FOOD INTOLERANCE NETWORK FACTSHEET
A2 Milk
• What are the health benefits of A2 milk?
• Are there any medical reports?
• Why doesn’t my doctor know about this?
• Is A2 milk diluted with permeate?
• Where can I buy A2 milk and yoghurt?
• Where can I find more information?
A2 is the name of a milk
protein that was in all dairy herds until a natural mutation occurred in the
European herd thousands of years ago.
Milk from Jersey cows,
Guernsey cows, camels, sheep, buffalo, yaks, donkeys, goats, and Asian cows
naturally contain mostly these A2 beta casein proteins, whereas milk from cows
such as Holsteins usually contains mostly the protein variant called A1 beta
casein. In the 1970s, Australian dairy herds switched from using
A2 is also the brand name
of milk containing predominantly A2 beta casein protein (see www.a2australia.com.au).
What are the health benefits of A2
milk?
Milks containing mostly A2
proteins are often said to be better for ‘allergies’ (such as gut, skin rashes,
hayfever, cough). There is
also research to suggest that A1 beta casein may be associated with serious
health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes type 1 and autism.
From the Food Intolerance
Network point of view, we are interested in the reports from our members who
have noticed improvements by switching to A2 milk – and I am one of them (for
allergic rhinitis).
For long term heart health,
a number of men who have read the book Devil
in the Milk – including my husband – won’t touch A1 milk again.
Families seem to find the
switch to A2 milk the easiest of all dietary changes to make. It seems to work
best for people with physical symptoms – such as gut, rashes, ear infections –
than behaviour, although some children with behavioural conditions do improve on A2 milk. However, they
may do even better on soymilk or ricemilk and some
children who are affected by A1 milk are affected as badly by A2 so you need to
do a challenge.
Case Report 1 – allergic rhinitis
My allergic rhinitis
(stuffy and runny nose, chronic cough, congestion, hayfever
during pollen season) appears to be entirely related to A1 but not A2 milk. For
the last two years I have enjoyed unlimited A2 milk after 12 years on soymilk.
Case Report 2 – a dietitian reports on autistic patient
A failsafe-friendly
dietitian reports the use of A2 milk during an elimination diet for a boy with
autistic type behaviour:
‘I placed him on a milk-free
elimination diet, but allowed A2 milk. He consumed several cups of this per day
whilst on the diet. His behaviour, concentration and
sense of humour all improved. However, when we
challenged with normal milk, concentration etc deteriorated. So it is back to
the A2 milk whilst we go through other challenges.'
Case report 3 – skinny child putting on weight
The dietitian asked my
skinny 7 year old son – who tested negative for coeliac
disease - to go gluten free and he felt better but lost a lot of weight. Then
three months ago we switched to a2 milk and now he is doing really well. He has
even been able to go back on gluten.
Case report 4 - [622] Amazing change in my child due to A2
milk
My 10 yr-old disabled
daughter was on neocate advance which she didn't
tolerate and I was told she was past the hospital’s expertise so they didn't
know what to do with her. She was getting sick, looked shocking and her behaviour was very hard to manage (especially as mentally
she is about two-year-old) so I gave her ricemilk
instead of neocate advance. After four days I
realized she wasn't tolerating ricemilk. So in
desperation I tried A2 milk after seeing what it did for a friend’s son - his behaviour improved dramatically, he stopped screaming, his
ear infections stopped and he started to talk.
My daughter has been on A2
milk for a week now (due to underweight issues she is tube fed over a litre a day) and she looks heaps healthier. Since
commencing A2 milk the diarrhoea has stopped and
nappies are becoming more solid, no vomiting, rashes are gone, wheezing gone
and she is wanting her tube feeds - and more - plus solids, usually we have big
problems getting her to eat orally. In a week she has gone from 18.2 to 19.4kg
(400g being in the last 2 days) that's the best weight gain she has ever had.
Her behaviour is wonderful. She is so calm and she
has started to talk (she was non verbal before). She even sat with her baby
sister for an hour and actually played with the baby’s toy with her. That's
amazing as usually she hasn't got a very good concentration span - one minute
if you’re lucky is all I've managed out of her - and she doesn't play, never
has done - so her changes are amazing and very strange as she doesn't tolerate
cows milk.
Case report 5 - [ 358] Cranky and
irritable
We've switched to the A2
milk as both the boys had to have soy formula milk when they were little. I
noticed the difference in Ryan when we didn't bother to get it one week - Ryan
was cranky and irritable and both boys woke up with phlegm on the chest.
See testimonials on the A2
website www.a2australia.com.au
Are there any medical reports?
In
In this study, eight
children with severe food (mainly milk) allergies recovered fully from their
allergies by drinking camel milk. Medical researchers at the Ben-Gurion
University in Beer Sheva Israel reported that the
children aged 4 months to 10 years suffered from symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting after eating, skin rashes, asthma,
lactase deficiency and ‘chemical imbalance’ that did not respond to
conventional treatments. The 4 months old child had been taken home from
hospital because of lack of improvement and constant diarrhoea.
A girl from the
Reference: Shabo Y et al, Camel
milk for food allergies in children, Isr Med Assoc J.
2005;7(12):796-8, http://www.ima.org.il/imaj/ar05dec-12.pdf
See more from medical
journals under More Information below.
Why doesn’t my doctor know about
this?
In
However, as with any topic
where money is involved, there is a lot of controversy created by people with
vested interests. Dairy industries in
Is A2 milk diluted with permeate?
No, unlike many regular milks,
A2 is not diluted with permeate which is a by-product of milk processing. See http://www.a2australia.com.au/video-current-affair.php. That’s probably partly why it costs more –
but we figure it is worth the extra.
Where can I buy A2 milk - in
• In
• In the
• In the
At the time of writing,
yoghurt made from A2 cow milk is not commercially available. You can make your
own, using A2 milk (you will need to use more starter than usual and take a
longer setting time than usual). Or you can buy sheep milk yoghurt, see www.meredithdairy.com for stockists.
Pure sheep milk yoghurt - Meredith
Dairy Yoghurt is made from ewe’s milk. Sheep milk yoghurt offers a healthy
alternative to people with an aversion to cows milk.
GREEN
LABEL & LID – is made using Lacto Bacillus Acidophilus & Bifidus (Probiotic).
BLUE
LABEL & LID – is made using Greek Lacto Bacillus Thermopilus
& Bulgaris
Where can I find more information?
For a scientific, balanced
and readable account of the politics preventing A2 milk from becoming mainstream, I strongly recommend the book Devil
in the Milk by Professor Keith Woodford. You can see an interview with
Professor Woodford at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxK3XBwDd9k.
For a summary of the book,
see http://www.womenshealthcouncil.org.nz/docs/A1_v_A2_MILK_CONTROVERSY.doc.
And see the New Zealand A2
website www.a2corporation.com
The information given is not intended as
medical advice. Always consult with your doctor for underlying illness. Before
beginning dietary investigation, consult a dietician with an interest in food
intolerance. You can find a supportive dietitian
through the Dietitians Association of
© Sue Dengate
update March 2009
