RE>pH of milk                                5/25/96

Heidi,

You can find information on the pH of milk in Lauwrence's book, in Riordan and
Auerbach's book or in the newly released Handbook of Milk Composition, edited
by Robert Jensen. The pH of human milk is 6.8, that of cow's milk is 6.62.
What is more important than the pH itself is the *effect* of human milk on the
lactobicillus population of the intestine: it promotes the growth of
lactobacillus bifidus which maintain an acidic environment in the intestine at
the expense of pathogens. Regardless of the pH of cow's milk or of artificial
baby milks derived from it, these "milks" cannot maintain the intestinal
environment in an acidic state and therefore support the growth of pathogens.

Nicole Bernshaw