Chris Kresser wrote a nice post on raw milk buying guidelines http://chriskresser.com/raw-milk-reality-buying-raw-milk-safely
Free Guide Raw Milk Guide http://www.traditional-foods.com/resources/Buyers-Guide.pdf
The best article on raw milk I've seen so far! http://chriskresser.com/raw-milk-reality-is-raw-milk-dangerous
Books:
The Raw Milk Revolution: Behind America's Emerging Battle Over Food Rights by David E. Gumpert and Joel F. Salatin
The Untold Story of Milk, Revised and Updated: The History, Politics and Science of Nature's Perfect Food: Raw Milk from Pasture-Fed Cows by Dr. Ron Schmid, ND
*The Raw Truth About Mil*k by Dr. William Campbell Douglass II, MD
I used to be terrified of raw milk until November 2011 when I started to drink it regularly.
Background: My mother was unable to nurse me due to severe medical issues, and cow's milk was hard to digest, so my first food was goat's milk. I drank pasteurized cow dairy later (sadly mostly low fat) products from an early age until age 26 and suffered gas. From age 11-26, I had acne which showed no improvement on various creams and antibiotics (now know the worst choice). Doctors said it "couldn't be dietary!"
At age 26,I self-diagnosed myself with lactose intolerance and switched to almond milk and using Lactaid (lactase enzyme supplement) for the occasional dairy. My acne disappeared and friends and family noticed. I never had issues with butter so ate it my entire life because all fake butters and margarines disgusted me.
I started low-carb reducing grains at age 31, then Paleo at age 32. My eczema went away on Paleo. 1 month after dairy elimination while supporting my husband on Paleo (he was going through a very rough time with gluten and autoimmune issues), we both reintroduced dairy - this time 100% whole pastured grass-fed but pasteurized. We had no issues with any amount of heavy cream, butter, and ghee. Other dairy products such as sour cream, cheese and yogurt no more then 1 serving a day would be fine but any more amounts of these products caused slight acne.
After the Weston Price Foundation conference meeting nearly 1000+ people consuming raw dairy their entire life extolling it's virtues, reading the literature, and visiting the raw dairy farms we decided n=1000 was too big to ignore. We realized raw milk was more natural then almond milk.
We have been consuming raw pastured whole fat grass-fed butter, heavy cream, milk, cheese, yogurt, sour cream, egg nog, creme fraiche (NOT all in 1 day) with NO symptoms - in fact we feel better then ever! We slowly increased the quantity to about 4 servings a day - we've never eaten that much dairy, and I don't think we would consume more because it's too filling and satiating.
Unlike in the past, as a child when I ate processed ice cream and felt addicted (perhaps opiate receptors, sugar, and gluten), the raw dairy I don't feel addicted to it. Whether I have 1-3 servings a day, I don't want anymore. When we travel and limit dairy (because it's pasteurized) we miss 2 things the most - raw dairy and fermented veggies!
We learned a lot WAPF, and Natasha Campbell-McBride whose GAPS diet is quite similar to Paleo recommending reintroducing raw dairy in small amounts once the gut was sealed and healed. We have come to believe the more probiotic species the better for the immune system and the best way to collect a wide variety is through raw dairy since fermented vegetables don't have that diversity. Even here on PH, kefir is acknowledged to have the most species! http://paleohacks.com/questions/73151/which-has-a-greater-number-of-species-and-quantity-of-probiotics-fermented-vegg#axzz1m8YbEQOt
Since raw dairy helps with allergies, which is an overreaction of the immune system - perhaps it might help with autoimmune issues too?
