But goat milk didn’t bother me. I thought I was delusional. I bet you a dollar your A1/A2 has solved the milk question. And thankfully, though I live in the suburbs, I have two grass-fed pet does ready to be bred!

So…do you have any wheat thoughts? Has commercial wheat done something wacky?

I almost never eat processed foods, but I do love my morning tofu shake. So much so that I might have to wait for some symptoms to break the habit. ACK!

Ooo, and come see my site! We’d love you to guest blog.

I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Your body is much less susceptible to the effects of BCM7 (what A2 beta casein breaks down into) if you have good intestinal flora.  By drinking the milk raw, you’re already populating your gut with beneficial bacteria and while that won’t change the casein molecule, it’s a good for you nonetheless.  Also, I doubt dairy is your primary source of protein and most of the studies conducted on casein were animal studies that involved feeding lab rats and mice little more than milk casein – not a natural diet that happened to include some casein.  Not everything can be perfect, but we can strive to enjoy the best we have. 

Take Care

- Jenny

I’m super frustrated. It took forever for me to get raw milk and now I found out the milk I’m getting could cause diseases. I’ve paid for a year in advance so I have 11 months of this raw milk. I’m sure the cows are healthy – I’ve gone to the farm and they looked really healthy. But for $8 a gallon, I want the best milk I can get.

I know where you’re coming from: I was a vegetarian (and vegan) for a good long time and while I initially felt great, after a few months I’d feel terrible.  Exhausted.  Rotten skin. Thyroid troubles.  Insomnia.  And, I ate a whole foods vegetarian diet without heavy reliance on processed veg*n convenience foods.  While I don’t think a vegetarian diet is inherently unhealthy, I do believe that vegetarians and vegans especially must be extremely mindful of nutrient intake.  Afterall, there’s certain nutrients that are simply not found in plant foods and the plant-based alternatives are poorly metabolized into the necessary nutrients.  DHA, EPA, Vitamin D and Retinol all come to mind.  I also think that western vegetarian diets rely TOO heavily on soy protein without respect to soy’s traditional role in Asian diets.

- Jenny

It’s my understanding that Brown Swiss Cows produce A1 beta casein.  This is according to a study published in the September, 1995 issue of Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology.  According to their data, 100% of the Brown Swiss Cows in the study tested positive for the A1 gene. (View the study abstract >a href=”http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8533319″ target=”_”>here</a>.)  Don’t lose heart though: it seems that those with healthy intestinal microflora (good bacteria in the gut) may be less receptive to BCM7.  So, by consuming raw milk and other foods replete with beneficial bacteria, you’re already a step above the rest.  For more information, check out the book <a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1603581022?ie=UTF8&tag=thenourkitc-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1603581022″ target=”_”>Devil in the Milk</a> which discusses the controversy surrounding A1/A2 beta casein quite extensively.

Hope that helps - 

Jenny

I avoid soy like the plague. It’s frustrating that soy is advertised as a health food. I lived in Korea for 1.5 years and have visited other Asian countries and very seldom had soy in any form.

I have looked into the research surrounding high protein diets and cancer and they tend to be extremely faulty – largely devoid of fat soluble vitamins and other critical micronutrients coupled with overreliance on casein (isolated from other components of dairy like CLA-rich butterfat) as the primary or only source of protein.  That is not a diet you’ll find outside the laboratory, so its findings aren’t likely to apply to natural diets outside the laboratory.  At any rate, I don’t advocate a high protein diet.  Spend time digging through the archives and you’ll find that the focus here at Nourished Kitchen is one based on traditional, whole foods including properly prepared sources of carbohydrates from grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables,  fats from properly raised animals and cold-pressed and unrefined oils as well as protein from plant and animal sources.

You should be concerned about research surrounding casein, but you should similarly be aware that almost all the research on casein used A1 beta casein, not A2 beta casein.  The gene that causes cattle to produce A1 beta casein is a newly evolved and causes the casein molecule to break into BCM7 (a natural opioid) that is shown to contribute to autoimmune disease and other nasties.  This is not the case with A2 beta casein (the caseing molecule found in goat’s milk, sheep’s milk, yak’s milk, water buffalo’s milk and the milk from certain breeds of cattle).  That’s why I strongly recommend that folks source the bulk of their dairy (remember, it contains nutrients like CLA, beta carotene and fat soluble vitamins) from grass-fed goats or jersey/guernsey cows.  Take into account that studies conducted on casein in relationship to cancers, diabetes and heart disease not only used A1 beta casein instead of the older A2 beta casein variant, but were also conducted on animals and used casein to the exclusion of other foods.  Not a diet you’ll find in nature.

Nevertheless, if you’re concerned about casein it’s simple to avoid by choosing dairy-free whole foods.  However, you should be similarly concerned about processed soy (the subject of this post) as not only is it implicated in cancer and diabetes, but also endocrine, autoimmune and reproductive disorders.  When we choose to eat soy, we eat traditionally prepared soy like miso and tempeh and use small, condiment-sized servings. 

Take Care -

Jenny