Category Archives: Nutrition and Recipes

What’s goat got to do with it?

Eco Choices, Nutrition and Recipes

Wondering if goat milk is good for you?

Get the scoop here with Jessica Bell of Split Creek Farm in Anderson, SC….

NUTRITION

  • Goat milk has about 1% less lactose than cow’s milk. So if you are truly lactose intolerant, it won’t be a good fit. But it might be for a lot of other reasons…
  • Casein allergies can mimic lactose-intolerance and produce similar symptoms. Goat milk has less A1 casein than cow milk.  So you might be better able to digest goat milk than cow’s milk for this reason.
  • Goat milk has more medium-chain fatty acids, which are quick sources of energy.
  • The fat globules in goat milk are smaller than in cow’s milk, which eliminates the processing step of homogenization. The smaller fat globules are also believed to contribute to easier digestibility.
  • Goat’s milk is high in oligosaccharides, which are prebiotics that feed the good bacteria in your digestive tract.
  • For the nitty gritty nutritional profile details see: Goat v Cow Dairy

ENVIRONMENT

  • 10-12 goats can live on about the same acreage as 1 cow/calf pair.
  • Goats are browsers instead of grazers; this means they prefer to eat from shrubs, trees, and bushes instead of the ground. The landscape of a goat farm needs to be more diverse in plantlife than a cow dairy farm.
  • Even though one goat produces less milk than one cow, the overall balance of milk production is higher per acre from goat farms.
  • Just like in cow dairies, there is a wide variety of types of farms, which impacts not only the health of the goats but the health of the milk. As always, find out where your food comes from and buy local with minimal processing! 

PS: Love learning about healthy food choices? I’d love to help you in Five Star Eating!

Love cheese, but not cow’s milk doesn’t agree with you? Here are 9 cheeses that are typically not made from cow’s milk.

Some cow’s milk is A1 and some is A2, and that’s a whole ‘nother story you can investigate here.

 

Sources: 

Influence of pasture on fatty acid profile of goat milk.
J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl). 2008 Jun;92(3):405-10. doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0396.2008.00824.x.
D’Urso S1, Cutrignelli MI, Calabrò S, Bovera F, Tudisco R, Piccolo V, Infascelli F.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18477324/

Fatty acid profile of milk – A review Article in Bulletin- Veterinary Institute in Pulawy · June 2013
DOI: 10.2478/bvip-2013-0026
MARIA MARKIEWICZ-KĘSZYCKA, GRAŻYNA CZYŻAK-RUNOWSKA1 , PAULINA LIPIŃSKA, AND JACEK WÓJTOWSKI
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259495733

Goat milk can be considered as functional food, Spanish researchers find
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110518092146.htm

Comparison between Holstein cow’s milk and Japanese-Saanen goat’s milk in fatty acid composition, lipid digestibility and protein profile.
Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2006 Nov;70(11):2771-4. Epub 2006 Nov 7.
Tomotake H1, Okuyama R, Katagiri M, Fuzita M, Yamato M, Ota F.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17090948

Systematic Review of the Gastrointestinal Effects of A1 Compared with A2 β-Casein.
Adv Nutr. 2017 Sep 15;8(5):739-748. doi: 10.3945/an.116.013953. Print 2017 Sep.
Brooke-Taylor S1, Dwyer K2, Woodford K3, Kost N4.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28916574

International Dairy Journal
Volume 16, Issue 2, February 2006, Pages 173-181
Goats’ milk as a natural source of lactose-derived oligosaccharides: Isolation by membrane technology

The Buzz on Bees and Watch your Water

Nutrition and Recipes

Hey Joyful Ones, 

Here’s the last in this series of videos with organic agriculture and organic certifications expert Ryan Merck.

Here’s a quick summary of what’s in the video PLUS some information that we covered off-camera.

  • There are many kinds of bees and other wildlife (not just honeybees) that depend on native plants.
  • As individuals and businesses, we can leave some land “as is,” letting weeds and wildflowers grow.
  • When we plan landscaping, we can include native plants which do not need as much fertilizer or pest control.
  • Gardeners can choose to use organic fertilizers such as manure and compost. 
  • Fertilizers like 10-10-10 and Miracle-Gro, as well as many pest and weed control chemicals, are highly soluble and penetrate into groundwater and bodies of water.

