What Have They Done to Our Milk?

[Guest guest]

The Devil in the Milk

 

Prominent food researcher Dr. Cowan has been involved in thinking about

the medicinal aspects of cow’s milk virtually his entire career. His studies

on the subject started in earnest when he read the book The Milk of Human

Kindness Is Not Pasteurized by maverick physician s, MD.

Cowan became convinced that a large part of the disease in this country is

related to the way we handle, or rather mishandle, milk and milk products. Raw

and cultured dairy products from healthy grass-fed cows are one of the

healthiest foods people have ever eaten. However, pasteurized milk products have

caused more disease than perhaps any other substance people are generally in

contact with.

However, he still felt that a piece of the puzzle was missing. Many of his

patients, in spite of eating only the proper dairy products, still had illness

and still seemed not to tolerate milk. Recently, he was asked to consider

writing the foreword to a book called The Devil in the Milk, written by Dr.

Woodford, which was again an eye-opener for him.

All proteins are long chains of amino acids. Beta casein is a chain 229 amino

acids in length. Cows with who produce this protein in their milk with a proline

at number 67 are called A2 cows, and are the older breeds of cows (e.g. Jerseys,

Asian and African cows). But some 5,000 years ago, a mutation occurred in this

proline amino acid, converting it to histidine. Cows that have this mutated beta

casein are called A1 cows, and include breeds like Holstein.

Proline has a strong bond to a small protein called BCM 7, which helps keep it

from getting into the milk, so that essentially no BCM 7 is found in the urine,

blood or GI tract of old-fashioned A2 cows. On the other hand, histidine, the

mutated protein, only weakly holds on to BCM 7, so it is liberated in the GI

tract of animals and humans who drink A1 cow milk.

BCM 7 has been shown to cause neurological impairment in animals and people

exposed to it, especially autistic and schizophrenic changes. BCM 7 interferes

with the immune response, and injecting BCM 7 in animal models has been shown to

provoke type 1 diabetes. Dr. Woodford’s book presents research showing a

direct correlation between a population’s exposure to A1 cow’s milk and

incidence of autoimmune disease, heart disease, type 1 diabetes, autism, and

schizophrenia.

Simply switching breeds of cows could result in amazing health benefits.

Sources:

  The Bovine March 20, 2009

 

 

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

 

As many of you know, I do not recommend drinking pasteurized milk of any kind

because the pasteurization process, which entails heating the milk to a

temperature of 145 degrees to 150 degrees F and keeping it there for at least

half an hour, completely changes the structure of the milk proteins into

something far less than healthy.

>Pasteurized cow's milk is the number one allergic food in the United States. It

has been associated with a number of symptoms and illnesses including:

> * Diarrhea, cramps, bloating and gas

> * Osteoporosis

> * Arthritis

> * Heart disease

> * Cancer

> * Recurrent ear infections and colic in infants and children

> * Type 1 diabetes

> * Rheumatoid arthritis

> * Infertility

> * Leukemia

> * Autism

>The healthy alternative to pasteurized milk is raw milk, which is an

outstanding source of nutrients including beneficial bacteria such as

lactobacillus acidolphilus, vitamins and enzymes, and it is, in my estimation,

one of the finest sources of calcium available.

>Raw milk is generally not associated with any of the above health problems, and

even people who have been allergic to pasteurized milk for many years can

typically tolerate and even thrive on raw milk.

>Yet, there are those people who still have trouble drinking raw milk, and like

Dr. Cowan, I have wondered if there could be a missing piece to the

puzzle.

>That piece, it turns out, may very well be related to the type of cow your milk

comes from.

A1 Vs. A2 Cows: What’s the Difference?

The type of proteins in milk, and the proportion of various proteins, varies

depending on the breed of cow and the type of animal (sheep, goat, cow, etc.).

>One of the major proteins in cow’s milk is casein, the predominant variety of

which is called beta-casein. In older breeds of cows, such as Jersey, Asian and

African cows (called A2 cows), the beta-casein contains an amino acid called

proline.

>In newer breeds of cows like Holstein (A1 cows), however, the proline has

mutated into an amino acid called histidine.

>This is important because beta-casein also contains an amino acid called BCM-7,

which is a powerful opiate linked to negative health effects. Well, the proline

that exists in A2 cows has a strong bond to BCM-7, which helps keep it out of

the cows’ milk. The histidine in the newer A1 cows, however, has a weak hold

on BCM-7, which allows it to get into the milk, and also into the people who

drink the milk.

>So the theory goes that by drinking milk from A1 cows, which are the

predominant cows used for dairy products in the United States, you’re exposed

to BCM-7, which has been linked to:

> * Neurological impairment, including autistic and schizophrenic changes

> * Type 1 diabetes

> * An impaired immune response

> * Autoimmune disease

> * Heart disease

>This issue has recently been evaluated by both Food Standards Australia New

Zealand (FSANZ) and The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). FSANZ had this to

say:

>“FSANZ has considered the very limited scientific evidence available on

comparative health effects of the two milks and discussed the issue internally

and at Board level. FSANZ has noted that further research is in progress and

concluded that, while there are some interesting hypotheses being examined, it

could not proceed with regulatory action on the basis of the available

evidence.â€

>EFSA, meanwhile, which released a review of the issue in February 2009, stated:

>“Based on this review, EFSA concluded that a cause and effect relationship is

not established between the dietary intake of BCM7, related peptides or their

possible protein precursors and non-communicable diseases. Consequently, a

formal EFSA risk assessment is not recommended. "

>It will be interesting to see whether further research will prompt a different

response, but remember that A1 milk is common in the United States, New Zealand,

Australia, and Europe, so it will take a major overhauling of the dairy industry

… and a revolution of sorts to overtake their corporate interests … to

convert herds to produce A2 milk (a move that is actually very simple and

requires just a simple test of beta-casein to do).

>For now, you can get an eye-opening education into the health issues

surrounding A1 milk, and why A2 milk appears to be far superior, in

Woodford’s book Devil in the Milk: Illness, Health and the Politics of A1 and

A2 Milk. 

How to Find Truly Health Milk

Depending on where you live, A2 milk may not be hard to find at all. In fact,

herds in much of Asia, Africa, and parts of Southern Europe still produce

primarily A2 milk. If you live in the United States, New Zealand, Australia or

other areas of Europe, however, you’ll need to look a bit harder.

>To find A2 milk, the type that has not been associated with illness and instead

appears to have numerous health benefits, look for milk that comes from Jerseys,

Asian and African cows. The best way to do this may be to get to know a farmer

directly and find out what type of cow is used. And as always, stick to milk

that is raw, NOT pasteurized.

>Raw goat and sheep’s milk is another option, as these types of milk do not

contain BCM-7.

>On other point Woodford’s book points out is that people with healthy

digestive tracts do not absorb as much BCM-7. So this is yet another incentive

to keep your gut in tip-top condition by eating healthy and getting plenty of

good bacteria, either by eating naturally fermented foods or taking a

high-quality probiotic -- especially if you enjoy drinking raw milk, and are not

sure whether it comes from A1 or A2 cows.

 

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