A2 Milk. What is it and Should you drink it?
Is organic A2 milk worth the extra cost?
Recently, when I was in Natural Grocers, a woman asked the person stocking the milk shelf what A2 milk was. He did not know. Since I was right there and overheard them, I chimed in.
What is A2 milk?
A2 milk is an option for people who are sensitive to milk proteins or who are lactose intolerant. These people may tolerate A2 milk instead of traditional milk in the US. I say in the US because we milk primarily black and white cows (Holstein), whereas if you go to part of Europe or other parts of the world, you will see brown/Jersey cows as dairy cows.
Why would this matter?
It may matter a lot, and it explains why people sensitive to milk in the US can tolerate it when traveling to other parts of the world.
Casein is a protein found in milk that can have genetic variants, with the most common ones being A1 and A2.
Different breeds will differ in the amount of A1 and A2 present. In the US, 40% of the beta-casein is A1 (our black and white cows primarily, but individual cows can also differ in their A1 to A2 ratio). In the United Kingdom, 53% of the casein is A1; in Australia, only 21% is A1.
When you consume milk that has a high A1 content, this is digested by intestinal enzymes, which yield a bioactive peptide called beta-casomorphin. When you drink A2 milk, the beta-casomorphin is not produced. The beta-casomorphin has opioid properties and can alter immune function. A1 protein is considered a genetic mutation.
Hence, if you have a casein sensitivity or difficulty digesting milk in the US but not in another country, you may be able to tolerate milk that contains more A2 casein and less A1 casein.
Is A2 milk better for your health than A1 milk?
Research has indicated that consumption of A1 milk is associated with CVD and the development of type 1 diabetes, whereas A2 milk is not.
Another study found that Chinese children have more GI symptoms when drinking A1 milk than A2 milk. A study with lactose-intolerant participants found that they tolerated A2 milk. However, non-lactose dairy-sensitive participants did not see improvements in the A2 milk.
The research indicates that if lactose-intolerant people do not want to eliminate dairy from their diet, either lactose-free milk or A2 milk are suitable options.
Human milk, as well as goat and sheep milk, contains casein in the A2 form. A2 casein is more prominent in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Western Europe.
Gluten-sensitive people may also have difficulty with A1 milk and zein, the protein found in corn. Gluten can cross-react with other proteins. Since these are commonly consumed proteins, people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity often react to one or more other common proteins, such as dairy and corn protein.
(References to these studies are mentioned at this link.)
Should you consume dairy?
There is much debate about whether dairy should be in the human diet past a certain age. If you look at our ancestors, 99.6% of our time on this planet was spent not consuming dairy once infants and toddlers were done breastfeeding.
This article mentions that humans should breastfeed up to age 4. I wish modern-day society were more accepting of long-term breastfeeding.
Raw dairy or even raw A2 dairy (we used to live near a farm that sold A2 shares of raw milk) may not be necessary for a healthy diet.
Many people follow a dairy-free diet. In that case, if you consume non-dairy alternatives such as non-dairy “milk” or non-dairy cheese, read the labels, as they may have added sugar and additives, and the non-dairy cheese may be processed soy-based.
Bottom Line
Don’t substitute dairy with processed dairy alternatives or fake cheese if you follow a dairy-free diet.
If you consume dairy, look for grass-fed, raw dairy. If you are lactose intolerant or have GI issues when you consume dairy and do not want to give it up, stores such as Natural Grocers sell A2 milk. NG sells an A2 brand (Alexandre) that is certified regenerative, organic, and humane.
I honestly switch between a dairy-free diet and adding in some dairy. As of now, I do consume some grass-fed organic dairy yogurt.
What about you? Do you consume dairy? Do you drink A2 milk?
Please show my posts some love! It is a busy spring, and I am writing, researching, seeing clients, and doing all my spring chores on our mini ranch.
Only use raw from grass fed raw milk which we pick up every week. I make a bread with only flour (organic sprouted spelt) and milk twice a week. And yes I know the milk is "not for human consumption"!!
Never had any issues with milk or dairy. Of course it was always better "back in the day"!
We only drink a2/a2 milk in our home from our Jersey cow. She is 100% grass fed which is so important. I have been milking Jerseys since 2004 and if I do not have a cow in milk we just stop dairy pretty much altogether.