Casomorphins—breakdown products of casein, a milk protein, with opiate-like activity—may help explain why autism symptoms sometimes improve with a dairy-free diet.
Autism and Casein from Cow’s Milk
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Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
In my last video series on autism and diet, I talked about the benefits of broccoli sprouts. But the most commonly studied nutritional and dietary interventions for autism and diet involve variations of gluten-free and casein-free diets. Where did that even come from?
In the 80s, a team of respected Norwegian researchers reported a peculiar finding. They were comparing the urine of autistic children to the urine of normal children, in hope of teasing out any differences that could lead to hints as to what the cause is. This is a urine profile, which shows spikes for each of the various components. This is what normal urine comes out like, with the peptides region pretty quiet. (Peptides are like small pieces of proteins, and normally, we shouldn’t be peeing out much protein). But this is the urine profile from a child with autism, with all sorts of peptide spikes. Here’s another one.
This raised the question: “Can the Pathophysiology [the dysfunction] of Autism be Explained by the Nature of the[se] Discovered Urine Peptides?” First, they had to answer: “Where do the peptides come from?” They didn’t know. But, there was a clue: most of the parents of autistic kids reported that they got worse when they were exposed to cow’s milk. Huh? Well, there are these two proteins: gluten, a protein in wheat, and casein, a protein in milk, that break down not only into peptides, but exorphins.
Exorphins are “opioid peptides derived from food proteins”—”called exorphins…because of their exogenous origin [meaning from outside of the body] and morphine-like activity,” as opposed to endorphins, which are morphine-like compounds we produce inside our bodies. So, maybe some of these food peptides represent like “A New Class of Hormones?”
So, is that what the kids were peeing out? Apparently so, as some of those peptides had opioid activity. Okay. So, maybe they were onto something.
There are “[t]wo types of opioids [that] have been found in milk.” One is the “casomorphins in view of their morphine-like activity and their origin.” They are breakdown products, fragments of the milk protein casein. What’s the other one? The other opioid is the actual opiate: morphine. There appears to be actual morphine in milk. This can’t just be a coincidence. “It is [hard] to believe that these, or other types of opioids found in the milk, are devoid of physiological or nutritional significance.” And, think about it; it makes total sense. “Morphine and the opioid peptides may…have an important role in the mother-infant bond…” We want infants to be “’addicted’ to their own mother’s milk.” Okay. But, what about the milk of another species?
“Human [breast] milk is markedly different from that of other…species [in that it] has the lowest” casein content, and human casein is a markedly different protein in terms of its sequence of amino acid building blocks.
Human milk has 15 times less casein than bovine milk, and differs sequence-wise by about half, and so breaks down into peptides differently. Twenty-one bioactive peptides have been recovered from cow casein, including multiple casomorphins, compared to only five active peptides identified in human milk, and only one casomorphin. And, the casomorphins “from bovine casein are more potent.” This is a graph of opioid activity, where lower means more potent. Here’s the potency of straight morphine. And, here’s bovine casomorphin—significantly more potent than the weak opioid peptide from gluten, which is more comparable to the human casomorphin from breast milk.
And indeed, when you expose human nerve tissue to bovine casomorphin, it acts more like morphine than the casomorphin from human breast milk in terms of epigenetic changes—changes in gene expression, not only providing “a molecular rationale for recommending breastfeeding” over cows’ milk formula, but also providing a possible explanation why “[c]asein-free…diets have been reported to mitigate some of the…[symptoms of] autism.”
“What is good for the goose may be good for the gander, but what is good for the cow could be harmful to the human.”
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Nielsen SD, Beverly RL, Qu Y, Dallas DC. Milk bioactive peptide database: A comprehensive database of milk protein-derived bioactive peptides and novel visualization. Food Chem. 2017 Oct 1;232:673-682.
- Trivedi MS, Shah JS, Al-Mughairy S, Hodgson NW, Simms B, Trooskens GA, Van Criekinge W, Deth RC. Food-derived opioid peptides inhibit cysteine uptake with redox and epigenetic consequences. J Nutr Biochem. 2014 Oct;25(10):1011-8.
