I sent Ilya's questions to Dr. Kalle Reichelt of the Pediatric Research
Institute in Oslo, Norway. He has been researching the impact of gluten and
casein intolerance on certain individuals with developmental delays. To see
more of what he has written I have put up a bunch of his articles at (80K in
total):
 
  http://www.panix.com/~donwiss/reichelt.html
 
So, here is a guest response:
 
Date: Sat, 1 Feb 1997 09:47:13 +0100 (MET)
From: [log in to unmask] (Kalle Reichelt)
Subject: Questions
 
At 10:59 AM 1/30/97 -0500, Ilya <[log in to unmask]> asked:
 
>I have several questions, trying to figure out for myself why
>people may be reacting to various foods, including dairy, and
>if any of my reactions are due to dairy or not.
 
Good morning.
Quite a list.
 
>1. I have heard that there are basically 3 things people may be
>reacting to in dairies: lactose, casein, whey. Some people
>may be sensitive to some, but not others. E.g. sensitive to
>casein, but not whey. Is this true?
 
Q1: Lactose reactivity is due to the fact that many adults lack lactase an
enzyme that splits lactose. This is especially common in orientals, blacks
(except the Ibos of Nigeria). Where the lactase containing peoples meet the
lactase negative is where Yogurt and kefir etc is made traditionally. In
these fermented milks the lactose (a disaccharide) is split.
Sensitivity is either allergic (IgE free and mast cell bound with
histamine release) or intolerance. Intolerance is due to accumulation of
proteins or their break down intermediates peptides which have
bioactivities. Both proteins and peptides are taken up from the gut and if
not properly broken down or if uptake outstrips break down we are in
problems.
Sensitivity is a rather vague term and is not precise. Whey usually contains
enough betalacoglobulin and lactalbumin to make opioids also formed from
these proteins. There are still traces of casein too in whey.
NB: Allergy and intolerance can be to almost anything: what is required is
a defects as specific IgE increases in allergy or lack of break down
enzymes in intolerance.
 
>2. If the reaction is to proteins - casein, whey - can one take
>protein digesting enzymes to break them up? I am already taking
>bromelain, there are plenty others out there as well. Or is the
>reaction to specific chains of aminos that are found in milk
>proteins and would not be broken down by these enzymes.
 
Q2: You may take protein digestive enzymes either in addition to the diet
or possibly alone (Prof Cade thinks so) I do not yet know. Bromelain is
interesting in this context but probably only useful in intolerance.
In allergy even minute amounts can release the allergic reaction, in
intolerance there is a quantitative aspect of course.
 
>3. If the reaction is to casein (or even whey) why is there
>reaction to other dairies, such as yogurt. I thought that
>bacteria in yogurt use the milk proteins to make the proteins
>they need, therefore the only milk proteins found in yogurt
>would be 'residual' proteins, not yet digested by the bacteria.
>Is this residual amount of milk proteins responsible for the
>reactions?
 
Q3: Yogurt has only had the disaccharide digested, not the proteins.
 
>4.a. Is it possible that reaction to milk proteins really happens
>due to other reasons. For example, gluten, yeast overgrowth,
>or other problems causing 'leaky gut syndrome' or similar
>problems. So your body now starts absorbing incompletely digested
>milk proteins and then starts developing antibodies to them.
>Has anybody had these kinds of problems? And if yes, has milk
>intolerance improved when those problems were taken care of?
>
>4.b. The reason I am thinking of this is that if the body is
>developing antibodies to milk proteins they must be getting into
>blood steam. The body does not normally develop antibodies to
>things still in the gut, as that will be broken down and there
>is no reason to 'waste' immune system efforts on it. If milk
>particles (proteins, lactose, whatever) are getting into blood
>stream then the problem is with the 'leaky gut'. Does this make
>sense?
 
Q4: has been answered in 1. An increase in gut permeability to molecules
the size of peptides has been found ((D'Eufemia P et al (1996) Acta
paediatrica 85: 1076-1079.).
Of course if the taken up protein load or peptide load is decreased then
that helps. There could be several pathways to that, but we must all have
some protein supply to live.
 
>5. Could the problems with milk (and eggs, etc. for that matter)
>be due to hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, etc that go into
>cows and end up in milk? Anybody switched to organic dairies
>(or eggs, etc.) and found their symptoms improve?
 
Q5: We all take up trace amounts of proteins intact from the gut and
therefore all have IgG antibodies normally to these proteins. I have
provided the references in extenso in Reichelt KL et al 81996) Progr in
neuro-psychopharmacol & Biol Psychiat 20: 1083-1114.
 
>6. I have seen a lot of references to paleolythic diets, eating
>only what could be picked in nature/killed with a stick. Dairies
>are usually excluded from that list on the basis that neanderthals
>did not raise cows. But they were still breast fed as infants.
>Does anyone know why these diets exclude milk if it's a natural
>part of one's life early on? How is human milk different from
>cows, goats, etc.?
 
Q6: Human milk is only containing traces of casein while all the others is
rich in casein. Human milk is a rotten substrate for cheese making.
Man has been exposed to gluten/gliadin for only about 300 generations. The
enormous amount of milk and cheese is in fact part of this century. It was
previously consumed in much smaller quantities.
Eg in Sweden the yogurt/kefir increased from 14 kg per person per year in
1970 to 28.5 in 95. Milk from 3.6 in 55 to 4.8 in 95. Cheese from 6.8 in1939
to 16.1 in 95. etc. (Official statistics from the Swedish dairy
association).
 
>7. I remember seing that casein is similar to another protein
>in another food that people are sensitive to, but can't remember
>which one. Is that gluten? Anybody out there remembers this?
 
Q7: The casomorphin peptide from cows milk is very similar to that from
gliadin, but the proteins are different.
 
All the best                                    TINY
 
 
K. Reichelt
Pediatric Research Institute
N-0027 Oslo, Norway
Tel: +47 22 86 90 45
Fax: +47 22 86 91 17
E-mail: [log in to unmask]