How goat milk can transform your patients and your practice

By Joe Stout, MS, Clinical Nutrition Scientist

Whether it’s a mother inquiring if goat milk will cause an allergic reaction in her sensitive child, a grandmother with digestion difficulties wondering if goat-milk products could help her unhappy intestinal tract, a middle-aged man consuming an overtly acidic diet deciding to alkalize with goat milk, chances are, as chiropractors, the subject of goat milk and goat-milk-products has surfaced in your practice.

Even if these scenarios don’t sound familiar to you, it’s important to be on the cutting edge regarding new research on this topic as one day soon the topic may surface in your practice.

There are several aspects of goat milk that testify to its healing powers — it biologically resembles human milk and has a virtual absence of allergy-inducing substances. Goat milk also digests quickly, absorbs completely, and is extremely alkaline in nature. Goat-milk products can be a powerful tool in positively reshaping your patient’s heath, while establishing financial strength for your practice.

Is there a resemblance?

To put it bluntly, goat milk is similar to human milk and cow milk is not. A recent study concluded that “goat milk has a very different profile of the nonprotein nitrogen fraction to cow milk, with several constituents, such as nucleotides (DNA structure), having concentrations approaching those in human breast milk.”²

The DNA structures of goat milk and human milk are similar on levels not found in cow milk DNA. Another study found that “the oligosaccharide (prebiotic) profile of goat milk is most similar to that of human milk.”³

The protein structure of goat milk also resembles human milk. Beta-casein is the major casein protein in goat and human milk, and is not found in similar levels in cow milk.⁴ Also, the peptide mappings of these alpha-lactoalbumins and beta-lactoglobulins, in goat and human milk, are completely different from those of cow milk.⁴

Another publication found that the micelle structures of the casein between human and goat milk had a prevalence of beta casein unmatched in cow milk.¹³ Furthermore, in regards to the important mineral selenium, “...milk samples from women and goats were found to contain significantly higher concentrations of selenium than samples from cows.”⁵

Bye-bye milk allergies

Because goat milk and human milk share such similarities, the body’s ability to recognize and accept this food will be far more efficient and complete. Nowhere is this more important than on the subject of allergies. Cow milk allergy (CMA) is the number one allergy of children, affecting anywhere from 500,000 to 1.5 million children per year.⁶

CMA is common because more than 20 allergens are found in cow milk.⁴ These allergen proteins are not recognized by the immune system and are targeted in ways that cause a variety of uncomfortable and dangerous symptoms. CMA symptoms you should look for are hives, wheezing, vomiting, abdominal cramping, diarrhea, skin rash, runny nose, watery eyes, colic in infants, and even anaphylactic shock.

Those suffering from CMA can turn to goat milk because of the lower allergic potential.⁷ An animal model study found that “goat milk, when used as the first source of protein after a breastfeeding period, is less allergenic than cow milk.”⁸ Alpha S1-casein is a main allergen in cow milk and is the primary instigator for many (if not all) of the symptoms listed above.

Goat milk and human milk lack high levels of Alpha S1-casein. It may be tempting to suggest soy milk when dealing with CMA patients, but it is not a safe alternative since those with CMA have nearly a 50 percent chance of also being allergic to soy milk.¹⁰

Easier on the inside

The human digestive tract handles goat milk in a superior manner to cow milk.¹ When the molecular makeup of these two milks are compared, a significant difference in the amount of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) and medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) arises.

The levels of SCFA and MCFA in goat milk are much higher than cow milk. The significance of this is that those SCFA and MCFA have a larger surface-to-volume ratio and digestion and absorption happens in a more-complete manner when compared to the long chain fatty acids (LCFA) prevalent in cow milk.¹¹

In fact, research has shown that “levels of the metabolically valuable short and medium chain fatty acids are significantly higher in...goat (milk) than in cow milk.”¹² These increased levels of easy-to-digest SCFA and MCFA are broken down quickly and easily when contrasted with the LCFA abundant in cow milk.

Goat milk also contains easier-to-digest proteins. A study investigating the effect of two protein digesting enzymes (pepsin/trypsin) found in the stomach, revealed that while more than 96 percent of available goat-milk protein was digested completely by these enzymes, cow milk proteins had less than a 73 percent digestion rate.¹³

Goat milk contains far more digestion friendly oligosaccharides (prebiotics)¹⁴ as well as an abundance of the energy substrate Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) that far surpasses bovine milk.¹⁵ In case you don’t remember from biochemistry class, ATP is the energy source for every

cellular reaction in the body.

Need a buffer?

Acidic diets are common in the United States and often lead to health problems.16 Certain foods are acidic in nature and others are alkaline. Goat-milk-products are one of the most alkaline foods available.

Recent research examined the buffering capacities (ability to reduce acid) of goat, cow, and soy milk, as well as antacid drugs. The hypothesis would be that antacid drugs had the best buffering capacity because this is their one function as a drug.

On the contrary, the study found goat milk to have the highest buffering capacity, proving yet again its incredible alkalinity through its acid reduction potential.¹ Not surprisingly, goat milk comes out on top.

