Cow-milk has always been a part of the Indian diet. Its spiritual and nutritional values have been known to our ancestors since time immemorial. Our ancient Ayurvedic texts describe the Indian cow-milk as possessing a sweet taste, cooling in nature, highly nutritive, tonic for our vital organs, easily digestible, and whose consumption promotes immunity and longevity.

“Since a few decades, with the advent of technology, commercialization and adaptation to western methods, the modern Indians and our governments have resorted to artificial insemination and cross-breeding with exotic (foreign) breeds.

The resultant ill-effects are quite evident. The populace that depend upon commercial milk-production for their daily consumption of milk, are prone to develop milk intolerance and succumb to various illnesses, hitherto unknown.“

The matter was conclusively researched by various scientists and researchers, through a series of research activities in the West, during the late eighties.

• Originally cows all over the world produced milk containing the A2 type of beta-casein protein.
• All proteins are long chains of amino acids and beta casein is a chain of 229 amino acids in length.
• Cows that produce this protein in their milk with a proline (a specific amino acid) at number 67 are called A2 cows, i.e the original breeds of cows.
• Around 5,000 years ago, a mutation occurred in this proline amino acid, converting it to histidine (a different type of amino acid).
• Cows that have this mutated beta casein protein are called A1 cows.
• Proline has a strong bond to a small protein called BCM7 and therefore stops the BCM7 from getting into milk. So essentially, no BCM7 is found in the urine, blood or gastro-intestinal tracts of the original A2 cows.
• Histidine, the mutated protein, does not have a strong bond to hold on to BCM7. Hence, on consumption of the A1 milk, this protein BCM7 gets into the gastro-intestinal tract of animals and humans.
• To explain further, in the case of the A2 beta-casein milk, the milk proteins are broken down into peptides, which in turn are broken down into amino acids. This type of milk is easily digestible. However, in the case of the A1 beta-casein milk, the peptides cannot be broken down into amino acids, and so, are indigestible.
• These A1 beta-casein protein fragments that enter the bloodstream through leakages in the guts cause serious ailments, including coronary heart disease, Type I diabetes, autism, etc.
• BCM7 has been shown to cause neurological impairment in animals and to the people exposed to it, especially bringing on autistic and schizophrenic changes.
• BCM7 also interferes with the immune response system. The injection of BCM7 in animal models has been shown to provoke type 1 diabetes.

It has been conclusively proved that consumption of the A1 beta-casein milk leads to milk intolerance together with an additional range of auto-immune diseases and hence, it has been called ‘The Devil in the Milk’.

Scientist Dr. Corran McLachlan has conclusively studied the A2 protein and has identified the correlation between the consumption of milk containing high levels of A2 protein and the intact health of consumers of A2 variety of cow milk.

Upon realizing the importance of promoting the A2 milk globally, Dr Corran McLachlan and Howard Patterson, founded the A2 Milk Company in New Zealand in the year 2000, through which the A2 variant of milk was trademarked and sold.

In his book titled ‘‘Devil in the Milk: Illness, Health, and the Politics of A1 and A2 Milk”, author Keith Woodford has explained the risks involved in drinking the A1 milk of the American, Australian, New Zealand and European cows (excluding the French cows). The book presents research showing a direct correlation between a population’s exposure to A1 cow’s milk and the incidence of autoimmune disease, heart disease, type 1 diabetes, autism, and schizophrenia.

Interestingly, Dr. Woodford further explains that it is fairly easy to switch a herd to become a complete A2 herd. He states – no genetic engineering is needed, just one simple test of the beta-casein and it can be done via breeding with A2 bulls and with the selective picking of A1 cows. He goes on to state that when this practice becomes widespread we shall have a truly safe and healthy milk supply.

On our Indian front, a study was conducted by the Karnal-based National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR). The NBAGR selected 5 main species of the humped cows Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Tharparkar, Gir and Rathi. These specimens were seen to contain A2 casa-beta proteins of 100 %, as against the 94% content of the other Indian breeds. The exotic Jerseys and the Holstein Friesian showed only 60% content of the A2 casa-beta proteins.

To conclude, the A2 milk produced by the humped Indian cow – the ‘Desi’ cow – is nature’s perfect food, with a multitude of useful nutrients including carbohydrates, proteins and micronutrients of high quality that helps improve the immune resistance.

In contrast, the A1 milk produced by the hump-less western cow has toxic content and should be excluded from consumption.

Having recognised our worthy Indian breed of cows, isn’t it our moral responsibility to participate in the breeding and nurturing of our pure ‘desi’ breeds?

Surabhivana continues to shelter, breed and nurture ‘Desi’ cows that produce the A2 milk, under the able guidance of our Poojya Guruji and with active support from volunteers and generous donors.