Casein is a protein found in milk and in all dairy products, from cheeses to creams, in fact casein is the main protein in cow's milk and represents about 80% of the total protein content, but the betacasein is one of the types of casein found precisely in milk, beta casein is one of the first proteins that newborn calves ingest and provides them with basic nutrients for their immune development as calves, the problem is that we are not calves.
Although we discovered this recently, in reality this story goes back thousands of years, when cows were just beginning to be domesticated, in some breeds of cows a tiny almost insignificant genetic mutation changed the position of the Beta casein they produced and so on. the variant we now know as the A1 was born.
Proteins are essential for our body and in fact they also help us build and repair tissues and produce enzymes and hormones and also help us form antibodies to defend ourselves against diseases and since milk is a rich source of protein beta-casein without mutations is in itself good for our health, the problem is that as we have already discussed, not all beta-caseins are the same, there are two opposite variants the A1 that has been linked to a number of health problems including heart disease, type 1 diabetes and disorders gastrointestinal and beta-casein without genetic mutation which is A2 and that is good for our health.
Research published in the nutrition journal in 2014 concluded that participants who consumed A1 milk experienced significantly greater gastrointestinal inflammation than those who consumed A2 milk, in this study they gathered 41 healthy men and women who were given milk to one and at two of different periods each period lasted two weeks and then a two week washout interval to ensure that the previous milk was completely flushed from the participants' system before starting the next type of milk.
The fact is that in this study the researchers measured several biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress and what they discovered was shocking, it turns out that the levels of the so-called enzyme Dipectidyl Peptidase-4 (DPP-4) that has been linked to inflammation were recorded and oxidative stress, these results showed that DPP-4 levels increased greatly in the participants after they consumed a1 milk, but this did not happen when they consumed the A2 milk, in addition, the participants who drank the a1 milk presented a considerable increase in Same symptoms, for example, bloating in the stomach, flatulence, frequent bowel movements and stomach pains.
These are the cows that produce A1 milk in this group are these cows that are ironically the most famous, the famous Holstein breed is the one that comes to mind, which is very common in Europe North America and in some parts of Africa , in addition to the frizona and another called Arshare and it is that these are some of the breeds of cows that produce the most milk in the world and that is why most of the commercial milk that we buy in the supermarket tends to be A1 milk.
Then we have A2 milk, which is the one that does not contain mutated proteins, so to speak, these cows are the oldest breeds and are usually found in parts of Asia and Africa, some examples are, for example, the Jersey, Lawrence, and tray cows. it is and even the bait which by the way is one of the oldest breeds of cows in the world and they come from India there are also some breeds of goats and sheep that mainly produce A2 milk.
But hey, the problem is that when we go to the supermarket they don't give us a photograph of the cow to know which one was milked and a genetic test, so how can we know which of the two milks we are really consuming and which one to buy, because the only way The sure way to know if the milk is A1 or A2 is through genetic testing on the animal that produces the milk.
