January 26, 2011 – Organic milk contains more fats considered beneficial to health, such as omega-3 and omega-6 than conventional milk.
This is what emerges from a study1 conducted in England where researchers compared the fat quality of 22 brands of retail milk in different seasons, between 2006 and 2008. Of the 22 brands of milk, 10 were organic certified.
Compared to milk from factory farms, milk from organic dairy farms would contain:
– 60% more omega-3;
– 62% eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA: fatty acid of omega-3 type);
– 57% more alpha-linolenic acid (ALA: omega-3 from vegetable source);
– 12% more omega-6;
– 15% more linoleic acid (LA: omega-6 fatty acid).
Grams of fatty acid per kg of milk |
||
Fatty acid |
Classic milk |
Organic milk |
Omega 3 |
5.5 |
8.8 |
AEP |
0.5 |
0.8 |
AAL |
4.4 |
6.9 |
Omega-6 |
20.7 |
23.2 |
AL |
17.5 |
20.1 |
According to the authors of the study, this better lipid profile is attributable to the feeding of cows from certified organic farms, which are fed with grass from meadows not fattened with chemical nitrogen salts.
Factory-raised cows mainly eat grains (corn and soybeans) and forage produced with chemical nitrogen fertilizers. This diet would produce more saturated fat in milk, to the detriment of fatty acids considered healthier for humans.
In addition, feeding organic cows would make the quality of the lipid profile of the milk they produce more stable, despite the seasons and climatic hazards.
Pierre Lefrançois – PasseportSanté.net
1. Butler G, Stergiadis S, Seal C, et al. Fat composition of organic and conventional retail milk in northeast England. J Dairy Sci. 2011 Jan; 94 (1): 24-36.