[riomidwife]

Can anyone tell me about testing for casein?

Is there an IgG test, and is it like some of the gluten/celiac blood tests which require regular gluten consumption prior to testing for accurate results?

Thank you!

 

[tanyalynn]

I think Enterolab has a stool test for casein, just like gluten. For gluten, it should be accurate for up to a year after gluten consumption, not sure if casein would be the same, but maybe their website would explain?

 

[lil_miss_understood]

Testing for both casein and whey were included in the comprehensive panel I had done for DS1 (and myself). 96 foods were tested for both IgE and IgG reactions (although some were broken down, like wheat AND gluten AND gliadin, really 1 food but counts as 3, so more technically it's 96 food proteins rather than 96 foods).

 

[kjbrown92]

The ALCAT test is just for sensitivies (not IgE allergies) but they did milk and casein (and maybe whey, I can't remember), just like they did wheat and gliadin and gluten. They said you have to eat it within 6 months to be accurate. Not sure how accurate it is for BFing kids (someone on here did it for a BFing infant; can't remember who; we talked about memory failures, that's mine).

 

[riomidwife]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjbrown92 The ALCAT test is just for sensitivies (not IgE allergies) but they did milk and casein....Not sure how accurate it is for BFing kids (someone on here did it for a BFing infant;

Kathy, can you explain what you mean?

And does anyone know, are all caseins created equal? Is a person as likely to react to say, sheep casein as they are to cow casein? And what about breastmilk casein?

 

[kjbrown92]

Quote:

Originally Posted by riomidwife Kathy, can you explain what you mean? And does anyone know, are all caseins created equal? Is a person as likely to react to say, sheep casein as they are to cow casein? And what about breastmilk casein?

ALCAT tests for an inflammatory response to a food. It's not a test for an IgE allergy. There are allergies and intolerances (sometimes called delayed allergies). On the ALCAT test, my kids were tested for goat and sheep milk as well (and reacted to those as well). And I also have trialed them (and me) on water buffalo milk (mozzarella cheese) and failed. I think some people can have goat and/or sheep who can't have cow, but it doesn't seem to be real prevalent around here.

Or did you mean why wasn't it accurate for BFing kids? The person here who did it gave the explanation somewhere because she called and talked to someone there about the accuracy. Can't remember who. I'm absolutely horrible with names.

Is there casein in breastmilk? Who knew.

 

[riomidwife]

Yes, I meant the BF part! Thank you!

YEs, breastmilk does contain casein, but not in the same proportion as other mammals' milk. Breastmilk contains a greater percentageof whey protein than casein, but I still wonder....I mean, of course nature (or whoever

) designed BM to be easy for infant's to digest, but with this whole ASD-gluten-casein theory I wonder...But BM also has lactose, so there's another component shared by other mammals. So there is a part of me that wonders if casein is really the culprit, or lactose for that matter, of if it is something more complex going on in the digestion and assimilation of dairy products (esp. conventional mass-market dairy products. But that's another thread, eh?

 

[kjbrown92]

The caseins are different in different mammals though. Some are related like cow and goat, but I would venture to guess that human milk isn't that close to cow's milk in the proteins. And when they test them for an allergic response, they're testing them for cow casein not an amalgamation of all caseins.

I think the whole ASD gluten-casein thing is because they are so hard to digest and they cause gut permeability in some people, allowing proteins to cross the intestinal wall and cause an inflammatory response of whatever kind. I wouldn't be surprised if they later found out corn and soy were also an issue for those same people.

 

[tanyalynn]

re: the gluten-casein-ASD thing (we've got mercury issues, so however much overlap that may be), my son stopped banging his head on the wall when we both stopped consuming gluten and dairy, but he was still nursing.

Humans and cows/goats/sheep/etc diverged, evolutionarily, a long, long time ago. Their bodies work very differently from ours, and it makes sense that their milks are more similar to each other (all being ruminants) than ours. I've wondered if the milk from some primates may be close enough to human milk to be tolerable (even though there's still an awful long time since we split), but I can't see hooking up a gorilla or a chimpanzee to a breastpump, so I don't think anyone will ever know.

 

[kjbrown92]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TanyaLopez re: the gluten-casein-ASD thing (we've got mercury issues, so however much overlap that may be), my son stopped banging his head on the wall when we both stopped consuming gluten and dairy, but he was still nursing. Humans and cows/goats/sheep/etc diverged, evolutionarily, a long, long time ago. Their bodies work very differently from ours, and it makes sense that their milks are more similar to each other (all being ruminants) than ours. I've wondered if the milk from some primates may be close enough to human milk to be tolerable (even though there's still an awful long time since we split), but I can't see hooking up a gorilla or a chimpanzee to a breastpump, so I don't think anyone will ever know.

I never thought of that. Chimps might do it.

 

[riomidwife]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjbrown92 . And when they test them for an allergic response, they're testing them for cow casein not an amalgamation of all caseins.

This is what I was hoping to discover, which caseins were tested. I'd like to learn more aout the nature of different mammalian casein. If I get around to doing some research I'll share!

 

[kjbrown92]

Quote:

Originally Posted by riomidwife This is what I was hoping to discover, which caseins were tested. I'd like to learn more aout the nature of different mammalian casein. If I get around to doing some research I'll share!

You could call ALCAT and ask about theirs, and probably the other companies as well. They'll tell you their sources most likely. Have you googled it? Similiarity of mammalian casein or some such thing?