The Original Oat Lie…

I’ve never taken a close look at the Oat ‘milk’ produced by the brand Oatly until I saw this graph (below) the other day. If you haven't already, take a proper look at it before you read on, pretty mind blowing! 

I searched for the full article and on reading it, realised it was written three years ago and that Oatly had written a rebuttal. My first thought was surely they’ve changed their formula since then, but on checking it’s still the same and the rebuttal actually defends their use of rapeseed oil 🤦‍♂️

I don’t necessarily have an issue with companies making unhealthy foods. I think that it’s on the individual to educate and discipline themselves to eat a real food diet the vast majority of the time. However, I do have an issue with companies like Oatly that mascaraed their products as health foods when in fact they are the opposite.

If we look through the lens of evolutionary biology, for 99.9% of human existence we wouldn’t have been able to spike our blood sugar in the way a can or coke (or cup of Oatly) does. We may have experienced a big blood sugar spike on the odd occasion if we came across some honey for example but most days our blood sugar would have been pretty stable. Even the fruit that was available before we learnt how to grow it to make it sweeter in the last few generations was much lower in sugar content.

Spiking blood sugar regularly often leads to lethargy and cravings in the short term and can result in the development of type 2 diabetes in the long run.

If you’re going to produce an unhealthy product, then at least own it. Cadbury’s or McDonalds may not shout about how their products can damage your health, but they aren’t going about boasting how beneficial and environmentally friendly they are either.

Oatly on the other hand…

Their original oat water (it's not milk!) contains vegetable oil, synthetic minerals and they even go as far as to justify why it ISN’T organic on the product page of their website.

Vegetable oils are high in Omega 6 fats, which can throw out the Omega 3:6 ratio within your body. They’re also highly unstable, meaning they oxidise easily. Both of these things cause inflammation within the body, wreak havoc on our cells and have been linked to basically all the chronic diseases we’re seeing a huge rise in over recent years.

When it comes to synthetic nutrients in products, these need to be provided in the best forms and delicately balanced to replicate real food otherwise they can cause issues.* For example, Oatly contains synthetic calcium but no vitamin K2. Some studies suggest that supplementing synthetic calcium alone can cause cardiovascular issues.

*Which is why we highly recommend getting your nutrients from real foods or real food supplements. Nature's got your back! 

Non organic oats very likely contains pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, which are known to cause gut issues, leading to decreased micronutrient absorption and a whole host of symptoms; brain fog, bloating, skin issues, etc.

Also the oats are grown by mono-cropping - growing the same crops on the same soil year after year. This has been shown conclusively to wreck soil health, killing the microbes in the top soil, which reduces the nutrients it contains whilst decreasing its ability to retain water and hold carbon.

Not only do they contain ingredients which are bad for your health. But they’re also displacing actual milk, which is highly nutritious….

Raw milk is:

- A complete source of protein (contains all essential amino acids)

- Loaded with fat soluble vitamins like Vitamin K2 and Retinol (the bioavailable for of Vitamin A)

- A great source of Calcium and Phosphorous (in the right ratios to support bone health)

- Full of lactoferrin, a protein with antimicrobial, antibacterial and iron regulating properties

- Packed with B Vitamins

Why Raw Milk Is A Superfood & Why You May Not Actually Be Intolerant…

I think it’s pretty obvious from the above why we say raw milk is a superfood. It’s loaded with micronutrients (including ones commonly lacking in the modern diet; Vitamin A, K2, Calcium & B12) whilst also containing bacteria and enzymes that support gut health and immunity.

Lots of people think they have an intolerance to dairy, and this included me when I was drinking cows milk from the supermarket. However, I switched over to drinking raw goats milk and I now go through a few bottles a week with no issues.

There’s two main reasons for this:

1. A1 vs A2 dairy // When humans started to mass produce milk, a gene mutation took place in cows causing them to create A1 milk. Prior to this all milk that was consumed by our ancestors was A2. Today the vast majority of cow milk you’ll find is A1 and as we haven’t been biologically set up to drink this type of milk through centuries of evolution, a lot of people don’t tolerate it well. However, there are still some breeds of cow as well as sheep and goats that produce A1 dairy. So by simply making this switch, you may be able to tolerate milk again.

2. Enzymes // These are proteins that help us break down food. Your internal enzyme production is influenced by the foods you eat regularly. So if you don’t consume dairy, your body won’t be producing lots of lactase the enzyme needed to digest lactose (the naturally occurring sugar present in milk). Also raw milk actually contains the enzymes needed to break it down. Therefore if you re-introduce raw milk slowly you’ll be providing your body with lactase, whilst also telling your body to increase the production of it internally.

Basically if you think you’re intolerant to milk and you’re drinking it off supermarket shelves, you, like me, will probably be absolutely fine with raw A2 dairy. This was also shown by the Western A Price Foundation who surveyed 700 families and found that 80% of people who thought they were lactose intolerant didn’t experience symptoms with raw milk 🥛

If you’re in the UK, you can search for a farm selling raw milk near you through this website: http://rawmilk.simkin.co.uk/what-is-raw-milk.html

If you don't consume dairy, it's really important you're still getting adequate Calcium. This is found in very few other foods; basically just bones and eggshells. That's why we created our Whole Bone Matrix... so you can ensure you're getting enough Calcium if you don't consume enough (or any) dairy.