Living Well
In the past few years, there has been a lot of debate around the consumption of milk and its potential health benefits. Some health experts advise to stay away from milk entirely, while some may advise to have only specific types of milk, say cow’s milk. A1 and A2 are the two types of cow’s milk available in the market. A2 milk or desi cow milk is considered as healthy and organic type and is recommended by many health experts, including Sepalika. Let’s find out what is A2 milk, what are its benefits, and sources to get it in India.
Before we understand what is desi cow milk, let us understand proteins in cow’s milk. The two major types of proteins in milk are casein protein (around 80%) and whey protein (around 20%.) Among casein proteins, beta-casein is one of the major proteins and makes up nearly 30% of the total proteins in cow’s milk. Now, there are two types of beta-casein proteins – A1 & A2.
A2 is considered as the original and natural kind of protein in cow’s milk. It is believed that at one point all milk was A2. A1 milk is considered to be a result of a genetic mutation that occurred several thousands of years ago in Europe. It is believed this mutation helped dairy farmers in increasing milk production and meet the ever-increasing demand of milk. It’s not surprising that A1 beta casein is found in most commercially available milk.
However, the key problem with A1 milk is beta -casomorphin-7 (BCM-7), a powerful opioid, which is formed on digestion of A1 milk. BCM-7 is responsible for many ailments, including type 1 diabetes, heart disease, and mental disorders like schizophrenia.
There’s more to BCM-7 or casomorphin than its sedative effect and potential health risks. Casomorphin is also responsible for inflammation. Inflammation worsens insulin resistance. That’s why women with PCOS (nearly 30-80% of them experience high insulin resistance) are advised to stay away from A1 milk.
A2 or desi cow milk is free of A1 beta casein and thus is free of all the harmful effects of BCM-7.
Tip: At home, make your A2 paneer from this same milk you buy. It comes out well.
Here are sources from where you can get organic/A2 milk in India:
MUMBAI
DELHI
BANGALORE
CHENNAI
PUNE
JAIPUR
KOLKATA
CHANDIGARH
ALL OVER INDIA
http://silverma.startlogic.com/A1A2MilkResearch/DevilintheMilk.pdf