The evidence in favour of A2 milk seems to be pretty thin on the ground and highly circumstantial -  and , according to online reports, may well be a commercial  scam:-
 
http://tinyurl.com/343vss
 
Text bfollows below:-
 
A2 Milk: Scientific Breakthrough or Scam?or Pull the Udder One
Ralph Ofcarcik, Ph.D.Director of Nutrition Services

The alternative title above (“Pull the Udder One”) was the caption capping a featured article in the May 20, 2003 edition of the London Times. Written by veteran health writer Simon Crompton, the report focused on A2 Milk, a fad currently sweeping New Zealand and Australia, and soon to be introduced in the United States and Great Britain. 
 





The company promoting A2 milk claims that the protein from milk that most of us drink (i.e. from Holstein and Friesian cows) causes an adverse autoimmune response in the gut putting us at risk for diabetes, heart disease, and autism. They further claim that milk from Guernsey and Jersey cows is harmless. Most scientists from the U.S. and U.K. are understandably skeptical, particularly since New Zealand’s A2 Corporation is leading the charge. However, as more reputable, peer-reviewed journals continue to publish research supportive of A2 health claims, at least a few scientists are beginning to rethink a few cherished notions.
The basis for the claims stems from the variance in structure of unique protein fractions found in different milk varieties. A type of protein from Holstein milk, called A1 beta casein, is different in structure and (claimed) physiological potential from A2 beta casein, found in traditionally bred cows (like Guernseys), sheep, and goats. And, for the past decade, Bob Elliot (a former professor at the University of Auckland) has been publishing the results of rodent research supportive of A2’s passive proteins. According to Professor Bob, mice fed A1 milk developed high levels of diabetes whereas those who consumed A2 milk did not – music to the ears of A2 marketers. A2 proponents also like to point to the strong, worldwide link of A1 milk consumption to disease, with only weaker health threats associated with A2. (Note: Population research never establishes cause and effect, only correlation. Suggesting causal relationships exist via epidemiological associations when the biological effect of the purported demonic or angelic nutrient has not been established is, at best, spurious.)
From the non-commercial sector, Professor Paolo Pozzilli (St. Bartholomew’s Hospital – London, U.K.) collaborated with Bob Elliot in an attempt to demonstrate Professor Bob’s earlier findings on diabetes in mice. It bombed. No differences were observed between A1 or A2 milk in their ability to induce diabetes in rodents. According to Pozzilli, “Cows milk is one of the environmental factors involved in triggering the autoimmune response that can cause type 1 diabetes in susceptible individuals. It may not be the most relevant one, but it is certainly the most commonly encountered. However, I would not consider A2 cow’s milk to be less antigenic (i.e. capable of triggering an immune response) than A1.”
The founder of the A2 Corporation is Dr. Corrie McLachlan, a chemistry maverick and rabble rouser spearheading the A2 movement, financing questionable A2 Corporation backed research, and instigating knock-down legal brawls with his unfriendly competitor, Fonterra, New Zealand’s main dairy company. Last year, for instance, McLachlan took Fonterra to court for selling (Holstein) milk without health warnings. (He claims they have suppressed evidence about A1’s ability to aggravate neurological disorders such as autism). 
So, what’s the bottom line? Answer: There is no bottom line - yet. As the A1/A2 debate flourishes between parties with vested interests, objectivity, as we might expect, is not prevailing. Even A2 Corporation grant recipient Prof. Julie Campbell (Director of the Centre for Research in Vascular Biology at the University of Queensland, Australia) admits it is unfortunate that commercial entities are at the forefront of the debate on such an important health issue. But since it is speculated that a large U.S. company will soon be marketing A2 milk and milk products, should American milk drinkers spend $4-$5 per gallon on a product whose disputed “proven” benefits were established only by one company, the marketer, expected to gross over 2 billion dollars this year in New Zealand and Australia alone? I think not. Is it a scam? Can’t say, although it has all the earmarks – not unlike coral calcium, garlic, sea silver, Tahitian noni, etc. The best advice is to be patient, Pilgrim, we’ll know soon enough. 
 