Happy patients, happy practice

Clearly goat-milk products are powerful foods. It makes sense that you would add them to your “wellness tool chest.” There are multiple benefits of having goat-milk products available for your patients.

First, improving the health of your patients is your number one goal and doing so with these products will give you the satisfaction of a job well done. Also, your patients, now feeling at the top of their game, will be eager to “spread the word” about their new found health and your practice will grow as a result.

Finally, goat-milk products have a valuable profit margin, which will help keep your practice healthy, so you can focus on keeping your patients healthy. Goat-milk products make sense for both your patients and your practice.

Joe Stout has an M.S. in Clinical Human Nutrition, has written for various magazines, and is head of the research department for Mt. Capra Products Inc. He can be reached at 800-574-1961 or through www.mtcapra.com.

References

¹ Young W. Park.“Relative Buffering Capacity of Goat Milk, Cow Milk, Soy-Based Infant Formulas, and Commercial Nonprescription Antacid Drugs”J Dairy Sci  74: 3326-3333.

² Prosser CG, Mclaren RD, Frost D, Agnew M, Lowry DJ. “Composition of the non-protein nitrogen fraction of goat whole milk powder and goat milk-based infant and follow-on formulae.” Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2008 Mar;59(2):123-33.

³ Daddaoua, Abdelali, Puerta, Victor, Requena, Pilar, Martinez-Ferez, Antonio, Guadix, Emilia, Sanchez de Medina, Fermin, Zarzuelo, Antonio, Suarez, Maria Dolores, Boza, Julio Jose, Martinez-Augustin, Olga. “Goat Milk Oligosaccharides Are Anti-Inflammatory in Rats with Hapten-Induced Colitis” J. Nutr. 2006 136: 672-676

⁴ E.I. El-Agamy. “The challenge of cow milk protein allergy” Small Ruminant Research March 2007 (Vol. 68, Issue 1, Pages 64-72, DOI: 10.1016/j.smallrumres.2006.09.016)

⁵ Debski, Bogdan, Picciano, M. F., Milner, John A. “Selenium Content and Distribution of Human, Cow and Goat Milk” J. Nutr. 1987 117: 1091-1097

⁶ Lara-Villoslada, Federico; Olivares, Mónica; Jiménez, Jesús; Boza, Julio; Xaus, Jordi. “Goat Milk is Less Immunogenic than Cow Milk in a Murine Model of Atopy” Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition October 2004 - Volume 39 - Issue 4 - pp 354-360

⁷ Freund G. “Use of goat milk for infant feeding: experimental work at Creteil (France).” Proceeding of the meeting Interets nutritionnel et dietetique du lait de chevre. Niort, France: INRA, 1996:119–21.

⁸ Federico Lara-Villoslada, Mónica Olivares, Jesús Jiménez, Julio Boza, and Jordi Xaus. “Goat Milk is Less Immunogenic than Cow Milk in a Murine Model of Atopy” Department of Immunology and Animal Sciences, Puleva Biotech SA, Granada, Spain.

⁹ Patrizia Restani. “Goat Milk Allerginicity” Department of Pharmacological Sciences, State University of Milan, Milan, Italy.

¹⁰ Hill, D.J., Heine, R.G., Cameron, D.J.S., Francis, D.E., Bines, J.E. “The natural history of intolerance to soy and extensively hydrolyzed formula in infants with multiple food protein intolerance” (MFPI). J. Pediatr. 135, 118–121.

¹¹ Razafindrakoto O, Ravelomanana N, Rasolofo A, Rakotoarimanana RD, Gourgue P, Coquin P, Briend A. “Goat’s milk as a substitute for cow’s milk in undernourished children: a randomized double-blind clinical trial.” Pediatrics. 1994 Jul;94(1):65-9.

¹² Y.W. Park, M. Juárez, M. Ramos, G.F.W. Haenlein “Physico-chemical characteristics of goat and sheep milk” Small Ruminant Research March 2007 (Vol. 68, Issue 1, Pages 88-113)

¹³ Jasin?ska B. “The comparison of pepsin and trypsin action on goat, cow, mare and human caseins.” Rocz Akad Med Bialymst 1995;40(3):486-93.

¹⁴ Mart?nez-Ferez A, Rudolff S, Guadix A, et al. “Goat’s milk as a natural source of lactose-derived oligosaccharides: isolation by membrane technology.” Int Dairy J 2005;16(2):173–81.

¹⁵ Zulak, Ihor M., Patton, Stuart, Hammerstedt, R. H.“Adenosine Triphosphate in Milk” J. Dairy Sci. 1976 59: 1388-1391

¹⁶ Welch AA, Mulligan A, Bingham SA, Khaw KT. “Urine pH is an indicator of dietary acid-base load, fruit and vegetables and meat intakes: results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Norfolk population study.” Br J Nutr. 2008 Jun;99(6):1335-43.

¹⁷ Lara-Villoslada F, Debras E, Nieto A, Concha A, Gálvez J, López-Huertas E, Boza J, Obled C, Xaus J. “Oligosaccharides isolated from goat milk reduce intestinal inflammation in a rat model of dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis.” Clin Nutr. 2006 Jun;25(3):477-88.