Cow’s Milk Casomorphin and Autism

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM · May 9, 2012 · Volume 8

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Opiate-like casomorphins liberated from the cow’s milk protein, casein, are accused of participating in the cause of such conditions as autism, crib death, type I diabetes, postpartum psychosis, circulatory disorders, and food allergies.

Discuss

Transcript

“Attacks of apnoea [where babies temporarily stop breathing] and muscular atony [where babies go limp] after exposure to cow’s milk may be also explained by extra-central activity of [casomorphin—meaning outside the brain].”

“Casomorphin, this opiate-like peptide produced by cow’s milk, “is also responsible for triggering pseudo-allergic reactions,” and other abnormalities seen in crib death. And moreover, similar to morphine, they delay the gastric emptying time, and so may increase the risk of infants refluxing stomach content back up into their lungs.

“Thus, it can be said that the so-called milk-apnoea effect may consist of several components: an opioid-induced respiratory depression, an opioid-induced [pseudo-allergic] histamine-related respiratory response, an influence on the…peripheral nervous system, a cow’s milk-induced reflux, [followed by] aspiration-induced apnoea.”

Sudden infant death syndrome is not the only condition linked to these morphine-like compounds. From another medical journal recently: “casomorphins liberated from the cow’s [milk protein] beta-casein are accused of participating in the cause of such conditions as: autism, [crib death], [type 1] diabetes, postpartum psychosis, circulatory disorders, [and] food allergies…”

In terms of autism risk, whereas the human casomorphins, which are the only ones found in the breast milk of women who don’t drink cow’s milk, are associated with “normal psychomotor development and muscle tone.” In contrast, elevated levels of bovine casomorphin found in cow’s milk-based, formula-fed infants was associated with a “delay in psychomotor development” and muscle spasticity.

This evidence suggests that the inability of some infants to adequately eliminate bovine casomorphin may be “a risk factor for delay in psychomotor development and other diseases such as autism.”

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Sources

Acknowledgements

Images thanks to Ninjatacoshell, John Curtis, Shardan, and zimpenfish via Wikimedia Commons, and Judy Baxter via Flickr.

Topics

“Attacks of apnoea [where babies temporarily stop breathing] and muscular atony [where babies go limp] after exposure to cow’s milk may be also explained by extra-central activity of [casomorphin—meaning outside the brain].”

“Casomorphin, this opiate-like peptide produced by cow’s milk, “is also responsible for triggering pseudo-allergic reactions,” and other abnormalities seen in crib death. And moreover, similar to morphine, they delay the gastric emptying time, and so may increase the risk of infants refluxing stomach content back up into their lungs.

“Thus, it can be said that the so-called milk-apnoea effect may consist of several components: an opioid-induced respiratory depression, an opioid-induced [pseudo-allergic] histamine-related respiratory response, an influence on the…peripheral nervous system, a cow’s milk-induced reflux, [followed by] aspiration-induced apnoea.”

Sudden infant death syndrome is not the only condition linked to these morphine-like compounds. From another medical journal recently: “casomorphins liberated from the cow’s [milk protein] beta-casein are accused of participating in the cause of such conditions as: autism, [crib death], [type 1] diabetes, postpartum psychosis, circulatory disorders, [and] food allergies…”

In terms of autism risk, whereas the human casomorphins, which are the only ones found in the breast milk of women who don’t drink cow’s milk, are associated with “normal psychomotor development and muscle tone.” In contrast, elevated levels of bovine casomorphin found in cow’s milk-based, formula-fed infants was associated with a “delay in psychomotor development” and muscle spasticity.

This evidence suggests that the inability of some infants to adequately eliminate bovine casomorphin may be “a risk factor for delay in psychomotor development and other diseases such as autism.”

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Images thanks to Ninjatacoshell, John Curtis, Shardan, and zimpenfish via Wikimedia Commons, and Judy Baxter via Flickr.

Doctor's Note

Be sure to check out the final two videos in this series: Cow’s Milk-Induced Infant Apnea and
Cow’s Milk Casomorphin and Crib Death. Breast is always best, but the breast milk of women eating plant-based diets may not only exclude bovine casomorphins, but contain lower levels of industrial pollutants like dioxins.

For other effects animal products may have on healthy development, see Dairy & Sexual Precocity. No wonder Dr. Spock, the most esteemed pediatrician of all time, recommended children be raised without exposure to meat and dairy (see Doctors’ Nutritional Ignorance).

2018 Update: I have added several new videos on autism. Here are some of them, but check the autism topic page for all of the latest:

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