Say NO WAY! to WHEY! (diabetes and MS?)

Robert Cohen, author of MILK A-Z

After fat and casein are removed from milk, dairy processors
are left with whey protein. Whey is composed of bovine blood
proteins. Serum albumen. Lactalbumen. Dead white blood
cells. Hormonal residues including estrogen and
progesterone.

The body's reaction to a foreign protein is to destroy that
antigen-like invader with an antibody. For those individuals
unfortunate enough to possess a genetic pre-disposition to
such an event, the antibody then turns upon one's own cells.
That is what is known as an auto-immune response.

In the case of diabetes and Multiple Sclerosis (MS), the
body's response to whey proteins is to attack the outer
membrane protecting nerve cells, or the myelin sheath.

It has long been established that early exposure to bovine
proteins is a trigger for insulin dependent diabetes
mellitus. Researchers have made that same milk consumption
connection to MS. The July 30, 1992 issue of the New England
Journal of Medicine first reported the diabetes autoimmune
response milk connection:

"Patients with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus produce
antibodies to cow milk proteins that participate in the
development of islet dysfunction... Taken as a whole, our
findings suggest that an active response in patients with
IDDM (to the bovine protein) is a feature of the auto-immune
response."

On December 14, 1996, The Lancet revealed:

"Cow's milk proteins are unique in one respect: in
industrialized countries they are the first foreign proteins
entering the infant gut, since most formulations for babies
are cow milk-based. The first pilot stage of our IDD
prevention study found that oral exposure to dairy milk
proteins in infancy resulted in both cellular and immune
response...this suggests the possible importance of the gut
immune system to the pathogenesis of IDD."

THE MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS/MILK CONNECTION

The April 1, 2001 issue of the Journal of Immunology
contained a study linking MS to milk consumption.

Michael Dosch, M.D., and his team of researchers determined
that multiple sclerosis and type I (juvenile) diabetes
mellitus are far more closely linked than previously
thought. Dosch attributes exposure to cow milk protein as a
risk factor in the development of both diseases for people
who are genetically susceptible. According to Dosch:

"We found that immunologically, type I diabetes and multiple
sclerosis are almost the same - in a test tube you can
barely tell the two diseases apart. We found that the
autoimmunity was not specific to the organ system affected
by the disease. Previously it was thought that in MS
autoimmunity would develop in the central nervous system,
and in diabetes it would only be found in the pancreas. We
found that both tissues are targeted in each disease."

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

Multiple sclerosis affects approximately 300,000 Americans.
Two-thirds of those diagnosed with MS are women. Most
researchers believe that MS is an autoimmune disease. Auto
means "self."

WHO DOES NOT GET MS?

It is interesting to note that Eskimos and Bantus (50
million individuals living in East Africa) rarely get MS.
Neither do those native North and South American Indian or
Asian populations who consume no cow's milk or dairy
products.

WHO GETS MS?

The British medical journal Lancet reported that dairy-rich
diets filled have been closely linked to the development of
MS. (The Lancet 1974;2:1061)

A study published in the journal Neuroepidemiology revealed
an association between eating dairy foods and an increased
prevalence of MS. (Neuroepidemiology 1992;11:304­12.)

MS researcher, Luther Lindner, M.D., a pathologist at Texas
A & M University College of Medicine, wrote:

"It might be prudent to limit the intake of milk and milk
products."

Women are targeted by dairy industry scare tactics that
offer misinformation regarding osteoporosis. Two-thirds of
MS victims are women. As milk and cheese consumption
increase along population lines, so too does an epidemic
number of MS cases. The numbers add up. The clues add up.
The science supports epidemiological studies. Got diabetes?
Got MS? The milk connection has been established.

Whey protein? Say no way!

Email This Page to Someone you care about!

Robert Cohen, author of: MILK A-Z
(201-871-5871)
Executive Director (notmilkman@notmilk.com)
Dairy Education Board
http://www.notmilk.com