Health Issues | A1 or A2, just milk. Don’t be fooled by “marketing gimmicks” unless advised by your doctor

Recently, many humble Indians have learned that their daily milk is not just whole milk, evaporated milk or double milk, but also A1 and A2. Many of us are trying to decipher this new dairy drama by using Google searches or social media. The story began on August 21, when the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) announced that food business operators (FBOs) should stop selling milk and dairy products as “A1” or “A2”.

Health experts and nutritionists welcomed the move as a step toward clearer labeling and better health. But just five days later, on August 26, the FSSAI made a surprise U-turn and withdrew the recommendation.

Venugopal Badaravada, a member of the governing body of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, reportedly opposed the FSSAI directive. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he urged the Food Authority to withdraw the directive and set up a high-level committee to further examine the issue.

The initial move didn't generate as much buzz as the subsequent reversal. This move triggered discussions on social media platforms and attracted attention from the medical community. Some health experts have dismissed the idea of ​​A2 milk, dismissing it as nothing more than a marketing ploy.

Case in point: Cyriac Abby Philips, a popular hepatologist, posted on social media platform , not a single source.

“It's just damn milk. Every A2 milk scam seller is crazy that their scam business is going out of business. You can only fool people for a limited time,” he added.

The premise that this is a marketing stunt is strong, though. A2 milk is said to be superior and better for health and the market price hovers around Rs 90-99 per liter. Regular milk powder and whole milk containing A1 and A2 proteins are priced around Rs 56 and Rs 68 respectively.

At News18, we tried to understand the differences between the two milks from nearly a dozen doctors of various specialties, including endocrinologists, gastroenterologists, general practitioners, paediatricians, hepatologists and nutritionists scientist.

The answers given by several doctors were too honest and cruel. A doctor with more than 20 years of experience in pediatric critical care medicine at a top private hospital in NCR responded to the text message and said: “Never heard of A1 or A2. So far I only know that they are bogies of AC trains.

None of the experts we interviewed agreed that buying A2 offers any significant health benefits over regular milk, unless the person is lactose intolerant or has a clinical recommendation to choose a specialty milk. They also highlighted the key issue that there is no reliable way to verify that milk labeled A2 is genuine and different from regular milk, as it can easily be sold at a higher price to deceive consumers.

Let’s understand the basic science between A1 and A2 milk varieties

The story begins with “beta casein” – it is the main protein in milk, accounting for almost 80% of milk protein.

Now, there are many types of casein found in milk. Beta-casein is the second most common casein and comes in more than a dozen different forms. The two most popular are A1 beta-casein and A2 beta-casein. .

Regular milk contains both A1 and A2 beta-casein, while A2 milk contains only A2 beta-casein.

It is now hypothesized that high intakes of A1 beta casein may increase the risk of type 1 diabetes, ischemic heart disease, sudden infant death syndrome, schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorders. Weak and small studies (mostly anecdotal) suggest that A1 beta-casein may be associated with digestive discomfort in some individuals.

For example: A 2014 study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The findings suggest differences in gastrointestinal reactions in some adults who consume the A1 or A2 types.

“There was also a significant positive association between abdominal pain and stool consistency on the A1 diet, but not on the A2 diet.”

These results were obtained from 41 women and men screened in an 8-week randomized crossover study. The study concluded that its results “need to be confirmed in larger studies in participants who are intolerant to regular A1 beta-casein milk.”

So far, this has not been confirmed in subsequent robust studies. There are no large-scale studies proving that the peptides released by A1 milk during digestion cause various health problems.

expert verdict

Popular endocrinologist Dr. Anoop Misra explains, “There is no difference (between the two milks) except for abdominal tolerance, otherwise”.

He shared a briefing slide that cleared up almost all doubts. “The difference between A2 and A1 lies in the chemical composition of the individual nucleotides,” he said.

It adds that “the nutritional composition of A2 is similar to A1” and that “A2 has shown beneficial effects in terms of gastrointestinal adverse effects compared with A1 milk. No positive effects of A2 milk on cardiovascular markers were found.

Likewise, every other doctor I've spoken to refuses to accept the concept of better or worse milk.

Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan, a gastroenterologist and former president of the Indian Medical Association, Cochin, puts the entire issue together while sharing his personal experience with both milks.

“I've been using both types of milk for over ten years and find absolutely no difference.”

He recalled that there was a long-standing debate about the type of protein in the milk produced by different dairy cow breeds, known as A1 and A2 milk.

“While some assert that one is better than the other, there is insufficient scientific evidence to support these claims,” ​​he said, adding that the difference is just one amino acid in the entire protein – and is unlikely to cause any difference after digestion.

“Remember, it’s easy to find a correlation between two variables in any study. For example, you might find that people wearing blue T-shirts score higher on a test than people wearing white T-shirts. This doesn’t mean Doesn't mean points are really determined by jersey color.

“Similarly in healthcare, there are a lot of correlation-based claims and false beliefs. At this point, there is no need to switch from one milk to another based solely on A1 and A2.

Not only for adults, but also for children, there isn't any significant difference between A1 or A2 milk.

Dr Dinesh Raj, a pediatrician at Delhi's Holy Family Hospital, told News18 that while studies have proven that A2 milk may be slightly better (easier to digest) for those who have difficulty tolerating cow's milk, there is very little data on long-term adverse consequences.

Raj echoed similar sentiments expressed by other experts. “Interestingly, most studies comparing the two milks have had very few subjects, usually less than 50 subjects. Furthermore, there are no studies in India to substantiate the claimed health benefits,” he said.

Another interesting finding, he says, is that despite all the talk in the marketing world, there have been virtually no new scientific papers published in high-quality journals in recent years.

He raised an important issue while adding that manufacturers have started arguing that marketing one type of milk over another at an unreasonable price makes it nothing more than a marketing gimmick.

“Additionally, testing these milks is not easy and the type of equipment used can only be used in large settings. So, who knows what milk you are drinking?

From the time we are born, we have known that milk is a wholesome food rich in many nutrients, including proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, lipids and vitamins. While A2 milk may be slightly easier to digest for sensitive individuals, most other claimed benefits are not supported by any strong evidence.

In short, if you are not lactose intolerant or allergic to dairy, drinking a glass of regular milk every day will be fine!