Food allergies are becoming much more common in the recent decades, especially in highly industrialized countries. In general, pollution, lifestyle changes (stress), overuse of antibiotics, less time spent outside and so on, are to blame. What about food supply? The degradation of food supply in terms of quality has been given a little attention to.

Biased nutritional advice by Food Giants

In today’s fiercely competitive marketplace, giant food companies needed to convince customers to buy their products rather than those of competitors, specifically to eat more and to choose more profitable products. By far, the most profitable foods are the unhealthy junk foods and beverages – high in calories but low in nutritional value. Food industry as well as drug industry influence is systemic and ethical problems of the world. Food giants distort research to get the most favorable results, and then influence nutritional professionals and investigators to support their products or to remain silent about the unfavorable effects. The conflict of interest induced by the food industry in relation to nutritional professionals are negatively drive public health and public policy. The effects of funding by the food companies are measurable, but utterly complex (Marion Nestle, Unsavory Truth). Nowadays, food companies focus on cheap mass production, long shelf-life and durability rather than the quality and nutritional value they present to the market. Influencing research to their advantage makes it easier to keep public attention away from the harm they do (Ray Peat, Milk in Context).

Role of industrialization in allergies

The industrial agriculture has been implementing ways to produce economically favorable crops, such as grains and beans. Beans are high in protein and calories, and a cheap option. Then what is the catch? Unfortunately, these cheaply produced raw materials raise some concerns on the damage they produce – degradation of the soil, toxic effect of GMO, toxic chemicals. Let us take an example. The harmful effects of the abnormal and stressful growth conditions on plants’ natural defense system has been proven by numerous studies. Plants produce some toxic materials and inhibitors of digestive enzymes to protect themselves from fungi, insects, bacteria and other predators. When a plant is injured or stressed, it produces more of these defensive substance such as chitinase (enzyme). The intensive industrial agriculture (industrialized crops) has been increasing the formation of these defensive substances responsible for many new allergies (gluten, chitinase) appearing in the last 30 years.

Why milk became the center of a complex problem?

Cow’s milk allergy is also a recent disease coming from the same issue. Cows produce milk by digesting the grass/leaves they have eaten. The digesting bacteria in their rumens performs the refining process including detoxifying the majority of toxins and allergens. All nutrients from the cow’s rumen then will reach the liver where it goes through a further filtration before it is synthesized into milk. If cows are fed with a large amount of grains, this filtering and detoxifying process is less efficient. and some allergens can reach the milk.

Commercial milk with reduced fat content has usually vitamin D and A added to fortify the nutritional value of the milk. This is a possible source of allergens. Whole milk from pasture raised cows is most likely free of allergens.

Another source of powerful allergen added to milk is carrageenan which is a thickening agent. Its toxic effect can cause disturbance of calcium metabolism in people.

Root cause of lactose intolerance

A common reason avoiding milk is the lack of lactose enzyme needed to digest milk sugar (lactose). Lactose intolerance is a widespread disease, with wide variation between regions and countries. Overall, 68% of the total population is experiencing some degree of lactose intolerance. Studies have shown that lactose malabsorption or deficiency is more common in African and Asian countries than in Europe. Also, there is a gradual decline in the activity of lactase enzyme as we age, and symptoms can manifest in young adulthood. In some cases, lactose intolerance occurs in response to inflammation or other diseases (Crohn disease, antibiotics, Celiac disease) and resolves when the root cause has been treated. Symptoms are bloating, nausea, diarrhea, gas, abdominal pain and the list goes on.

Most common cause of lactase enzyme deficiency is hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism can lead to bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine. These bacteria produce substances which can greatly damage the lining of the small intestine (microvilli), decreasing lactase enzyme production.

Hypothyroidism and estrogen dominance/progesterone deficiency go hand in hand. Not enough progesterone to balance the effect of estrogen and stress hormone (cortisol) probably contributes to lactase deficiency.

Know your lactose threshold

There are some people with lactose intolerance who can tolerate diary to some extent, others may need to eliminate it from their diet (until other issues resolved). Everyone needs to experiment how much ingested lactose they can handle without symptoms while they are working on other health imbalances. It means that you do not have to stop eating diary even if you are intolerant to lactose, you just need to select dairy products carefully with low/very low lactose content. For example, hard, aged cheeses like parmesan and cheddar are low in lactose. Butter has almost no lactose.

Why dairy is a superfood?

