Immunopathology of A1 Beta Casein Cow Milk in Man and Animals

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Proteins are a very diverse family of large organic compounds involved in many biological processes. Following their enzymatic hydrolysis during digestion, proteins may release fragments as physiologically active peptides. All proteins are long chains of amino acids. Beta casein is a chain of 209 amino acids in length. Cows which produce this protein in their milk with a proline at number 67 are called A2 cows. But some 5,000 years ago, a mutation occurred in this proline amino acid, converting it to histidine. Cows that have this mutated beta casein are called A1 cows, and include breeds like Holstein, most of the European and American breeds of cows. Proline has a strong bond to BCM 7, which does not release from the milk in the gut, so that essentially no BCM 7 is found in the urine, blood or GI tract of indigenous A2 cows. On the other hand, histidine, the mutated protein, only weakly holds on to BCM 7, so it is liberated in the GI tract of animals and humans who drink A1 cow’s milk. The BCM 7 has shown to cause neurological impairment in animals and people exposed to it, especially autistic and schizophrenic changes. The BCM 7 interferes with the immune response, and injecting BCM 7 in animal models has been shown to provoke type-1 diabetes. There is strong evidence that links this casein and its opioid derivative with heart disease, mental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, type-1 diabetes and a number of other autoimmune disorders. The role of indigenous cows producing A2 beta casein in their milk had been discussed in detail with the advantage it holds for India.