- Trivedi MS, Hodgson NW, Walker SJ, Trooskens G, Nair V, Deth RC. Epigenetic effects of casein-derived opioid peptides in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2015 Dec 9;12:54.
- Reichelt KL, Knivsberg AM. Can the pathophysiology of autism be explained by the nature of the discovered urine peptides? Nutr Neurosci. 2003 Feb;6(1):19-28.
- Zioudrou C, Streaty RA, Klee WA. Opioid peptides derived from food proteins. The exorphins. J Biol Chem. 1979 Apr 10;254(7):2446-9.
- Morley JE. Food peptides. A new class of hormones? JAMA. 1982 May 7;247(17):2379-80.
- Reichelt KL, Tveiten D, Knivsberg AM, Brønstad G. Peptides' role in autism with emphasis on exorphins. Microb Ecol Health Dis. 2012 Aug 24;23.
- Brantl V, Teschemacher H. Opioids in milk. Trends in Pharmacological Science Volume 4, p193, 1983.
- Miller MJ, Witherly SA, Clark DA. Casein: a milk protein with diverse biologic consequences. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1990 Nov;195(2):143-59.
- Sathe N, Andrews JC, McPheeters ML, Warren. Nutritional and Dietary Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review. Pediatrics. 2017 Jun;139(6). pii: e20170346.
- Reichelt KL, Saelid G, Lindback T, Bøler JB. Childhood autism: a complex disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 1986 Nov;21(13):1279-90.
Motion graphics by Avocado Video
Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
In my last video series on autism and diet, I talked about the benefits of broccoli sprouts. But the most commonly studied nutritional and dietary interventions for autism and diet involve variations of gluten-free and casein-free diets. Where did that even come from?
In the 80s, a team of respected Norwegian researchers reported a peculiar finding. They were comparing the urine of autistic children to the urine of normal children, in hope of teasing out any differences that could lead to hints as to what the cause is. This is a urine profile, which shows spikes for each of the various components. This is what normal urine comes out like, with the peptides region pretty quiet. (Peptides are like small pieces of proteins, and normally, we shouldn’t be peeing out much protein). But this is the urine profile from a child with autism, with all sorts of peptide spikes. Here’s another one.
This raised the question: “Can the Pathophysiology [the dysfunction] of Autism be Explained by the Nature of the[se] Discovered Urine Peptides?” First, they had to answer: “Where do the peptides come from?” They didn’t know. But, there was a clue: most of the parents of autistic kids reported that they got worse when they were exposed to cow’s milk. Huh? Well, there are these two proteins: gluten, a protein in wheat, and casein, a protein in milk, that break down not only into peptides, but exorphins.
Exorphins are “opioid peptides derived from food proteins”—”called exorphins…because of their exogenous origin [meaning from outside of the body] and morphine-like activity,” as opposed to endorphins, which are morphine-like compounds we produce inside our bodies. So, maybe some of these food peptides represent like “A New Class of Hormones?”
So, is that what the kids were peeing out? Apparently so, as some of those peptides had opioid activity. Okay. So, maybe they were onto something.
There are “[t]wo types of opioids [that] have been found in milk.” One is the “casomorphins in view of their morphine-like activity and their origin.” They are breakdown products, fragments of the milk protein casein. What’s the other one? The other opioid is the actual opiate: morphine. There appears to be actual morphine in milk. This can’t just be a coincidence. “It is [hard] to believe that these, or other types of opioids found in the milk, are devoid of physiological or nutritional significance.” And, think about it; it makes total sense. “Morphine and the opioid peptides may…have an important role in the mother-infant bond…” We want infants to be “’addicted’ to their own mother’s milk.” Okay. But, what about the milk of another species?
“Human [breast] milk is markedly different from that of other…species [in that it] has the lowest” casein content, and human casein is a markedly different protein in terms of its sequence of amino acid building blocks.
