Why Sheep's Milk

WHY SHEEP’S MILK?

  • Sheep milk has a higher nutritional value and higher concentrations of proteins, fats, minerals, and vitamins, compared to cow’s milk.
  • Because of the unique properties of sheep’s milk, many with digestive challenges or who are sensitive to cow’s milk, can eat sheep's dairy products
  • Sheep's milk contains the protein A2 β-casein compared to A1 β-casein the type of protein found in cows milk in Ireland. A1 β-casein has been shown to cause inflammation of the gut and exacerbated gastrointestinal symptoms, which can result in acne, eczema, bloating etc. 
  • Many people who think they are lactose intolerant are actually not they are intolerant to the protein in cow dairy
  • People often prefer sheep's milk to plant based alternatives. They may be using dairy free options, but are delighted to find that sheep's milk which is still dairy, suits them. 
  • In Ireland, most of the plant based alternatives, are produced thousands of miles away, therefore have a high carbon footprint by the time they reach Ireland, and so many people prefer to choose a more sustainable option.
  • Sheep's milk is naturally homogenized, this means that the fat globules float naturally in the milk and don't need mechanical processing to homogenize them. 
  • People often ask, what does sheep's milk taste like? When they try it the common response is, that it is much creamier and has a milder taste, than cow or goat. 
  • Sheep’s milk has higher levels of “heart healthy fats” (or what in food chemistry we call “polar lipids”) compared to cow’s milk.

WHY SHEEP’S MILK IS SO NUTRITIOUS?

Gram for gram, the superiority of sheep’s milk lies in the comparison with cow and goat milk – especially in the differences between levels of critical nutritional aspects like

  • Protein
  • Calcium
  • Iron
  • Magnesium
  • Zinc
  • Thiamine
  • Riboflavin
  • Vitamins B6
  • B12 and D
  • The medium chain amino acids
  • Linoleic acids and all 10 of the essential amino acids

Sheep’s milk contains about one third more energy than cow or goat milk (making it a favourite of high-performance athletes). It has 70% – 80% more protein and a higher proportion of heat healthy fats, vitamins and minerals, particularly calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc, while being lower in sodium. It has more than twice as much Vitamin C, and double or triple the other essential vitamins. It also has more folic acid (folate).

People who are intolerant, find they can’t digest, or simply don’t like cow or goat milk, often find that sheep’s milk products are the only dairy they can enjoy. 

Many people feel they are lactose intolerant, and therefore avoid dairy. However most are actually intolerant to the A1 protein in cow dairy and not the lactose. Sheep's milk has a different protein to cow's milk, sheep's milk contains A2 protein, which many people can tolerate better, and this is why they can digest sheep's milk without any adverse reactions.

More and more studies are being carried out on sheep's milk, one of the most recent  is from 2021 in The International Journal Of Molecular Science. The paper called: The Importance Of Bioactive Substances In Sheep's Milk In Human Health by Zuzanna Flis & Edyta Molik , dicusses the fact that sheep’s milk has been shown to be an important source of bioactive substances. These bioactive substances that have health-promoting functions for the body. This is due to the high content of fatty acids, immunoglobulins, proteins, hormones, vitamins, and minerals. The paper goes on to discuss how many biopeptides found in sheep's milk have antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties.

There are also strong claims in the paper relating the content of CLA and orotic acid in Sheep's Milk which prevents the occurrence of type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer. 

REFERENCES:

For more detailed nutritional information and the latest studies on the functional benefits of sheep’s milk click here:

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/9/4364/htm

http://www.heliyon.com/article/e00227/
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1541-4337.12250/full
http://www.smallruminantresearch.com/article/S0921-4488(06)00254-9/abstract

Here are the ingredients and the nutritional breakdown of  our Velvet Cloud sheep's milk yogurt. 

CONTACT US

If you would like to know “How do you milk a sheep” or indeed you have any other questions for us please get in touch.