Goat Milk. Will the Ignorance Ever Stop?

Goat milk dairy products will contain almost exactly the same amount of lactose as cow's milk dairy products. It's true that goat's milk contains a different collection of proteins, which means that a small minority of those with cow's milk protein allergies can safely drink goat's milk. But that's simply mot the case for those of us with lactose intolerance. You can have as much or as little goat's milk dairy as you have cow's milk dairy ... or sheep's milk or camel's milk or horse's milk or whatever other kind of milkable animal product you can find in a store.

Why do so many people think otherwise? I cannot imagine. I haven't a clue to where this meme started. It's everywhere and I can't kill it.

Here are this month's goat heads.

Fainting Goat Gelato's array of rich flavors will make you swoon

For the lactose-intolerant, there's goat's milk gelato

Goatherds thrive on milk of their stock

Goat’s milk is perfect for those who are lactose intolerant.

Bermuda gets its first taste of goat's milk

Also, if you are lactose intolerant, it is a much better chose [sic] than cows' milk - I'm living proof.

Goat’s yogurt cheesecake topped with fresh figs and raw honey

A delicious cheesecake made with goat’s yogurt is lactose-free, light yet decadent and indulgent, yet not regrettable.

Why do you Eat ?(2)

If you want to take milk, take goat milk as cow milk is difficult for humans to digest; which is why so many people become lactose intolerant.

Don't forget sheep, either.

Foods That Can Save Your Life

Saitta says when it comes to dairy, cheese made from the milk of goats and sheep is natural and easily digestible. With no cow’s milk protein, it doesn’t create lactose-intolerance problems.

Farmhouse cheesemaker defies the recession

Initially the milk from his herd of Friesland sheep was sold for drinking, capitalising on the fact that sheep's milk is good for people with lactose intolerance and protein allergies.

Please, Please, Please, Please, Please. Is anybody out there getting it right?

Yes. There is a ray of hope.

Go for goat milk. An article in Tampa Bay's TBOonline.com, syndicated from the Sacramento Bee. A quiz on goat's milk.

3. Goat milk contains significantly less lactose than cow milk

True or false, readers? True or false.

ANSWERS: 3: false (cow: 4.7 percent; goat: 4.1 percent)

Yes, the author nailed it. Goat milk, at best, has on average 12% less lactose than cow's milk. Lactose is normally expressed in grams. An 8 ounce glass of milk weighs 227 grams. 4.7% of that is 10.7 grams. 4.1% is 9.3 grams. A reduction, but certainly not a serious or meaningful one. That reduction is the best you can hope for. Because both cow's milk and goat's milk are blends of the milk from different animals whose feeds change their lactose content over the course of the year, that variation is probably an extreme. Harold Eddleman, Ph. D., on Goatworld, gives the lactose content of cow's milk as 4.8% and goat's milk as 4.7%, making the difference negligible.

Goat milk is not fine or good or perfect or a better choice than cow's milk for those with lactose intolerance. It is an urban myth. Or possibly a deliberate lie introduced into the brains of goat milk enthusiasts who repeat it without understand that it is a lie. Percentages don't lie as easily as newspaper articles. They proclaim that the difference is slight to invisible. There's no use even separating the goats from the sheep. They're all in the same hole. Milk from milkable animals is all just lactose-filled milk. If you can drink one you can drink the others. If can't, avoid them all.

Science is wonderfully simple at times, isn't it?