Raw Milk in Manzanita, Oregon

Unfortified milk contains too little vitamin D to matter nutritionally, and fortification, not pasteurization, supplies almost all of what is on the label.

The milk fat globule membrane’s own proteins respond to heat unevenly: some resist modification, one shows stabilization, and processing can add proteins in.

Between alkaline phosphatase and lactoperoxidase sits GGT, a milk enzyme whose heat sensitivity distinguishes specific pasteurization intensities.

HPP denatures a different set of whey proteins than heat, preserves human milk miRNA far better, but isn’t automatically gentler overall.

Milk’s main native protein-cutting enzyme survives standard pasteurization largely intact and even retains activity after UHT, unlike most milk enzymes.

Unlike most milk components, oligosaccharides show up consistently unaffected by standard pasteurization across more than a decade of independent research.