Diary products and milk are nutrient dense foods, providing energy and high-quality protein with an outstanding amount of micronutrients (minerals and vitamins). All micronutrients are in an easily absorbed form. Minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc and phosphorus are crucial for human health. They provide a foundational support for bone health, blood pressure and heathy body weight. Why would you give up on diary then?

Milk has anti-obesity effect due to its high calcium content. How so? Parathyroid hormone is an important factor in calcium metabolism. If we do not ingest enough calcium from our diet, the blood calcium level drops and PTH becomes activated to remove calcium from bones raising blood calcium level. PTH has other effects too – contributing to inflammation, calcification of soft tissues (artery), and decreased cellular respiration (energy production). This is why it is crucial to have adequate amount calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K2 and magnesium to keep PTH low. Studies has shown that Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, cancer, multiple sclerosis, high blood pressure, and tooth decay are associated with high PTH (Yamada, et al., 2003).

Quality matters the most

In case of milk and diary, it is crucial to find a reliable supplier or a farm.  Get to know more about their animal care and fed. It is important to search for high quality pasture raised milk products. If you are new to this, I suggest to start with goat or sheep diary because they are easier to digest.

Differences between A1 and A2 milk

Dairy allergies can be linked to casein found in milk products. Professor Keith Woodford has been dedicated his life to investigate health issues and food politics surrounding A1 and A2 milk. He also wrote an interesting book called ‘Devil in Milk’. In his book, he explains that thousands of years ago all milk was originally A2 milk until a mutation occurred affecting the breed and the cattle. A2 milk contains A2 beta-casein whereas A1 milk contains A1 beta-casein. A1 beta-casein is a type of protein playing a role in health issues such as autoimmune disease, type 1 diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease etc.

The A2 milk from ancient breeds contains the amino acid proline. Due to a mutation, this proline has changed to the amino acid histidine, which is found in newer breeds, in A1 milk.  The A1 type beta-casein in cow’s milk releases b-casomorphine-7 (BCM-7) peptide, which is a powerful opiate linked to diseases, especially gastrointestinal problems. Proline in A2 milk blocks the absorption of BCM-7, eliminating the possible negative reactions. Histidine in A1 milk does not block BCM-7, which may contribute to risk of developing any discomfort after consumption. Also, worth to mention that histamine is synthetized from histidine (found in A1 milk) and is found in elevated levels during allergic reactions and inflammatory responses.

A2 milk is produced by sheep, goat, Guernsey, Jersey, Normande, and Brown Swiss breeds. It is also important to know how the animal was fed and cared for. Pasteur-raised and grass-fed animals has the most nutritious and highest quality milk.

Most of time, people who seems to show signs of intolerance, can reintroduce dairy when all other possible root cause factors are dealt with. All disease starts in the gut. First, you can do is to start working on restoring balance in your gut. Stool test can be a great tool to figure out what to do and what natural remedies needs to be used. Health journey is a adventure, because it is not a straight line, there will be ups and downs, but you will never get back to where you started it even if it feels like that. Learning a new way to eat and live requires some patients and flexibility. But you do not have to do it alone. Nutritionist and dietitian can help you find the right food plan for you, guide you, support you in difficult times, teach you how to read food label, come up with healthy recipes and so on.

References

Prof. Keith Woodford, Food and Behavior Research, Devil in the Milk, October 2010.

Yamada M, Kasagi F, Sasaki H, Masunari N, Mimori Y, Suzuki G. J Am Geriatr Soc 2003 Mar;51(3):410-4. Association between dementia and midlife risk factors: the Radiation Effects Research Foundation Adult Health Study.

Dr Joy Lasseter, The story of milk, https://joyhealth.com/blog/

Marion Nestle, Unsavory Truth, 2018, page 55- 97

Dr Ray Peat, Milk in Context: allergies, ecology and some myths.

Ahlström T, Hagström E, Larsson A, Rudberg C, Lind L, Hellman P. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2009 Nov;71(5):673-8. Correlation between plasma calcium, parathyroid hormone (PTH) and the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a community-based cohort of men and women.

Lauritano EC, Bilotta AL, Gabrielli M, Scarpellini E, Lupascu A, Laginestra A, Novi M, Sottili S, Serricchio M, Cammarota G, Gasbarrini G, Pontecorvi A, Gasbarrini A. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007 Nov;92(11):4180-4. Association between hypothyroidism and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.

Funk JL, Moser AH, Grunfeld C, Feingold KR. Endocrinology. 1997 Jul;138(7):2665-73. Parathyroid hormone-related protein is induced in the adult liver during endotoxemia and stimulates the hepatic acute phase response.