Most modern milk comes from more recent breeds of cattle producing milk abnormally high in A1 beta casein. A1 beta casein is a slightly different milk protein than the ancestral one common to more traditional breeds of cattle, sheep, goats, and even humans, known as A2 beta casein. Mountains of scientific research have been done on the subject of A1 beta casein, the way our bodies digest it, and the slew of mental and physical disorders it can cause. (For a more complete look at the research, I highly recommend you read Devil in the Milk).
Most modern milk comes from cows fed a disproportionate amount of grains. The most nourishing milk comes from cows being fed their natural diet of grass — the greener, the better.
Most modern milk is pasteurized. For the run-down on why pasteurization isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, check out this article on Real Milk.
Most modern milk is homogenized. Homogenization is a process whereby all the fat molecules are mechanically forced to be the same size. (With homogenized milk, the cream doesn’t separate to the top and is dispersed throughout.) Unlike with pasteurization, there is no debate underway as to any purported health benefits of homogenization. But there are many sound reasons to distrust homogenization, such as the huge increase in surface area on the fat globules. The original fat globule membrane is lost and a new one is formed that incorporates a much greater portion of casein and whey proteins, potentially leading to milk related allergies.
Most modern milk is adulterated. After pasteurization, they add back in fat soluble vitamins (like Vitamin D) in a synthetic and arguably indigestible form. Without the usable and REAL Vitamin D, you can’t make any use of the Calcium in milk. If the milk has had fat removed (as in skim, 1%, and 2% varieties), it’s not only going to be absent all the fat-soluble vitamins that your body needs to properly digest the calcium and other goodies in the milk, it will also usually have non-fat dry milk or other milk solids added in to create a more desirable consistency. These forms of dry milk are high in free glutamic acids (AKA “MSG”) and oxidized cholesterol (a dangerous inflammatory form of cholesterol which can cause all kinds of heart disorders).
Most modern milk contains pus. Because modern dairy cows produce up to four times as much milk as a traditional cow did a mere century ago, they are far more prone to mastitis — infected udders. If the mastitis gets out of control, the cow is temporarily removed from the herd and treated with antibiotics. When it finishes its course of treatment, the cow is allowed back into the herd. Some farmers cut corners, re-instating sickly cows back into the herd before all the antibiotics have passed through the cow’s system. Translation? Antibiotics in your milk. Although that is initially a scary thought, it is actually quite rare.(source) I’m personally far more concerned about the low-grade mastitis that goes untreated in industrially-raised dairy cows. Farmers can get away with this because the FDA allows a whopping 750,000 somatic cells (more commonly known as “pus”) per liter!
Much modern milk contains synthetic growth hormones. Many dairy farmers give their cows rBGH or rBST, genetically-engineered growth hormones designed to increase the cow’s milk production. These hormones come out in the cow’s milk, you drink them, and then they play games with your own hormones potentially leading to a number of problems, including cancer.
Get organic milk, because usually organic things don’t have GMOs. Get milk without RBST,hormones, and omega 3 not from fish.
I think some vegetarians consider fish as vegetarian, so be careful when you search something up and they say that it’s vegetarian, and lanolin is also considered vegetarian so just be careful. Don’t take any milk with Vitamin B12. I think that at this point it is just best to get vegan milk, that can be cheaper and less harmful to you. Please visit this store for vegan milk:
Effects of Different Milk
Article – A1 Vs. A2 Milk – Does it Matter ?
A1 Versus A2 Milk – Does it Matter?
Shivangana Vasudeva , NDTV | Updated: August 14, 2017 18:03 IST Highlights By now, you’ve probably heard about organic milk as a
healthier alternative to industrial milk which has been accused of being laden with antibiotics and stress hormones. Organic milk is essentially chemical-free and healthier as the cows are fed grass or organically cultivated fodder. Still, I always felt that a piece of the puzzle was missing. In his book, ‘Devil in the Milk: Illness, Health and the Politics of A1 and A2 Milk’, Dr.
Keith Woodford reveals the real milk issue. It is the breed of the cow that matters.
