Jennie Brand Miller,

According to research cited in the May '96 issue of Dr. Atkins' newsletter,
the allergy that many people have to milk comes not from lactose but from the
antibody reaction to its proteins.

With regards to CHD, Atkins cites a theory in the literature concerning
whether the the enzyme Xanthine oxidase (XO), a potential source of
free-radical activity that's found in high quantity in homogenized cow's
milk, causes heart attacks and heart related chest pain.

Homogenization makes XO invulnerable to digestive enzymes that otherwise
would destroy it.  Once ingested, XO is carried by the lymph system to the
arteries, where, according to the oxidation theory of disease, it damages
fatty acids, resulting in atherosclerotic lesions that eventually lead to
heart attacks.  In one comparative measurement, people who had a heart attack
possessed higher levels of the XO antibody than did people who had not had a
heart attack (Atherosclerosis, vol 77, pp 251-6, 1989).

For someone who has been a milk drinker, Atkins suggests prescription doses
of folic acid (10-40 mg) and the bioflavonoids like quercetin.  The nutrients
have been shown in several studies to inhibit XO (Jour of Nutr Sci and
Vitaminology, vol 32, pp 635-42, 1986;  Jour of Biological Chemistry, vol
261, pp 11,242-6, 1986).

Atkins concludes that milk consumption, particularly pasteurized and
homogenized, should not be a part of any human's diet after infancy.

Ed Campbell, DC,CSCS