Pinta you CAN drink with a milk allergy

MILLIONS of Britons who appear to be allergic to lactose in dairy products could return to milk, say experts.

A study supported by British scientists found the reaction to cow’s milk may actually be triggered by a protein instead.

And a select group of UK dairy herds is already producing milk that does not contain the suspect protein, known as A1.

The alternative’s apparently-benign protein, A2, does not cause the same symptoms. Fifteen farms in Shropshire, Cheshire and North Wales are producing A2 milk that is free of the A1 protein and is available in UK supermarkets. As many as one in five people report stomach problems associated with milk and dairy products assumed to be caused by lactose intolerance. The figure is as high as 60 per cent in the Far East.

The trial on 600 people was carried out in China with findings published in the UKbased Nutrition Journal today. Dr Anthony Hobson, clinical director of London’s Functional Gut Clinic, said: ‘Patients often come to us convinced that their digestive troubles are due to lactose intolerance... When we then test them for the condition and it comes back negative, they are lost as to what else the problem could be – but this could explain it.’

The trial showed the impact of drinking 300ml of milk on gastrointestinal symptoms associated with milk intolerance. Participants who drank A1 protein-free milk (A2 Milk) showed improvements compared to drinking conventional milk. The a2 Milk Company launched in Australia in 2000. A UK subsidiary now works with 15 British farms to select A2 cows producing fresh a2 Milk. The product is sold in some branches of Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Waitrose as well as independent stores, Ocado and AmazonFresh. But it costs £1.35 for a 1-litre carton compared to 75p for a 1.13-litre carton of standard cow’s milk. The study by the Fudan University in Shanghai and Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, was funded by The a2 Milk Company but academics say it was ‘critically robust’.