Milk Proteins

Many experts have expressed the sentiment that human milk is perfectly designed for humans while cow's milk is perfectly designed for cows. The image of an infant suckling from his mother is quite endearing but can you imagine the sight of an infant fighting off baby calves to suckle off a cow?

If we're honest with ourselves, there's probably a certain visceral sense that it is absurd. But that's exactly what we are promoting when we advocate the use of milk as an absolutely necessary part of human development.

I grew up on milk. I loved milk. I enjoy cheese even more so it breaks my heart to know that milk and dairy products are actually dangerous to us. This is an uncomfortable truth but one that I am convinced plays a role in the degenerating health of many Americans.

To be clear, non-organic milk has another layer of problems compared to organic varieties. But before we discuss contaminants in non-organic milk, let's just look at clean, organic milk. The problem is not chemical contaminants, but the very nature of milk itself.

I'll encourage you to take a look at this article:
Polymorphism of bovine beta-casein and its potential effect on human health. J Appl Genet 2007; 48(3): 189-198.

I'll summarize the major points of the paper.
1. Milk proteins consist of whey and caseins. There are many varieties of casein.
2. Within the beta-casein family, there are also many varieties; 2 of which are A1 and A2.
3. Upon digestion, A1 proteins yield a lot more of a product called, beta-casomorphin 7 (BCM 7)
4. BCM 7 is bad.

"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."

"This bioactive peptide (BCM 7) exhibits a strong opioid activity and has been shown to stimulate human lymphocyte T proliferation in vitro."

This tells us that some of the breakdown products of milk can cause problems with your brain and promote activity of the immune system.

In fairness, this paper alone doesn't tell us whether that immune activity is acceptable or dangerous. But given the correlation between certain disorders and BCM 7.... and the inappropriate activation of the immune system in some of those disorders, it may be a safe jump to say that this is not a desirable activation.

This is still a matter of intense debate as evidenced here. In February 2009, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) rejected claims that milk may be hazardous to your health. But they did acknowledge that BCM 7 acts as an opioid and influences gut function.

For some people, the EFSA report is enough "proof" that milk is safe. How about you? Another way of stating their conclusions (my paraphrase) is that "there is only a 'little bit' of evidence that milk is not safe. We may uncover more evidence as research continues but in the mean time... keep drinking milk."

We'll keep digging into the evidence as we continue this series.