Milk allergy

    Lactose intolerance is common throughout the world affecting up to 70 percent of people, yet, lactose intolerance is not a ‘milk allergy’. Milk allergy occurs when the person has an autoimmune reaction to the protein (generally casein) in milk. These proteins are found in both raw and pasteurized milk. While raw milk has many health benefits, the bodies of those with milk allergies simply cannot tolerate it. There is casein in goat and sheep milk as well, but nowhere near as much as in cow’s milk. Unfortunately, they do contain a different allergenic protein called beta lactoglobulin at similar levels to cows’ milk. Because of this, some may use milk from other animal sources, while others cannot. Dairy allergy is one of the most common allergies, and is especially high in children. Symptoms include: abdominal distention, bloody/mucous stools, diarrhea, edema, failure to thrive, gastroesophageal reflux, hypoalbuminemia, low-grade fever, mild to severe rashes, mucus production, nausea, regurgitation/vomiting, stomach pain, trouble breathing, loss of consciousness, and swelling of the lips or throat.    

    The association between milk and mucus cannot be explained using the conventional paradigm for diagnosing allergies, however, there is medical evidence that shows cause. As the casein protein breaks down in the colon, casomorphin (an opioid protein fragment) is produced. This stimulates the opioid receptors within colon and triggers the opioid receptors in the respiratory tract to respond to this trigger by secreting mucus. This association may not necessarily be simply cause and effect as the person has to be consuming A1 milk, βCM-7 [casomorphin] must pass into the systemic circulation and the tissues have to be actively inflamed. These prerequisites could explain why only a subgroup of the population, who have increased respiratory tract mucus production, find that many of their symptoms, including asthma, improve on a dairy elimination diet. Based upon the previous study it is interesting to note that in a subsequent study, cows’ milk has been also found to cause inflammation in the intestines that cause failure to thrive in children with cystic fibrosis. A variety of disorders, including autism, schizophrenia, and postpartum psychosis, were thought to be due to an inability to process gluten and casein adequately. These products of inadequate digestion, ‘gliadorphin’ and ‘casomorphin’, can be measured in the urine and cerebrospinal fluid of autistic patients. They theoretically cross both the gut and brain barriers, and then bind with endogenous opioid receptors, causing ‘interference of signal transmission’. It has been proposed that ‘gliadorphin’ and ‘casomorphin’ have negative pharmacological effects on attention, learning, social interactions, and brain maturation