Dairy free or not?

We've touched upon tummy issues and we may have mentioned that we are largely dairy free. But when we came across fresh unpasteurised milk at a farmer's market 6 months ago, we were all intrigued.

We bought a few pints (even though there's a health warning on the label), brought them home and did a bit of research. Apparently, it's all a bit controversial.

It's illegal for shops in the UK to sell it which is why you can only find it at farmers markets or straight from suppliers. Some people have labelled it a panacea and some think that drinking unpasteurised milk is both a ludicrous and dangerous pasttime.

We had heard that it has helped some people with lactose intolerance and we only chose to give it a go after doing a lot of research; if you choose to do the same you should research it very well (and that includes talking to your GP or health practitioner) before taking the plunge! We're not going to talk about the nutritional benefits or potential dangers involved with fresh milk, we're just going to tell you what we've found.

Firstly, this milk is far creamier than shop bought milk and (quite magically) we haven't put on a pound since introducing it into our diet. But, we don't drink it often because it's a bit pricey and we don't want to tempt fate too much!

We were initially concerned about the transition back into dairy products but it was surprisingly smooth; after a weekend of chocolate-induced stomach cramps, a glass of fresh goats milk helped soothe L's tummy (we also found that fresh cows milk has the same effect, this could be due to the fact that milk is alkaline...but we aren't sure).

We've suffered no ill effects, but we did do our research and we are very aware of when our body says 'no'. This isn't due to a magical connection with our bodies, we've honed our skills after years of trial-and-error and, as evidenced above, we still suffer from mishaps.

We've tried fresh goats milk and fresh cows milk and we have been converted to both, we've not suffered from the pain or discomfort that we have when we drink pasteurised milk and it seems that drinking fresh milk has helped boost our tolerance to dairy products.

We source our fresh goats milk from Hollypark Organics in Sussex who can be contacted directly (and are very friendly) or orders can be placed through Red23 who also stock other unpasteurised dairy items along with health foods. Our fresh cows milk and cream (super yummy) comes from Beaconhill farm. We've ordered with all of the places listed and we've always been happy with the results!

If you are interested in finding fresh milk suppliers in the UK this site has a fairly comprehensive list! I haven't yet found resources for the EU, US or elsewhere. But I vow to keep on searching! If you know of fresh milk suppliers near you please leave their details in the comments section for others!

Thanks so much for reading, we hope you've had a lovely day!