Pasteurization

Louis Pasteur may have had something else in mind when he came up with the process of pasteurization back in the 1880s.

In the early stages, it was said that pasteurization was created for purposes of preventing sickness from consumption of milk and wine. However today, the process of pasteurization is primarily used for killing the enzymes in food and beverages.

Pasteurization involves heating every particle of a milk product to a very specific temperature and period of time without allowing re-contamination. Pasteurization partially sterilizes a substance or liquid by destroying organisms without chemically altering the product. Pasteurization can be done to perishable liquids or foods including fruit or fish. Perishable food products can be radiated with gamma rays to partially sterilize the food.

Items such as orange juice and milk will naturally spoil after a few days. Pasteurization allows companies to keep milk, orange juice, and other beverages from spoiling in cans, jars, and boxes for periods of weeks and months at a time.

There are two reasons for the process of milk pasteurization. It kills all harmful bacteria that may be dangerous for human consumption and it improves the shelf life by destroying the enzymes.

Now the pasteurized products can sit on a super market shelf for several weeks if necessary without spoilage. Shelf life can be anywhere from seven to sixteen days depending on several factors including the ingredients and the type of pasteurization.

Enzymes

Today, many of our foods and beverages are pasteurized in order to kill enzymes. The purpose for this is to extend the shelf life of products that are being sold to a consumer. Most people assume that pasteurization is meant for destroying bacteria, but it is actually used for profit.

Pasteurizing food and beverages kills the enzymes, including those that cause spoiling. So now that the food won’t spoil, preservatives are added to preserve the shelf life of the milk products.

You see, all raw and living foods naturally possess enzymes. Certain enzymes are responsible for causing the food to naturally spoil or go bad. This is why you see fruit naturally fall from a tree in Nature when unpicked. The fruit will automatically spoil, fall to the Earth, and biodegrade.

The simple fact that preservatives are added to certain foods and beverages suggests that the product is not naturally preserved.

Flash Pasteurized

Flash pasteurization is done at a temperature around 160 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. The beverage is kept at this temperature for about 20 seconds before it is rapidly cooled. It requires sterile filling and containers that are complicated, difficult, and expensive.

A product that is flash pasteurized still implies that the product has been heated up to kill the enzymes within it. When a food or beverage is heated at these high temperatures, the life of a natural food is compromised. This includes all fruits, vegetables, and animal milk.

Ultra High Pasteurization

Ultra-high temperature milk is sold off the shelf at room temperature. Ultra High Temperature Sterilization raises the temperature of the milk to about 280 degrees Fahrenheit for two seconds, followed by a rapid cooling. It creates “shelf stable” products that do not require refrigeration until opened.

In the long run, consumption of processed foods will most certainly process you in the process of unwisely consuming them.

To process means ‘to change’ and you will most certainly change yourself from consuming a lot of processed food and beverages.

Pasteurization is a code word for ‘dead product.’ And don’t be fooled by the terms “ultra” and “flash”. If the word ‘pasteurization’ follows these terms, it still denotes pasteurization has taken place, and therefore, the food or beverage has been killed.

Remember, “ultra” simply means processed at very high temperatures and “flash” means quickly processed.

Raw Milk

In 1987 the Food and Drug Administration began requiring pasteurization for milk products in order to kill bacteria. Containing numerous pathogens such as salmonella and E. coli, raw milk can cause life-threatening illnesses that are taken very seriously.

Raw meat and raw vegetables are the two biggest sources of food-borne illnesses. Some people argue that raw milk shouldn’t be treated differently. Prior to pasteurization, raw milk accounted for 25 percent of food borne illnesses.

Almond Milk

Almond milk offers many health benefits:

• Weight management-unsweetened almond milk is low in fat and sugar
• Heart health-almond milk has zero cholesterol and is very low in sodium
• Blood sugar friendly-almond milk is very low in carbs, so it has minimal effect on blood sugar
• Bone health-almond milk is high in calcium and Vitamin D
• Skin health-almond milk is high in Vitamin E
• Eye health-the Vitamin A in almond milk benefits the eyes
• Muscle health-although almond milk is low in protein, it has enough B vitamins and other nutrients to sufficiently power muscles.

Coconut Milk

Coconut milk offers these health benefits:

• Bone health-coconut milk is rich in phosphorous, which contributes to stronger bones
• Heart health-coconut milk is rich in potassium, which helps to lower high blood pressure
• Prostate health-coconut milk is rich in Zinc, which helps promote a healthier prostate gland
• Immune system health-coconut milk is rich in Vitamin C, which supports a higher functioning immune system
• Weight management-coconut milk has a lot of dietary fiber, so you feel fuller faster
• Blood health-each cup of coconut milk has nearly 25% of the recommended daily intake of iron

Rice Milk

Rice milk offers these health benefits:

• Heart health-rice milk is low in cholesterol and rich in flavonoids, Vitamin E, magnesium, manganese and selenium
• Weight management-rice milk is low in calories
• Immune system health-rice milk is rich in essential minerals that can help strengthen the immune system

There are reports that excessive consumption of rice milk may not be safe for diabetics, and can trigger allergies.

Thank you for reading!

Vincent Stevens

Vincent Stevens is the senior content writer at Dherbs. As a fitness and health and wellness enthusiast, he enjoys covering a variety of topics, including the latest health, fitness, beauty, and lifestyle trends. His goal is to inform people of different ways they can improve their overall health, which aligns with Dherbs’ core values. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Redlands, graduating summa cum laude. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.