Cows, Cattle Breeds Milk Proteins & Enjoying Milk on Breakfast Cereals, after a Sixteen Year Gap

Since I was young I had always had milk on my breakfast cereals and was partial to real dairy ice-cream, hot chocolate made with milk as well as strong cheeses such as Stilton and Shropshire Blue. 

Then some sixteen years ago I started getting bouts of severe upset stomach, we thought at the time this was due to a recent visit to India and so after a discussion with my G.P. I was treated for Giardia, as one of the side effects of Giardia can be as intolerance to dairy products and I had noticed a connection between being ill and eating cheese or ice cream.  The majority of my symptoms got a lot better immediately but still some sensitivity remained.

It was therefore suggested that I was tested for lactose intolerance at the local hospital. The day came and the test involved drinking a lactose solution and then breathing into a machine that measured expelled hydrogen; as it has been found that people with a lactose intolerance on eating lactose expired hydrogen. I fully expected the needle to jump but nothing happened. Afterwards it was explained to me that it must be the milk protein I was having problems with rather than lactose.  

I was still having a grumbling problem and it was suggested I consulted a dietitian who explained that milk and whey found its way in to many products such as bread and margarines so after I removed even the slightest element of milk from my diet I found I was completely back to normal. Unless I accidently ate a product containing milk, I even joked I could be used as an expert witness to detect milk in cakes and biscuits.

One day I was eating in an Italian restaurant with a colleague, who I discovered had a similar problem.  He explained to me that different animals produced different milk proteins and that I would not find any problems from eating Buffalo mozzarella cheese.  I enjoyed my pizza and to my surprise he was right, I next tried goats and sheep’s milk feta cheese all produced no ill effects but was still affected by cow’s milk.

So now sixteen years later with a taste for black tea and coffee, high cocoa fat dark chocolate and goat’s cheese has come the latest twist in the story. For a while I had been wondering whether different breeds of cattle produced different milk proteins. So I decided to do a web search to check this out.  To my delight this was indeed the case and the story is even more fascinating.

There are two main types of cow’s milk protein know as A1 and A2, however a few thousand years ago there was only one type A2 then due to a genetic mutation cows started producing A1 protein as well.   So now most cattle herds in the UK are made up of cows which produce milk containing either both A1 and A2 protein or only A1 protein, with only a minority of cattle producing solely A2 protein.  However certain breeds of cattle in India, Africa and Guernsey cattle produce nearly all milk only containing only the A2 protein. In fact it is thought that 95% of Guernsey cattle and some 50% of Jersey cattle produce milk only containing the A2 protein.

What was even more pleasing to find out was that an Australian company had started selling a brand of milk which only contained the A2 protein. Via an arrangement with a British dairy company they have worked with a select group of British farmers to supply milk only containing the A2 protein to supermarkets in the UK and this was available in my own town, sold under the banner A2 Milk. www.a2milk.co.uk  

I decided to take things slowly at first drinking what amounted to less than 5cc of A2 milk. Over a few days I built this up with no adverse effects whatsoever culminating in a mug of hot chocolate.  The next day I enjoyed milk on my cereal the first in some sixteen years. My next idea is to make some yoghurt and to track down some ice cream and cheese made from milk containing only the A2 protein.  

Not only am I pleased that I can enjoy milk on cereals but I am also pleased that I can once again personally support the British dairy industry by consuming their products as dairy farmers have been suffering from low farm gate prices for their products down as low as 18p a litre.

One farmer supplying milk to the A2 milk company in May 2026 was being paid 30p a litre. 

So if you find, if you have a problem digesting cow’s milk you may find that A2 milk is the answer to your problems. However; if you are allergic to milk you must check with a doctor first before trying any milk products.

One a wider scale many people in Asia are intolerant to A1 milk protein so this potentially offers new markets for milk which can be produced free of the A1 protein.  

A recent Radio 4 You and Yours program looked at the issue of A1 and A2 milk protein; you can listen to the program by clicking HERE and then on  A2Milk. 

To find a supplier of A2 Milk click here: https://www.a2milk.co.uk/find/

Farmers wishing to test their cows to identify the cows which only produce A2 protein should contact a DNA testing laboratory.  One company that carries out this service is Weathersby’s Laboratory www.weatherbys.co.uk/laboratory-services/bovine-services  

DNA Laboratory
Weatherbys Ireland Laboratory
c/o The Irish Equine Centre
Johnstown
Naas
Co Kildare
Republic of Ireland
00353 4587 5521

dnalab@weatherbys.ie

The test is noninvasive and simply involves sending a sample of  c15 cow's hairs with their roots to the laboratory and costs around £8.00p per sample. Samples must be clearly labeled to identify the cows it's from and that the test is for A1 A2 DNA testing.  (Cost correct in June 2016)

More information on some of the science of the genetics of cow's and A1 and A2  Beta-Casein in milk see http://www.nodpa.com/a1_a2.pdf

Let's hope that greater awareness of the difficulties that some people have digesting A1 milk protein and the solution will go someway in restoring the fortunes of the British dairy and farming industry and may even open up new markets.  

You may also find my post: Vertically Integrated Milk - How some Yorkshire Diary Farmers are Increasing the Profit Margins of interest.