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 Natural Awakenings Lancaster-Berks

The Miller Family Shares the Benefits of Goat Milk at Misty Creek Goat Dairy

Mar 01, 2016 06:29AM ● By Gisele Rinaldi Siebold

Gisele Siebold

The Miller family are seventh generation farmers, using sustainable, humane practices that respect the Earth, humans and animals and preserve a pastoral way of life. Their bucolic farm, Misty Creek Goat Dairy, located in Leola, is home to the Miller family as well as their 150 Lamancha, Saanen and Alpine goats. 

 

Goats are stable, calm and clean animalscleaner than cows and pigsrequiring a fresh pen, an adequate supply of water, shelter from wind, an area to roam and preferably rocks and logs for climbing to keep their hooves trimmed. This favorable setting is conducive to the efficient production of highly nutritional, quality, raw milk. 

 

With room to roam and rocks to climb, the goats at Misty Creek are happy and healthy. We care about our goats and make sure that they have plenty of minerals so that they can give good, high-nutrient milk each day, shares Miller. The goats are fed soy-free, GMO-free grains and given no added hormones or antibiotics for milk production, to ensure that they produce the highest quality certified raw milk for the dairy. 

 

In turn, the Miller family creates fresh, bottled, raw goats milk, fifteen delightful small batch cheeses and handcrafted goats milk soap. Tasting notes and suggested pairings with each of their cheeses are also available. Misty Creeks award-winning artisanal goat cheeses are handcrafted by master cheese maker Amos Miller, to produce a complete line of cave-aged goat cheeses. 

 

 Goat milk contains vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, trace elements, enzymes, protein and fatty acids that are utilized by the human body with ease. In fact, humans can digest goats milk in just 30 minutes, while it takes two to three hours to digest cows milk. 

 

Goat milk is considered to be predominately A2 milk. A2 refers to the beta-casein protein that was in all dairy herds until a natural mutation occurred following domestication. Approximately one third of the total protein content of milk is comprised of beta-casein. The two types of beta-casein are A1 and A2. Research suggests that A2 beta-casein is easier for humans to digest. 

 

Dr. Bernard Jensen, a pioneer in holistic and alternative health, spent 60 years of his career successfully treating patients in his health sanitariums. In his book, Goat Milk Magic: One of Lifes Greatest Healing Foods, Jensen explains how scientific evidence suggests that raw goat milk can contribute to well-being and vitality. First, goat milk is easier to digest because its fat globules are much smaller than those in cow milk. Raw milk contains live enzymes that aid in digestion. It has amino acids to repair damaged tissue, fatty acids for energy production and carbohydrates for energy conversion. Secondly, all the minerals and nutrients are at a highly-evolved level, ready to use in the human system, describes Jensen.  

 

Third, the life force remains high in the fresh milk for three hours after it is taken from the goat, and when used as soon as possible, it strengthens the human system at all levels, Jensen continues. Fourth, the brain is well-nourished by goat milk, which improves the brains ability to direct all bodily functions and organs more efficiently. This speeds up healing. 

 

Misty Creek Goat Dairy products are available for purchase at Misty Creek Goat Dairy, Lemon Street Market, Millers Natural Foods and Oasis at Bird in Handboth the Ronks and Central Market locations.  

 

Goat cheddar varieties include Plain, Smoked, Wine-n-Goat and Garlic & Chives. Other goat cheese selections include Colby, Monterey Hot Jack, Tomme De Conestoga, Misty Lovely, Mist O Bleu and Kid Chego. Raw cows milk cheese and mixed-milk cheese round out the selection. 

 

Amos developed and perfected the original soap-making recipe. Now sons, David and Henry, and their respective wives, Lydia and Sarah, continue the tradition of soap making to create several varieties of bar soap and liquid soap, including Luscious Lavender and Mint-to-Refreshen, with new additions including Lemon Verbena and Green Tea. 

 

Misty Creek Goat Dairy is located at 43 W. Eby Rd., in Leola. For more information, call 717-656-4628. 

 

Gisele Rinaldi Siebold is a contributing writer to Natural Awakenings, Lancaster-Berks edition. Connect with her at [email protected].