Sunday 18 March 2012

To Eat Dairy or Not to Eat Dairy that is the Question

The Goodness of Butter and Cream
  
Grass fed animal butter contains the X factor vitamin, vitamin K2. The indication of the Vitamin K2 content is the colour.   The butter should be dark yellow and the cream should have a yellowish tinge 





Butter is also a very good source of vitamin A.  Vitamin A is much better absorbed than Carotene which need converting first within the body to Retinnol (Vitamin A).  Caratenoids come from most vegetables not just the orange ones, as so widely believed.  It takes a lot for the body to convert Carotene to the readily usable vitamin A (Retinol) especially when the body has some common health conditions. 
A study was done on lactating women supplying them with dark leafy greens in an amount which was to believed to be giving them three times the recommended amount of vitamin A.  These women did not improve vitamin A status but instead it left them with a vitamin A deficiency.
In another study it was demonstrated that eating more Carotenoids actually reduces the amount that is being converted to Vitamin A.
I recommend that we get our vitamin A from other sources than vegetables as we do need quite a lot of this amazing vitamin.  Vitamin A is also found in organ meats and egg yolks.
If taking vitamin A as a supplement always include vitamin D and K2.
The other great thing about grass fed dairy is a very important fat which is conjugated linoleic acid which is an anti tumour agent.

The Problems of Dairy
There are three problems with dairy products.  The first one is 
Lactose the milk sugar, the second in Casein the milk protein and the fact it raises insulin levels very fast.
Lactose
Lactose is problem or intolerance caused by simply a lack of an enzyme called Lactase.  About half the population of the world can tolerate lactose as they continue to create Lactase into adulthood, but in the other half Lactose causes bloating and other symptoms.  
The good news is that heavy cream and butter have very low lactose levels and probably will not cause much of a problem.  
Casein
Then there is Casein.  It turns out that the Casein in dairy produces a Casamorphine which creates opioid peptides in the brain.  This gives a feeling of euphoria for a while until you need to get your next fix.  The process of making yogurt creates even more of these opiates.
This explains the downright teariness every time I have gone off dairy.  
It's a good idea to not have to give up dairy more than once so be sure you are healed completely before reintroducing cream and butter.  You really don't want to go through those withdrawal symptoms twice or more.
Four casein proteins make up about 80% of the protein in cow's milk. One of the major caseins is beta-casein, of which there are several types, but "A1" and "A2" are the most common.
It is possible though that the casein in A2 Dairy does not produce these opioid peptides.
In those with Intestinal Permeability cannot tolerate either A1 or A2 until they have healed their gut issues.
Gluten problems will cause Casein problems
If we have a gluten problems then we will more than likely have a Casein problem.  The Gluten causes the leaky gut syndrome and then casein becomes a problem too as it so closely resembles the Gluten protein and the body then sees the casein as a threat as well.
I say this because I believe that casein would not be a problem for us if it wasn't for gluten starting the trouble, after all we had casein in our mothers milk when we were babies.
Insulin Problems with eating Dairy
Cheese and milk causes insulin spikes.  Surprisingly it is not because of the lactose but a particular protein found in the dairy.  
This is not a good thing when we have problems in any way with insulin resistance.  This is the very thing that we are trying to avoid when we go low carbohydrate.  So even though milk contains a lot of fat for some reason it has a bad affect on the glycemic load in the body, similar to refined grains.
Eating cream and butter have not got the same problem as they have very little protein.
What's the best dairy:  Sheep, Goat orcow's milk
 Relative lipid composition in sheep, goat and cow milk in relation to the composition of human milk = 100%
SheepGoatsCow
Saturated fatty acids229133103
C4:0 butyric200013001100
C6:0 caproic1400900600
C8:0 caprylic14001000400
Cl0:0 capric800520150
C12:0 lauric964836
C14:0 myristic213103110
C16:0 palmitic1769996
C18:0 stearic310152138
Monounsaturated FA1046758
C16:1 palmitoleic1006262
C18:l oleic1056657
Polyunsaturated FA623024
C18:2 linoleic493022
C18:3 linolenic26080100
MCT-FA C6:0-C12:028817884

Compared to other milk  the  45%  of the fatty acids in Sheep milk  are Mono or  Polyunsaturates closer resembling our own fat makeup and the fat in Human milk.  It contains a higher portion of short and medium chain fatty acids, which have recognized health benefits. For example, short-chain fatty acids make milk easier to digest.
 
Recent studies show high levels of Conjugated Linoleic Acid and omega 3 (Collomb et al.,2006) are found in Sheep Milk.  
Sheep milk is highly nutritious, richer in vitamins A, B, and E, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium than cows milk.
Sheep milk has a much higher quantity of Medium Chain Triglycerides, (MCT's).  MCT's create Ketones in the body are a much more preferable form of fuel for the brain.   This would be a very good reason to have Sheep milk products over Cows. 
The casein found in sheep milk may not cause as much problems for people with problems with cow casein.
Goat's is the next best milk to ingest.
Of course raw and grass fed would be the best.


Should I or shouldn't I  eat them then?
I will have to leave it up to you to make your decision on whether to eat dairy products. 
If you have leaky gut definitely make sure this is healed before eating any dairy products.
 I suggest going off dairy completely for 1 month and then reintroduce them back into your diet and see if you get any symptoms.  You don't know what the symptoms of eating dairy are until you have been off it for a full month.  

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