What European Studies tell us about Raw Milk
Mark MacAfee is an expert on raw milk. He has made it his life’s passion to study it. I went to an informal seminar where he was the speaker and this is what I learned:
- The International Genome project studies the human genome and come up with some interesting results. Remember, they were not studying raw milk, they were studying the human genome. They found that 98% of the genetic material in our bodies was NOT human, but bacterial. These bacteria have a unique relationship to our brains and human cells, and they can “talk” to each other. since 2003 there is a new shift in human medicine and it is away from antibiotics, which kills these important messengers. It is now toward healing the gut and balancing our gut biome. They shift is to how FEW antibiotics we can give. (Hence the posters in our pediatricians offices, “cough snuffle sneeze, no antibiotics please)
- They found 80% of our immune system is made up of protective gut bacteria, necessary to our immune system and our health for the rest of our lifetimes!
- Stem cells “listen” to the bacteria in our bodies before they turn into mature cells.
- So bottom line is we need to feed our children and ourselves bacteria rich foods, “real” foods. These come in the form of fermented foods, certain high omega 3 oils, raw yeasts found in foods such as kefir and kumbucha, and RAW milk.
- Vitamins must be bio-available. That means that if you are not able to use the vitamins in your body, they do you no good. Pasteurization destroys the proteins and denatures the enzymes to make it non available.
- ONLY raw milk and truly raw cheese provides us with Alkaline Phosphatase. You can’t absorb Calcium without the phosphate, and without phosphate you get calcium leaching from your bones. While many plants have calcium, this is not available to your body and bones.
What is the difference in A2 and A1 milk?
A1 and A2 beta casein proteins are made up of 209 amino acid chains. There is only one amino acid difference between the A1 amino acid strand compared to the A2 amino acid strand. This very small structural difference results in a big difference in the way the protein breaks down and is digested in our gut.
When the A1 amino acid chain breaks down it produces a peptide called BCM-7. BCM-7 (beta-casein morphin) is an opioid-like compound. In the human body, BCM-7 has been shown to slow down gut transit time (slows transport of food / digestion throughout the body) therefore can cause a change in bowel function, influence gut bacteria and inflammation in the gut. It is thought these changes can mean some individuals poorly tolerate milk.
A2 is the original beta-casein produced in cow’s milk. A natural mutation over a number of centuries occurred where cattle began to also produce A1 beta-casein, affecting mainly Holstein cows (cattle from European origin).
So, if you have been tested for milk allergy; it is likely for A1 casein because all dairies in the US are A1 milk. Here is a test you can do at home; stay away from all dairy for 2 weeks, then drink a big glass of A1 milk. Count the number of times you sneeze in an hour. You should not sneeze at all, any sneezing not cold related means you are allergic to A1 milk. Try the same with A2 milk, to date no one has been found with an allergy to A2 milk. Lactose intolerance is completely different and means you have a reaction to the sugar found in skim milk. There is little to NO sugar found in cream so if you are lactose intolerant as I am, place ice cubes in a tall glass and top with ice cold cream! No fear of this good omega 3 fat going to your waist, I have lost 65 lbs since dropping the diabetes diet and going on this high fat low carb with good protein diet as found is a BETTER plan and previous to BIG Pharma touting insulin to diabetics, this was the cure for diabetes.
Studies:
http://fodmapmonash.blogspot.com/2016/06/a1-vs-a2-milk-whats-big-deal.html