Dairy and Type I Diabetes Correlation

[Lazurii]

I'm really new to TF, so thanks for all the wonderful information you ladies and gents post here.

Before coming around to TF we were vegan, before that vegetarian.  One major reason for avoiding dairy was it made my daughter wheeze quite a bit.  We now have her wheezing under control (thank you, CLO!) and she doesn't react to dairy anymore.

We've been eating some dairy here and there and I feel good about adding more, but I'm worried about the correlation between diary (presumably pasteurized) and Type I diabetes.  My husband has Type I and it is an auto-immune disorder.  I'm assuming what happens is the dairy proteins leak into the body and excite the immune system, and then they attack the islet cells in the pancreas.  I'm wondering if the denaturing of proteins due to pasteurization has anything to do with it.

I've started buying butter (my son has cavities and we can't afford butter oil) and my kids love it.  I've also recently bought some greek yogurt and BuggaBoo devoured it, I think he would have eaten the whole quart in a day if I let him.  I want to add cultured dairy into my diet in the form of kefir, yogurt, etc.  However, I'm afraid of my children developing Type I through exposure to dairy.

Any advice or wisdom?  Thank you!

[serenbat]

We've been eating some dairy here and there and I feel good about adding more, but I'm worried about the correlation between diary (presumably pasteurized) and Type I diabetes.

I think you are making a big jump to connect eating dairy and type 1-give the population statics that eat dairy vs the type 1 population I see no true connection, not in this county or the rest of the world.

To see that populations have eaten dairy for centuries and the population of type 1 is still very small.

Edited by serenbat - 5/24/11 at 5:17am

[Lazurii]

It may be because it's after midnight here, but I find your quick answer rather rude.  Have you looked at just the population that carries the gene?  My children are not "general population" in this matter.  For an analogy, most people on this site (including myself) advise against vaccines in most cases.  But what if the child is immuno-compromised?  Then often the advice changes to vaccinate wisely. 

I cannot track down a link for this (yet), but a 1990 Canadian study found a "significant positive correlation between consumption of unfermented milk protein and incidence of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in data from various countries. Conversely a possible negative relationship is observed between breast-feeding at age 3 months and diabetes risk."  In the same article they quote a report done on the Finnish: 

The Finnish have "the world's highest rate of dairy product consumption and the world's highest rate of insulin dependent diabetes. The disease strikes about 40 children out of every 1,000 (in Finland) ... Antibodies produced against the milk protein during the first year of life, the researchers speculate, also attack and destroy the pancreas in a so-called auto-immune reaction, producing diabetes in people whose genetic makeup leaves them vulnerable."

Here is the article that quotes this information.  For the record, I don't agree with the whole article, I didn't even read anymore than the fourth page, but they had the quotes I was looking for.

If I lived in a normal family I probably wouldn't be worrying about this, but how can I ignore the fact that my husband has an autoimmune disorder and my children are susceptible?  We suggest special diets for allergies and autism and etc. on here.  I'm asking if anyone has more information on this.  If I ferment pasteurized milk will that help negate the possible effect on my kids' systems?  Raw milk is just out of my budget at this time, it's $10/gal around here.

[serenbat]

The disease strikes about 40 children out of every 1,000 (in Finland) 

even by what you posted- about 40 is simply not the majority

the majority is not type 1- it simply is not true to say what is not the truth-this is not effecting 60% or more of the population

since when is stating a fact rude?

it does not dismiss you have an issue but the fact is the majority does not 

Edited by serenbat - 5/24/11 at 5:30am

[Lazurii]

I guess it's a good thing I'm not talking about the majority, I am talking about my children and the specific risk to MY FAMILY.  I know that the majority of the population does not have a problem with this.

According to my hubby, "Just wow."