Getting informed through this visit with Ryan motivated me to take action! I want to make choices that are good for my health and good for our planet.

Here are some action steps you can take:

See the rest of the interview here to learn more:
What you need to know about Organic Food
Is it expensive to get the organic certification?
All About Chickens and Eggs
#1 priority for organic food 

ABCs of GMOs – what you need to know now

Nutrition and Recipes

I’m so grateful to Ryan Merck for sharing his knowledge with us! 

Watch the video and review the summary below of what you need to know about GMOs (also called Genetically Modified Organisms or GE/Genetically Engineered Organisms).

It’s a complex issue! The technology behind genetic engineering has the potential to create very beneficial outcomes.

Humans have been selecting and hybridizing crops for a long time to grow crops with the best attributes.

Genetic engineering is different because it involves gene splicing, multiplication, insertion and other technologies that can only be done in a laboratory. Genetic engineering has a legal federal definition.

A large percentage of genetically modified organisms are plants that are designed to withstand the application of synthetic herbicides. This contributes not only to a large percentage of food items which are sprayed with chemicals, but also to a shift in our ecosystems. Pests and bugs can also adapt to become more pesticide-resistant, which leads to the need for more pesticides.

“Genetic drift” refers to the danger of genetically engineered seeds and pollen drifting in air to other farms. Pine trees are the world’s largest GMO-crop, and the one that led to the development of a “terminator gene,” which means the plant seeds cannot be resown, nor can they drift and sow themselves naturally. Not all GMO crops have terminator genes.

The US has equivalency agreements with some countries. If a product on the shelf in the US is labeled organic, even if it comes from a country that is not on our equivalency list, it has been approved by the USDA.

Products labeled USDA Organic and Non-GMO Project are not genetically engineered. The USDA label also ensures that the farm has completed an organic system plan, to protect and improve neighboring woodlands, wetlands, and wildlife.

See the rest of the interview here to learn more:
What you need to know about Organic Food
All About Chickens and Eggs
#1 priority for organic food 

Here’s a TIME Magazine article which shows you the most common genetically modified foods. (Ahem, do you need one more reason to stop eating sugar?)

#1 priority for organic food

Nutrition and Recipes

Want to know the #1 priority for buying organic? Find out from Ryan Merck, an expert in organic agriculture and organic certifications.

In this video, Ryan explains:

  • that “bioaccumulation” means anything that an animal eats, or is exposed to, is stored in its tissues;
  • how dairy is the most condensed form of bioaccumulation;
  • how specific purchasing choices impact not only our health, but the health of the whole ecosystem;
  • and that’s why if he has to choose one item above all else on which to prioritize his spending, he purchases the highest quality dairy possible.

Ryan also covers an easy way to choose organic produce…simply pay attention to the area of the plant that would be sprayed with chemicals. If you’re eating that part, prioritize organic. For example, bananas and avocados have thick skins, and you don’t eat them. These are safer to buy conventional. Strawberries are porous and are sprayed directly on the fruit so buy organic when you can.

If you’ve recently joined Choose Joyful Health community, and you missed Parts 1 and 2 of the interview, here they are:

What you really need to know about organic food
Buying the best chicken and eggs

Stay tuned, we have lots more great Q&A with Ryan coming soon…


Book a complimentary consultation. I’d love to help you!

Is it expensive for farms to get the organic certification?

Eco Choices, Nutrition and Recipes

Maybe you’ve heard – like me – that it’s hard and expensive for farms to get the organic certification. Ryan Merck, our local expert in organic agriculture and organic certifications, answers…

If you’ve recently joined Choose Joyful Health community, and you missed the other sections of the interview, here they are:

What you really need to know about organic food
Buying the best chicken and eggs
The #1 priority when spending money on organic

Stay tuned, we have lots more great Q&A with Ryan coming soon…