked. Most farms use just a generic non GMO (not the same as organic!) option that contains PUFA ingredients (such as soy, corn, canola or sunflower seeds - YUCK!).
This is unacceptable to us! Because high PUFA ingredients have been shown to pass through into the milk, changing the fatty acid composition for the worse (higher PUFA, less saturated fat - NOT what we want!)
So we created our own, custom, one-of-a-kind low PUFA feed that is Organic (contains no pesticides). Pesticides in grain have also been shown to pass through to the milk - yuck!
The nutrition of a goat's diet directly impacts the nutrition in the milk, which is why we are extremely selective of their diet in order to ensure milk with the best fatty acid profile and an abundance of nutrients.
