
“To A2 milk or not to A2 milk? That is the question…“
A2 testing is owned by a company in New Zealand that patented the test and offshoot branding- at first it claimed non-A2 milk (A1 in fact) was responsible for a host of medical issues (type 1 diabetes, autism, heart disease) which were >never proven< in followup research, so the A2 Corporation dialed back its messaging to say “A2 milk is easier to digest and tolerated better by lactose intolerant individuals.”
Well, so is lactose-free milk.
A2 used a study with 41 individuals, and another with 45 individuals to prove the merits of A2 milk and lessening of gastrointestional complaints. Two studies with less than 100 people (Chinese participants who are typically lactose intolerant) are pushing the A2 hype. What would be most helpful is a blind study comparing only A2 milk versus lactose-free milk using a population of varied ethnicity with a participant pool of over 200+. Now that would be a study worth reviewing!
If a buyer believes that drinking A2 only milk is what makes them feel better, go for it. Being in the medical field I am all for the placebo effect. I do worry that good Dexter genetics are being tossed aside to single out A2A2 when a corporation (A2 Corp), is the one to profit- not the Irish Dexter breed.
Our Irish Dexters are A2A2, A2N, and unknown. We are not going to breed specifically for A2A2 as this would be like throwing the baby out with the bathwater, in fact, we will stop testing future calves for beta casein as we have given the A2 Corporation enough money and I do not support their conclusions. Two studies with less than 100 people are transforming a traditional breed of cattle as more and more Dexter breeders are aiming for A2A2 only herd. Just something to think about… Below is a link to an interesting article:
http://theconversation.com/science-or-snake-oil-is-a2-milk-better-for-you-than-regular-cows-milk-62486