[Lazurii]

Here are some statistics that may help you understand my situation.  They can be found here:

• If an immediate relative (parent, brother, sister, son or daughter) has type 1 diabetes, one's risk of developing type 1 diabetes is 10 to 20 times the risk of the general population; your risk can go from 1 in 100 to roughly 1 in 10 or possibly higher, depending on which family member has the diabetes and when they developed it.
• If one child in a family has type 1 diabetes, their siblings have about a 1 in 10 risk of developing it by age 50.
• The risk for a child of a parent with type 1 diabetes is lower if it is the mother — rather than the father — who has diabetes. "If the father has it, the risk is about 1 in 10 (10 percent) that his child will develop type 1 diabetes — the same as the risk to a sibling of an affected child," Dr. Warram says. On the other hand, if the mother has type 1 diabetes and is age 25 or younger when the child is born, the risk is reduced to 1 in 25 (4 percent) and if the mother is over age 25, the risk drops to 1 in 100 — virtually the same as the average American.
• If one of the parents developed type 1 diabetes before age 11, their child's risk of developing type 1 diabetes is somewhat higher than these figures and lower if the parent was diagnosed after their 11th birthday.
• About 1 in 7 people with type 1 has a condition known as type 2 polyglandular autoimmune syndrome. In addition to type 1 diabetes, these people have thyroid disease, malfunctioning adrenal glands and sometimes other immune disorders. For those with this syndrome, the child's risk of having the syndrome, including type 1 diabetes, is 1 in 2, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

My husband developed his diabetes at the age of ten, so my children's risk is higher than 10%.  Also, he has not been tested for polyglandular autoimmune syndrome (I didn't even know about it before looking this up!), so that's a conservative figure.  Remember, I'm talking about my children's risk, not the general population.

[laohaire]

You may be interested in researching A1 vs A2 milk, which refers to the beta casein protein type. The vast majority of the cow milk out there is A1. Some research is showing a correlation between A1 and diabetes, as well as other conditions and diseases.

Human milk is of type A2. Some cows produce A2 milk, but I'm not very familiar with the specifics of that (I assume a few breeding lines have produced such tendencies - or maybe it's specifically Jersey breed cows). You would have to look, but it is possible to get A2 cow milk. Often it is raw, grassfed milk. You can also pasteurize it yourself if you like.

I'm not an expert on this but hopefully this tidbit will nudge you in the right direction.

[serenbat]

 I feel good about adding more, but I'm worried about the correlation between diary (presumably pasteurized) and Type I diabetes.  

you seem to be the one trying to make the correlation

I think you will find that many here do dairy (often raw) and see benefits from doing so

there are many threads on the difference between pasteurization and non

if it is a risk for you based on your research what exactly then are asking? avoid it-------again this is NOT rude but what is the question? ,if you see a problem and the majority does not have it are you trying to make it one?

do you feel dairy alone is the cause?

there are lots of "sugars" in other food items-not everything has been tested for every disease 

Edited by serenbat - 5/24/11 at 8:43am

[Lazurii]

I thought I replied, but I think Mothering.com ate it.  If there's a double post, my apologies.

Laohaire, thanks for the fabulous advice.  I didn't know about the difference between A1 and A2.  I'll be sure to keep an eye out for the latter.  I'm  not afraid of raw milk, just it's price!

Serenbat, all I ask is that you go back and carefully read my posts.  I'm not the only one making this correlation, it's not about the dairy sugars, and I am not saying milk is bad for everyone.  And the specific question I asked was does anyone know if culturing pasteurized milk makes it safer specifically for diabetic gene carriers.

[serenbat]

you really should read up on milk in general - better understand what pasteurized milk is and what is done to milk when it is pasteurized, I can not grasp why you would want to culture pasteurized milk in the first place? do you know that many cheese (even commercial are raw-based on their type for example?)

 

if you can't afford raw that is one thing but you seem to want to avoid dairy?? very confusing 

 

again the whole assumption you are asserting is so very small and there are so many variables in how and why one gets a disease

 

risk vs benefit is very important IMO

 However, I'm afraid of my children developing Type I through exposure to dairy.

 I know that the majority of the population does not have a problem with this.

According to my hubby, "Just wow."

 guess I am not reading this 

[Lazurii]

And, at this point, I guess I'm done.

[serenbat]

 I'm wondering if the denaturing of proteins due to pasteurization has anything to do with it.

     question

And the specific question I asked was does anyone know if culturing pasteurized milk makes it safer specifically for diabetic gene carriers.

I do not get this at all. 

please look into what pasteurizing does-------many do raw-not saying that is what you want but I really have no clue what you want