Raw Milk's Medical Past: Forgotten History of Nutrition-Based Healthcare
A century ago, raw milk was a cornerstone of medical treatment at prestigious institutions like the Mayo Clinic. Today, this nutritional approach has virtually disappeared from mainstream healthcare discourse, raising questions about how medical paradigms shift and what knowledge we may have lost in the transition.
The Mayo Clinic's Nutritional Foundation
Before becoming the world-renowned medical institution it is today, the Mayo Clinic operated under a philosophy where nutrition, rest, sunlight, and fresh air were considered legitimate components of care. Dr. J.R. Crewe, a Mayo-associated physician, developed what he termed "the milk cure," treating patients exclusively with raw, unpasteurized milk from grass-fed cows.
This wasn't fringe medicine. The approach aligned with respected physicians of the era, including William Osler, and reflected the prevailing medical philosophy of the time. Raw milk was considered a complete food, sometimes described as "white blood" due to its enzymes, proteins, beneficial bacteria, fats, and minerals.
Historical Medical Practice
The practice extended beyond Crewe. In the late 1800s, physicians such as Silas Weir Mitchell and James Tyson employed similar protocols. Over nearly four decades, Crewe treated thousands of patients and documented his observations, reflecting the medical understanding of his era.
What stands out isn't any particular claim, but the scale and normalcy of the therapy. Raw milk was a standard tool in physicians' repertoires, making its disappearance from modern medical conversation particularly noteworthy.
The Industrial Shift
Understanding why this practice vanished requires examining cultural and industrial changes alongside scientific developments. In the early 20th century, pasteurization laws addressed problems arising from milk supply industrialization: urban dairies, overcrowded animals, and poor sanitation.
These regulations targeted large-scale operations, not small, pasture-based farms. As food production shifted toward industrial models and medicine moved toward pharmaceutical approaches, raw milk simply faded from mainstream practice. It wasn't debated out of existence; rather, it vanished as the entire system transformed.
Modern Context and Implications
Today's warnings about raw milk primarily pertain to risks within the modern industrial supply chain, not the type of milk used by earlier physicians. This distinction rarely enters public discourse, contributing to the gap in understanding about historical nutritional practices.
Against a backdrop of widespread chronic illness, autoimmune conditions affecting millions, and highly processed foods dominating average diets, the historical use of whole, unprocessed foods in medical practice appears almost surreal by comparison.
Rethinking Food as Medicine
Hippocrates' famous declaration, "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food," wasn't metaphorical in its original context. It acknowledged that food carries information and structure, not merely calories.
This historical perspective doesn't prescribe solutions but rather expands understanding of the relationship between humans, nourishment, and the natural world. Our predecessors worked with food in ways rarely considered today, applying observations and knowledge that have largely been forgotten.
Revisiting this history isn't about finding miracle cures but about remembering approaches to health and nutrition that were once considered ordinary and rooted in fundamental human understanding of nourishment.