First, the Science Milk is a great source of calcium and protein. Casein is the largest group of proteins found in milk which makes up about 80% of the total protein content. A2 cows are the earlier breeds of cows like the desi Indian cows or the African cows that produce this protein in their milk along with an amino acid called Proline. In the new hybrid breeds, the proline amino acid got converted to Histidine due to alteration of genes over the years. These are the A1 cows that include breeds like Holstein, Friesian and Ayrshire. Stay with me.
Proline is strongly bonded to a small protein called BCM 7, which prevents it from getting into the milk produced by A2 cows. On the other hand, Histidine holds a weak bond with BCM 7, so it is easily released in the GI tract of animals and can enter the human body on consumption of milk from A1 cows and interact with the digestive system and internal organs.
Why is it Harmful?
A group of Russian researchers have shown that BCM 7 does pass into the blood of babies who were fed infant formula which led to delayed psycho-motor (brain-tomuscle) development (as published in the International Journal ‘Peptides’). Another report, published in the Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism in 2012, indicates that it is associated as a risk factor for type-1 diabetes, coronary heart disease and mental disorders like autism and schizophrenia because it may enter your brain through blood. This tricky devil remains a mystery as most of the evidence is based on animal trials and these diseases have a wide range of contributing factors. A human clinical trial conducted at Curtin University in Australia did prove that there were signicant differences in digestive symptoms between milks containing A1 and A2 beta-casein. It has been approved that certain unwanted proteins or peptides that do not naturally occur in the human body may cause digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome or a weak gut. Sanjay Bhalla, Founder of ‘The Way We Are’ that sells A2 milk in New Delhi, makes it easy for us to understand, “A1 and A2 beta-casein are basically two types of proteins found in different milk varieties. BCM-7 is an opioid peptide that is released during the digestion of the protein found in A1 milk. Since it is not absorbed well by the human body, it may trigger adverse health effects. In New Zealand, there has been a clear distinction between two types of cows – the ones that give drinking milk and those that are known for draught power and used for ploughing, cheese-making or their meat. The Bos Indicus cow is the desi breed that produces the A2 milk with the good quality protein but it has been conveniently replaced by the high-yielding cross breed, popularly known as HF or Holstein Friesian in India which provides the A1 variety of milk. This is something you need to consider beyond the ‘type’ of milk.” The History – Operation Flood A little back story. It all began in 1970 when Operation Flood was launched by the National Dairy Development board which transformed India from a milk decient nation into the largest milk producer in the world. The mission of the project was three-fold – increase production, boost rural production and offer fair prices to consumers. “The sad reality of the white revolution was that it led to cross-breeding with European cows and import of foreign hybrid breeds for higher yield in order to meet the goal of mass production. This has brought us to a situation today where the desi cow has become a dying breed in India. Imagine this – the Gir cow, which is a Gujarati breed, is now being imported from Brazil and the Brahmi Bull, which is another pure breed, is more popular in Australia. It’s ironic that people in these countries are drinking better quality milk from cows native to our country” shares Shakti Lumba, owner of Laksh Farms in Mangar Village in Haryana where he produces organic milk. Anuradha Modi, Founder of Holy Cow Foundation which works for the economic sustainability of cows, has her own herd of cattle as she does not prefer buying milk from the markets, “If the Indian breed gives 8 liters of milk, the HF variety produces 15 to 20 litres of milk and that makes all the difference. In a bid to feed our growing population we have neglected our native breeds of cows whose milk was always considered to be medicinal. After so many years, we seem to have woken up to this reality and efforts are being made to conserve the native breeds of every region. For instance, Pathmeda in Rajasthan has over 1 lakh desi cows and besides milk, they sell skimmed milk powder to other states which is of the A2 variety. It is very important to know the source of the milk you’re drinking every day.” I couldn’t agree more. Operation Flood also gave birth to the system of paying for milk as per the fat content. This concept has had two side effects – either people started keeping buffaloes whose milk has higher fat content or they resorted to adulteration. Case in point: I picked up toned milk packets from some popular brands and found that none of them mention