Human milk has 15 times less casein than bovine milk, and differs sequence-wise by about half, and so breaks down into peptides differently. Twenty-one bioactive peptides have been recovered from cow casein, including multiple casomorphins, compared to only five active peptides identified in human milk, and only one casomorphin. And, the casomorphins “from bovine casein are more potent.” This is a graph of opioid activity, where lower means more potent. Here’s the potency of straight morphine. And, here’s bovine casomorphin—significantly more potent than the weak opioid peptide from gluten, which is more comparable to the human casomorphin from breast milk.
And indeed, when you expose human nerve tissue to bovine casomorphin, it acts more like morphine than the casomorphin from human breast milk in terms of epigenetic changes—changes in gene expression, not only providing “a molecular rationale for recommending breastfeeding” over cows’ milk formula, but also providing a possible explanation why “[c]asein-free…diets have been reported to mitigate some of the…[symptoms of] autism.”
“What is good for the goose may be good for the gander, but what is good for the cow could be harmful to the human.”
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Nielsen SD, Beverly RL, Qu Y, Dallas DC. Milk bioactive peptide database: A comprehensive database of milk protein-derived bioactive peptides and novel visualization. Food Chem. 2017 Oct 1;232:673-682.
- Trivedi MS, Shah JS, Al-Mughairy S, Hodgson NW, Simms B, Trooskens GA, Van Criekinge W, Deth RC. Food-derived opioid peptides inhibit cysteine uptake with redox and epigenetic consequences. J Nutr Biochem. 2014 Oct;25(10):1011-8.
- Trivedi MS, Hodgson NW, Walker SJ, Trooskens G, Nair V, Deth RC. Epigenetic effects of casein-derived opioid peptides in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2015 Dec 9;12:54.
- Reichelt KL, Knivsberg AM. Can the pathophysiology of autism be explained by the nature of the discovered urine peptides? Nutr Neurosci. 2003 Feb;6(1):19-28.
- Zioudrou C, Streaty RA, Klee WA. Opioid peptides derived from food proteins. The exorphins. J Biol Chem. 1979 Apr 10;254(7):2446-9.
- Morley JE. Food peptides. A new class of hormones? JAMA. 1982 May 7;247(17):2379-80.
- Reichelt KL, Tveiten D, Knivsberg AM, Brønstad G. Peptides' role in autism with emphasis on exorphins. Microb Ecol Health Dis. 2012 Aug 24;23.
- Brantl V, Teschemacher H. Opioids in milk. Trends in Pharmacological Science Volume 4, p193, 1983.
- Miller MJ, Witherly SA, Clark DA. Casein: a milk protein with diverse biologic consequences. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1990 Nov;195(2):143-59.
- Sathe N, Andrews JC, McPheeters ML, Warren. Nutritional and Dietary Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review. Pediatrics. 2017 Jun;139(6). pii: e20170346.
- Reichelt KL, Saelid G, Lindback T, Bøler JB. Childhood autism: a complex disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 1986 Nov;21(13):1279-90.
Motion graphics by Avocado Video
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Title
Autism and Casein from Cow’s Milk
LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Content URLDoctor's Note
This is the first in a six-video series on the role of gluten- and dairy-free diets in the treatment of autism, which also includes:
- Does A2 Milk Carry Less Autism Risk?
- Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diets for Autism Put to the Test
- Are Autism Diet Benefits Just a Placebo Effect?
- Double-Blind Clinical Trial of Diet for Autism
- Pros and Cons of Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diets for Autism
My previous series on autism explored the amazing story of broccoli sprouts put to the test for the treatment of autistic boys. See:
- Fever Benefits for Autism in a Food
- Fighting Autism Brain Inflammation with Food
- Best Foods for Autism
I will continue to produce videos on autism. Catch all of the latest here.
You may also be interested in these videos on milk and child and infant health:
- Why Do Vegan Women Have 5x Fewer Twins?
- Childhood Constipation and Cow’s Milk
- Treating Infant Colic by Changing Mom’s Diet
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