Milk allergy and alternative milks
According to FAO statistics, among the eight foods considered most allergic, the primacy certainly goes to milk, followed by soya , eggs , fish , peanuts / nuts , shellfish , wheat and fruit ( banana , kiwi , apple , strawberry , melon ) .
Milk allergy : causes
Allergy to cow’s milk is very widespread, especially among children: the body manifests an allergy after drinking the milk, because the proteins present in it are considered foreign by the young organism, therefore potentially dangerous for health and worthy of an attack immune.
Although all milk proteins can be considered possible allergens, caseins and some whey proteins (in particular β-lactoglobulin, serum albumin and immunoglobulins) are considered responsible for sensitization. Caseins, which represent approximately 80% of milk proteins, resist the heat treatment to which it is subjected: consequently, they are not denatured and manage to maintain the ability to bind specific antibodies .
For a newborn, a milk-based diet is essential: if breast milk is not available and there is an allergy to cow’s milk , the need to find a correct alternative to cow’s milk is understandable, absolutely necessary to guarantee the health of the child .
Alternatives to cow’s milk
See also: therapeutic or “special” milks
The market offers a wide range of milk-based formulations, which can be a valid alternative to cow’s milk: unfortunately, however, it is not always immediate to identify the most correct alternative, considering that these are “small patients”.
The possible solutions can be summarized in:
- Heat treated milks
- Partial hydrolysis of cow’s milk proteins
- Milks other than cow’s milk
- Vegetable milks
- Other formulations
We will now try to shed light on these possible alternatives to cow’s milk.
Heat treated milks
With heat sterilization (i.e. cooking the milk at a temperature of 120°C for a period of 20-30 minutes) a partial denaturation of the milk proteins is obtained: the results, however, are not exciting, because caseins and whey proteins In this process, they lose many vitamins and sugars , despite the loss, albeit slight, of their allergenic power. For these reasons, this process is generally unsuitable for the production of a valid substitute for cow’s milk.
Partial hydrolysis of cow’s milk proteins
To understand the treatment underlying this product, we must take a small step back and explain what is meant by ” food antigen “: all proteins with a high molecular weight (5,000-10,000 Daltons) are potential food antigens. All other proteins with a molecular weight less than 5,000 Daltons cannot be considered allergens, because their peptide chain is too short. So the importance of milk-based formulas with hydrolysed proteins is now understandable : the objective is to “break” the proteins into small fragments with low molecular weight, in order to make the milk more digestible. To hydrolyze proteins, you can use:
- proteolytic enzymes
- Ultrafiltration, which retains high molecular weight fragments
- advanced enzymatic hydrolysis: the best solution as it reduces proteins to fragments of 1500 Daltons.
Milks other than cow’s milk
Milks other than cow’s milk can be used, such as goat’s and sheep’s milk: often, however, these milks have amino acid sequences similar to cow’s milk (cross-reactivity). Consequently, those who are allergic to cow’s milk are also allergic to goat’s and sheep’s milk. Donkey milk
is very similar to breast milk : the only drawback is that its availability is very difficult and its cost is very high.
Vegetable milks
In the world of vegetables, legumes have proteins with very high nutritional value: for this very reason many companies market vegetable milks. Among all, we remember soy milk : the problem is that soy, like cow’s milk, can create sensitization, therefore intolerances or allergies .
Recently, rice milk has also been put on the market as a possible alternative to cow’s milk: it is easily available and not very allergenic.
Other formulations
Elementary or semi-elementary milk represents the “last resort”, to be given to the child only if he is allergic to all the milks previously described. It is a drinking milk, made up of both vegetable proteins (soya) and animal proteins (collagen was once used), combined with mineral salts , vitamins and carbohydrates .
