A2 milk and lactose intolerance

genebo,
Any recent news with the A2 testing development?
Has UC Davis gotten any closer?

Hey all...frequent lurker, seldom poster. I get milk from this farm sometimes and thought that this might help. Not sure if anyone is close to this farm, but just in case. I have friends who are EXTREMELY LI - as in a pad of butter and then in 10 mins crazy sounds from their stomachs and then running to the bathroom. They have all been able to drink any RAW milk I have bought from different farms, both cow and goat - pint glasses of it. I am sure that it is different in every case, just my experience.

Spring Water Farm - farmer is certified raw by the state of PA. Cows are entirely grass fed and functionally organic in every way. The cows never receive any grain at any time. Alvin raises a heritage breed of cattle called The Dutch Belted, not to be confused with the Belted Galloway which is a beef cow. He has been raising them since 1992. This breed of cattle is rare and endangered. They produce a milk that is of a different consistency and flavor than Jersey or Holstein. According to sources familiar with the Dutch Belted breed, this milk is more easily digested, has a higher protein to fat ratio, and does not separate as much as other breeds' milk. There is a high percentage of A2 casein protein (found in sheep and goats milk) relative to A1 casein found in most other cows' milk, which accounts for the digestibility.

Public testing is not really any closer than it was last spring. It isn't UC Davis that is driving the effort to have the testing done, it's a small group of Dexter owners. They spend large sums on phone calls to keep the effort moving.

There are two people who have to agree in order to have the test made available to us. One supports us. The other is indifferent. We have to convince him that it would be a boon to the Corporation to have a large number of people drinking and extolling the virtues of A2 milk. It would create demand.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

We tested over 200 Guernsey cows in the US for the A2 gene. We tested with GeneSeek in Nebraska, which will no longer run the test, but was operating under an agreement with the A2 Corp at the time. 79% of the cows tested (from four geographically and genetically diverse herds) were A2A2. 19% were A2A1.

I would love to have our guernsey/jersey cow tested and am hoping to see 'tests now available' posted sometime soon, here on HT.

That's a pretty good percentage on those Guernseys.

The latest email exchanges indicate that there's a good chance that A2 testing will be available to the small owner by spring or summer.

The testing is to be available to people who are milking for their own consumption and to people who breed cows to sell to those who milk for themselves. It's not for commercial dairymen. There will be a separate program for them.

The word that I got is that the price of testing will remain at about the same level, at or close to $25 per test. It all depends upon which lab gets to do the tests and what agreement they work out.

Two factors entered into this. One was the number of people who wrote asking for the test to be made available. The other is that a top man in the Corporation is sensitive to the needs of families.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

I had never heard of this till about two weeks ago, I had a guy call me to see if I have A2 cows? I said what? He then told me about this. I milk all Jersey`s and sell alot of raw milk, and all my customers all love the milk. I have had many customers say they can drink my milk and not store boughtin milk. I can`t tell you how many times I have had people tell me of health problems made better after drinking my raw milk. Now what better reason can a guy have to keep milking cows. I myself use to have stomach problems and would have to take a handful of ant-acids every night just to sleep. After we started milking cows again and drinking raw milk, I no longer have to take the ant-acids, and thats Gods honest truth. Thanks Marc.

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I think you will have to come up with a different solution than buying from your neighbor. It is illegal to sell raw milk in MI....sad, but true. Ask about cow shares- you can skirt the law that way.

I milk a Jersey, but I don't know if she's A1 or A2.

I'm not so sure that lactose intolerance is due to A1 or A2 milk as much as it has to do with pasteurization vs raw.

My teenage daughter didn't want to drink raw milk at first. I had to sneak it in her diet, which I normally wouldn't do, but felt the benefits of raw milk were worth the temporary deception. I put raw milk into the store carton and shook it each morning so she wouldn't see the cream line before she had her cereal.

She drank it for almost two weeks before she said something to me. Turns out she had cereal at a friends house and got the stomach cramps she had forgotten about when drinking milk at home. It was then she realized I must have been putting raw milk into her container. She also commented how much better it tasted.

Many people who can't tolerate pasteurized milk can drink raw milk without any trouble. Hopefully, you'll be one of them too.

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~Carla~