Cow’s Milk: Nutritional relevance beyond its Intolerance and Allergies

Godse C S, Paradkar P H, Loke V M, Udipi S A, Vaidya R A, Vaidya A D B

Godse C S, Paradkar P H, Loke V M, Udipi S A, Vaidya R A, Vaidya A D B

Keywords: Cow milk, Nutrition, Milk allergy, A1-β casein, milk intolerance, indigenous cows

Abstract

Since antiquity mankind has been nourished on milk, a rich source of good quality protein, lactose, fats, vitamins and minerals. However, the health benefits of milk vs. its probable adverse health effects are being debated. This has triggered a trend of completely excluding milk from diet. This is of concern, especially in India, where milk has been a key dietary component especially for children and only source of first class proteins for vegetarians. This article reviews current scientific literature on the effect of milk on health and disease. Original articles and review articles from high impact biomedical journals from PubMed, official documents released by the Govt. of India available from Google and diverse social media were extensively studied including Wikipedia articles and blogs from various sites. The prime issues; viz., milk allergy, lactose intolerance, adulterants and recently A1 milk, questioning the health benefits of milk are discussed and possible ways to overcome the problems are suggested.