that it’s cow’s milk. It can, therefore, be safely assumed that it is a mix of buffalo and cow’s milk. While it’s an established fact that A1 and A2 milk differ due to their composition, the bigger problem in India is the way milk is procured. “There have been cases where farmers save the animal fat for family consumption and reintroduce cheap fatty solids in the form of vegetable oil, urea or even pork fat. Moreover, the management of cows is of great concern. At our farms, we have only kept desi Gir cows that are allowed to graze, soak in the sunlight and fed organic fodder cultivated at the farm along with immunity boosting herbs like Ashwagandha, Jeevanti and Shatavari,” says Mr. Bhalla. Behind the Scenes in Dairy Farms Khushboo Gupta who manages the Humane and Sustainable Agriculture project for the World Animal Protection NGO and often goes for inspections to farms gives me a glimpse of what happens behind-the-scenes, “The management of animals is the key to production and quality. During the 80’s, dairy farms were conned within the cities as we’ve always had the culture of having fresh milk. Urbanisation led to peri-urban dairies that are now situated at the periphery of metro cities. Animals in peri-urban dairies are kept in dark, dingy places with no access to natural environment, fresh air or sunlight. I’ve visited a lot of them and the situation in quite grim. A small example from village level milk production in UP, a farm had seven ponds yet the cows didn’t have access to clean water. They were drinking water from the dirty drains as they were tied in sheds and couldn’t move around.” That’s disturbing to know, considering milk is approximately 87% water. She shared an incident where cows suffering from Mastitis (an infection of the mammary gland) were still being milked and in another case where the cows were fed stale and expired bread with oil cakes and dry fodder. Khushboo raises an important question, “How can we expect such cows to produce milk that is healthy and nutritious?” The bell is already tolling. You should know that all the giant milk companies don’t own their own dairies, instead they procure milk from farmers or such small holding dairy units that are in question. As per the FSSAI guidelines, this milk is only reviewed for fat and solids not fat (SNF). Dr. Saurabh Arora, Founder of the Food Safety Helpline claries,
“There are regulations and guidelines regarding the production of milk but they apply to the companies and not the farmers. Globally, the food safety act includes everything from farm to fork but in India the agriculture sector has been left out because it is fragmented and very dicult to manage. Without controlling the product you cannot control the produce. Moreover, we do not have the infrastructure or labs to conducts tests to verify the difference between A1 or A2 milk or even for that matter, testing for pathogens. However, it is the responsibility of the companies who are procuring such milk to inspect for adulterants once every six months.” There is an increasing demand for milk, the way it used to be – fresh from the cows in our backyard but for a country with a population that crosses the billion mark it does not seem like a viable solution. It should be the responsibility of the dairy companies to ensure the welfare of the animals in their procurement as a part of their sourcing policy. But the story still continues. “We need to start somewhere. The growing incidence of lifestyle diseases is a warning to us. We are victims of the rampant commercialization and so is our indigenous breed of cows. The desi Indian cow is a very unique species and needs to be conserved. You can recognize them because of the hump on their back and long horns. Studies have shown that the rays of sun enter the body of the cow through the hump which makes their milk, dung and urine medicinal. If they are not exposed to the sun, they will not get the Vitamin D required to produce calcium in milk. More and more people are going back to the milk procured from native breeds like Sahiwal from Punjab, Gir from Gujarat, and Tharparkar from Rajasthan. It’s sad to know that Vechur, one of the healthiest breeds of desi cows from Kerala, is on the brink of extinction,” says Ramneesh Tangri, who runs Pashupati Gaushala in Noida. The bottom line? “In the medical world, it is still a question mark as most studies have been conducted on animals but it has been found that A2 milk contains more Omega-3 fatty acids which are good for your health. In a country which is predominantly vegetarian, milk is a very important source of nutrition. You need to make the right choices to seek the best quality. If A1 milk makes you feel bloated or uncomfortable, it’s alright to make the switch, as a lot of people have reported that A2 milk is easier to digest ” says Sheela Krishnaswamy, President, Indian Dietetic Association. Tags: Milk Dairy Farms Organic Milk Milk Adulteration Citation: Vasudeva, Shivangana. “A1 Versus A2 Milk – Does It Matter.” NDTV Food, 14 Aug. 2017, food.ndtv.com/food-drinks/a1-versus-a2-milk-does-it-matter-1414225.