The link to the original London Times article is shown here:-
 
http://tinyurl.com/345qyq
 
Geoff



> Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 16:00:00 -0400> From: [log in to unmask]> Subject: PALEOFOOD Digest - 2 Oct 2007 to 4 Oct 2007 (#2007-276)> To: [log in to unmask]> > There are 2 messages totalling 259 lines in this issue.> > Topics of the day:> > 1. A1 and A2 milk (2)> > ------=-=-=-=-=-=-=- IMPORTANT NOTICE -=-=-=-=-=-=--------> Make sure you have a subject line that reflects your topic> Do not have a subject that says Re: PALEOFOOD Digest - ...> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------> > Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 05:08:12 -0400> From: Keith Thomas <[log in to unmask]>> Subject: A1 and A2 milk> > This appears to be quite important for those who=20> have some degree of intolerance to milk and for=20> those concerned to prevent type 1 diabetes.> > Here's the URL:> http://www.abc.net.au/rn/perspective/stories/2007/2050183.htm#transcript> > Keith> =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=> =3D> Is this just another beat-up about milk?> > NO. This is a serious book about serious issues.> > But it's also a book of hope and opportunity.> > It is a story about how there are two types of milk:> A1 and A2.> > Just as Food Standards Australia/ New Zealand=20> says on its website: milk is a safe component of=20> the diet for most people.> > But what about the rest of us.> > My book sets out how there is a problem with a=20> protein in what we call A1 milk. This protein is=20> linked to various disease conditions, including=20> Type 1 diabetes, that's the early on set form;=20> heart disease, and also many of the symptoms=20> of autism. And also milk intolerance.> > What I have done is bring together evidence from=20> more than 100 scientific papers, and in language=20> that non scientists can understand.> > I have also set out how the dairy industry, in=20> particular across the Tasman where I live, has=20> not disclosed everything they know.> > A long time ago all cows milk was A2. Just as=20> human milk is of the A2 type.> > But then a natural mutation occurred in some=20> European cattle. They started producing a slightly=20> different protein called A1 beta-casein. When=20> digested, this can form a fragment called=20> beta-casomorphin7.> > I call this fragment the 'milk devil'. There's=20> absolutely no doubt that it is a strong narcotic.> > Fortunately, for most of us the milk devil is excreted=20> out the back end. But for some people, including=20> young babies and anyone with a permeable stomach=20> or intestine, it can get through into the blood. And=20> then it can cause mayhem.> > There is lots of evidence.> > To start with, countries with high intake of A1 beta casein=20> are the same countries with high levels of Type 1 diabetes,> That includes Australia, New Zealand, USA, and Britain.=20> But Iceland, where the cows are mainly A2, has much=20> lower diabetes. And so does the Island of Guernsey, where=20> the cattle are nearly all A2. The Masai people of Kenya=20> have no Type 1 diabetes despite drinking huge quantities=20> of milk. But it is all A2. And in southern Europe, where=20> intake of A1 beta-casein is quite moderate the incidence=20> of Type 1 diabetes is much lower than in northern Europe,=20> except of course, for the low A1 consuming countries=20> such as Iceland and the Island of Guersney.> > And it is the same story for heart disease.> > Statistically, the relationships are incredibly strong. The=20> probabilty of it being by chance is remote.> > There is also evidence from animals.> > Here in Australia, Professor Julie Campbell from=20> Queensland University led a team of scientists that=20> fed A1 to some rabbits and A2 to other rabbits. The=20> rabbits fed A1 developed arterial plaque. But the=20> rabbits fed A2 did not. She concluded that A1 beta-casein=20> causes heart disease.> > And when Bob Elliott at Auckland University fed A1=20> beta-casein to rodents he found that about half become=20> diabetic whereas those fed A2 did not.> > There are still some pieces of the jigsaw that need=20> more research. But the big picture seems very clear.=20> And the known biochemistry and pharmacology of=20> beta-casomorphin7 helps explain what we are seeing.> > So what is the solution? One solution is to breed the=20> A1 gene out of our cows. But it will take about 10=20> years to get a national herd that is pure A2. In=20> New Zealand we already have all our breeding bulls=20> typed as to whether they are A1 or A2. In Australia=20> the industry remains in denial.> > But you can buy A2 milk in the supermarket. It is=20> available in more than 1000 supermarkets and stores=20> across Australia. Just look around, you'll find it.> > Keith Woodford> Professor of Farm Management and Agribusiness> Lincoln University, New Zealand> > Publication title: Devil in the Milk> Author: Keith Woodford> Publisher: craig potton publishing> ISBN 978 1 877333 70=20=20> 
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