Casein

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Please see really interesting 2007 study below.

The bio-active peptide beta-casomorphin 7 casein protein comes from A1 gene variant cows ie Holstein and Friesen. It may possibly be at the root of the neurological problems associated with milk consumption. The association between BCM-7 and heart disease and diabetes seems to be overwhelming. For example, rates of these diseases were compared between Iceland and the other Scandinavain countries. Iceland had very low rates and the other Scandinavian had high rates. Iceland has predominantly A2 cows!!

Human, goat, sheep's milk produce NO bio-active peptide beta-casomorphin 7 as they are A2 variety.

Guernsey cow milk contains 90% A2.

This may explain the reason why many children do better on sheep and goats milk. I haven't heard about reactions to Guernsey milk so it's likely a good alternative also.

The shocker here is the association between A1 and SIDS. I know that when ( 6 years ago) I was looking at the occurence of SIDS in Canada, it peaked normally between 2-4 months, exactly the time mums would go back to work and transfer to bottled feeds.

Kamiński S, Cieslińska A, Kostyra E.

Department of A

Polymorphism of bovine beta-casein and its potential effect on human health.

Animal Genetics, University of Warmia and Mazury, M. Oczapowskiego 5, 10-718 Olsztyn, Poland. stachel@...

Proteins in bovine milk are a common source of bioactive peptides. The peptides are released by the digestion of caseins and whey proteins. In vitro the bioactive peptide beta-casomorphin 7 (BCM-7) is yielde1: J Appl Genet. 2007;48(3):189-98.d by the successive gastrointestinal proteolytic digestion of bovine beta-casein variants A1 and B, but this was not seen in variant A2. In hydrolysed milk with variant A1 of beta-casein, BCM-7 level is 4-fold higher than in A2 milk. Variants A1 and A2 of beta-casein are common among many dairy cattle breeds. A1 is the most frequent in Holstein-Friesian (0.310-0.660), Ayrshire (0.432-0.720) and Red (0.710) cattle. In contrast, a high frequency of A2 is observed in Guernsey (0.880-0.970) and Jersey (0.490-0.721) cattle. BCM-7 may play a role in the aetiology of human diseases. Epidemiological evidence from New Zealand claims that consumption of beta-casein A1 is associated with higher national mortality rates from ischaemic heart disease. It seems that the populations that consume milk containing high levels of beta-casein A2 have a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and type 1 diabetes. BCM-7 has also been suggested as a possible cause of sudden infant death syndrome. In addition, neurological disorders, such as autism and schizophrenia, seem to be associated with milk consumption and a higher level of BCM-7. Therefore, careful attention should be paid to that protein polymorphism, and deeper research is needed to verify the range and nature of its interactions with the human gastrointestinal tract and whole organism.

PMID: 17666771 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]