Goat milk is far superior to cow milk in helping prevent anemia and bone demineralization, say researchers from the University of Granada, in Spain.
The study, conducted by Doctor Javier Díaz Castro, focused on the differences between the nutritional properties of goat milk and cow milk (with normal or enriched calcium content) and the different hematological parameters in relation to the metabolic system.
In animal experiments, Castro found that both anemia and bone demineralization exhibited a better recovery with goat milk. He noted that the higher bioavailability of iron, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium in goat milk assisted more effectively in the restoration of altered hematological parameters and levels of parathyroid hormone (a hormone that regulates the body's calcium balance).
Castro says that the inclusion of goat milk with normal or double calcium content in the diet "favors [the] digestive and metabolic utilization of iron, calcium and phosphorus and their deposit in target organs involved in their homeostatic regulation."
He added that regular consumption of goat milk "has positive effects on mineral metabolism, recovery from ferropenic anemia and bone mineralization in rats." Perhaps most importantly, unlike the results from cow milk, the calcium enrichment from goat milk does not interfere in the bioavailability of the minerals studied.
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Source: Journal Dairy Science
