In the first human trial, subjects on a diet of A2 milk reported less abdominal pain, compared to a diet of regular A1 milk.
The Curtin University study, funded by the A2 Milk Company, has been published today inthe European Journal of Clinical Nutrition by the Nature Publishing Group.
Less than 5 per cent of the population are medically diagnosed with an allergy to milk, lactose, but there are an unknown number of people self-diagnosing intolerance.
For nearly 20 years, there have been claims that the A2 beta-casein protein is easier to digest than A1, but it’s been dismissed as unscientific.
This pilot study at Curtin University, by Associate Professor Sebely Pal of the School of Public Health, found subjects on an A2 milk diet reported less bloating abdominal pain, and firmer stools, by staying off A1 beta-casein.
“The surprising finding in this study is that ordinary milk drinkers, who did not consider themselves to be milk-intolerant, found they had slightly softer stools when they consumed A1 as opposed to A2 milk.
“These softer stools can be associated with increased abdominal pain and this was highly significant.”
Curtin University recruited 41 people, for a double-blind randomised trial over eight weeks.
They were asked to consume no dairy for two weeks, followed by two weeks of either A1 or A2 beta-casein milk. This was repeated and reversed after two weeks.
The subjects were asked to record their responses.
“The results show there is a difference in gastrointestinal responses in some adults consuming the A1 versus A2 beta-casein type,” Professor Pal said.
“The logical next step is to source further funding for more scaled human studies to further understand the digestion differences.”
One European scientist reviewing the research for the Journal wrote:
“The study is performed on 41 volunteers; that is sufficient to obtain statistically significant pilot data.
“These are very important for medical science and require confirmation in a larger study of participants with perceived intolerance to ordinary A1 beta-casein containing milk.”
Source: The Rural