If it were indeed true that BCM-7 is harming humans, this would be an important public health issue, as well as a commercial opportunity. The research generated interest in the media, as well as among the scientific community and entrepreneurs. Interest in the distinction between A1 and A2 beta-casein proteins began in the early 1990s via epidemiological research and animal studies initially conducted by scientists in New Zealand, which found correlations between the prevalence of milk with A1 beta-casein proteins in some countries and the prevalence of various chronic diseases. In the 1980s, some medical researchers began to explore whether some peptides (including peptides from casein) that are created during digestion might have negative or positive health effects. The a2 Milk Company claims that people who experience discomfort drinking ordinary cows' milk may experience relief when they switch to milk with predominantly A2 protein. Milk with predominantly A2 protein is not a milk substitute for infants with cow milk protein allergies.
Ī pair of 2020 papers from Purdue University and the University of Auckland suggested that people with lactose intolerance experience significantly fewer symptoms from consuming A2 milk versus regular milk. Ī 2014 review of research into the relationship between consumption of dairy products (including A1 and A2 proteins) and the incidence of diabetes found that while there appears to be a positive correlation between consumption of dairy products by babies and the incidence of type 1 diabetes (T1D), and an inverse relationship between the consumption of dairy products and the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D), these correlations are tentative it would be very difficult to determine which component or components of milk might be responsible for these effects, and it is unlikely that the expensive and complex research to determine the answers to these questions will ever be conducted. Reviews conducted in 20 found no demonstration that consuming milk with A1 casein causes diabetes.
The EFSA study emphasized the dangers of drawing conclusions from correlations identified in epidemiological studies and the dangers of not reviewing all the evidence at hand. In most of the animal studies, BCM-7 was not administered orally, as humans would be exposed to it, but rather was given to animals by injection into the peritoneal cavity or directly into the spinal cord or brain. The EFSA found no relationship between any disease and drinking milk with the A1 protein. As part of their evaluation, the EFSA looked at the laboratory studies that had been done on BCM-7 that found that BCM-7 can act as a weak opioid receptor agonist. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reviewed the scientific literature and published their results in 2009. A genetic test, developed by the a2 Milk Company, determines whether a cow produces A2 or A1 type protein in its milk. The a2 Milk Company and some companies producing goat's milk products claim that milk containing A1 proteins is harmful, but there has been no widely accepted scientific work identifying a direct link between A1 protein and any adverse effect on health.Ī1 and A2 beta-casein are genetic variants of the beta-casein milk protein that differ by one amino acid. Non-cow milk, including that of humans, sheep, goats, donkeys, yaks, camels, buffalo, and others, also contain mostly A2 β-casein, and so the term "A2 milk" is also used in that context. It was sold in the United Kingdom between 20. Cows' milk like this was brought to market by The a2 Milk Company and is sold mostly in Australia, New Zealand, China, and the United States. A2 milk is a variety of cows' milk that mostly lacks a form of β-casein proteins called A1, and instead has mostly the A2 form.