Takeaways from a RAWMI Farmer
The 17th International Milk Genomics Consortium (IMGC) Symposium was held on October 13-16, 2020. This year’s conference was presented virtually, to an audience of more than 270 people from around the world. As a raw milk farmer and Chairman of the Raw Milk Institute (RAWMI), this was the 10th annual symposium that I have attended.
Through attending these conferences year-after-year, I have developed many close relationships with university and PhD scientists. Although the virtual format didn’t allow much in terms of one-on-one connections and conversations with researchers, nonetheless there were many fascinating presentations this year.
This year’s conference focused on health impacts of milk, with particular focus on immune health, gut microbiome, and breastfeeding in relation to COVID-19. You can see a complete list of all presentations here. There were several presentations related to raw milk which I want to share with the raw milk community.
University of California-Davis
Loss of Allergy-Protective Capacity of Raw Cow’s Milk After Heat Treatment Coincides with Loss of Immune Active Whey Proteins
Ling Xiong, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
This study “aimed at achieving a better understanding of the underlying mechanism between heat damage to whey proteins and allergy development.” Raw milk has been correlated with anti-allergenic benefits, and heat-sensitive whey protein has been hypothesized to contribute to these benefits. In this study, “raw cow’s milk was heated for 30 min at 50, 60, 65, 70, 75, or 80 °C [122, 140, 149, 158, 167, or 176 °F]… The allergy-protective effect of differently heated milk samples were tested in a murine OVA-induced food allergy model.”
This study “tested the various heat-treated milk samples for their native protein profile and their allergy-protective capacity... the allergy-protective effect of raw cow's milk is lost after heating milk for 30 min at 65 °C [149 °F] or higher. This loss of protection coincided with a reduction in native immunologically active whey proteins.”
Heat treatment at 65 °C or higher destroyed allergy-protective capacity of raw milk in murine OVA-induced food allergy model. Xiong, et al.
The whey protein in raw milk provides protection from allergies, asthma, and inflammation. When heated above 149 °F, these properties are dramatically reduced or eliminated. This finding is an important confirmation of the unique beneficial properties of whole, unprocessed raw milk. Raw dairy products such as cheese, butter, and strained yogurts would not be expected to have such strong anti-allergenic benefits because they do not contain whey.
All across the world, when raw cheeses are made the raw whey is drained off and either discarded, used as a fertilizer, or fed to animals such as pigs. Raw whey protein is arguably one of the most vital components in raw milk and it is literally treated as a waste byproduct. Some raw whey is made into powder and sold as a health product. Most of the whey protein powders on the market are not raw, but are highly pasteurized, spray dried, and oxidized. These widely available whey products no longer have the bioactivity found in the raw form.
The new research on the anti-allergenic benefits of raw whey shows that, instead of being discarded, the whey left over from making cheese has great potential. Researchers called for innovation to bring raw whey protein to the market for the benefit of human health.
B. infantis EVC001 Colonization in Breastfed Infants Modulates Cytokine Profile Linked to Autoimmune and Allergic Diseases
Bethany Henrick, Evolve Biosystems Inc., Davis, CA, USA
This research at UC Davis has been studying the effects of Bifidobacteria infantis EVC001 on gut microbiome and immune health. “The intestinal microbiome plays a critical role in the development of the immune system…Stool samples were collected at Day 6 (baseline) and day 60 of life from exclusively breastfed infants (n=40) randomly selected to receive either 1.8 x 1010 CFU B. infantis EVC001 daily for 21 days starting Day 7 postnatal (EVC001) or breast milk alone (controls).
“Importantly, infants fed B. infantis EVC001 produced significantly decreased levels of [proinflammatory cytokines], while [beneficial cytokine considered to reduce autoimmune and allergic diseases] levels were significantly increased…
“These findings suggest a novel immunomodulatory function of B. infantis in breastfed infants… and further imply this strain of bacteria may [be]… critically important in the reduction of… autoimmune and allergic diseases.”
The researchers have identified that Bifidobacteria infantis is critical to the training and development of T-Cells, which play a central role in the immune system. Historically, Bifidobacteria dominated the microbiome of breastfed infants. These beneficial bacteria actively train naive T-Cells into protective “Killer T-Cells.” This is foundational and is essential to the development of the newborn infant’s immune system. Under the current set of societal and nutritional conditions, Bifidobacteria in newborns are reduced due to limited breast feeding, use of baby formulas and antibiotics, and high C-section rates. This new research demonstrates that supplementation with Bifidobacteria is likely to improve infants’ immune systems.
Image from Bethany Henrick’s Presentation at the 2020 IMGC Symposium
Evidence of a Significant Secretory-IgA-Dominant SARS-CoV-2 Immune Response in Human Milk Following Recovery from COVID-19
Rebecca Powell, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
Researchers studied breastfeeding mothers and infants during the peak of the New York City COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020. It was found that COVID-19 positive mothers did not transfer the virus to their babies. Tests of the breastmilk of COVID-19 positive mothers found that there is a strong “SARS-CoV-2 immune response [in the form of antibodies] in human milk after infection in the majority of individuals.” Breastmilk from COVID-19 positive mothers contains antibodies which can then confer protection against COVID-19 to their breastfed babies. Interestingly, the milk from COVID-19 positive mothers has been shown to continue to contain COVID-19 antibodies even months after the infection.
This is one of nature’s protective gifts. Mammalian mothers protect their young through breast milk and antibody sharing. This important fact has also lead other researchers to consider the use of immune milk from cows as a therapeutic food. It was hypothesized that, if cows were exposed to coronavirus during the last stages of pregnancy, the colostrum they produced after calving would contain coronavirus antibodies.
My own RAWMI LISTED dairy (Organic Pastures Dairy Company) worked with IMGC and UC Davis researchers in early 2020 to test this hypothesis in a pilot study. The cows were exposed to a bovine coronavirus in late pregnancy, and their colostrum and milk were then tested after calving. It worked! Antibodies to coronavirus were found in the colostrum and milk after calving. This study is now being expanded at UC Davis using their own cows. Further work needs to be done to better understand any potential impact of antibodies in milk on older children and adults, who do not have permeable guts like young infants do.
Milk, Nose, Gut: Microbiomes in the CHILD Cohort Study
Meghan Azad, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
The CHILD Cohort Study (www.childstudy.ca) is a study of 3,500 Canadian families from pregnancy onwards to understand the developmental origins of chronic diseases. This study has shown that breastfeeding and vaginal birth are associated with reduced risks of childhood asthma and obesity. These beneficial effects appear to be partly mediated by the infant gut microbiome, which is seeded with beneficial bacteria in the birth canal as well as through breastfeeding. Current research is focused on understanding “how breastfeeding practices and breast milk components (including bacteria, fungi, oligosaccharides, fatty acids, hormones and cytokines) shape the developing infant nasal and gut microbiomes and contribute to health and disease trajectories.”
Raw milk from other mammals has been correlated with many of the same benefits as human breast milk. Like breast milk, raw milk contains a wide array of essential nutrients, fats, proteins, anti-inflammatory and digestive enzymes, bioavailable vitamins, and minerals, all in a natural form which is most easily utilized by the body.
Image from Meghan Azad’s Presentation at the 2020 IMGC Symposium
Difference in Levels of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein- and Nucleocapsid-Reactive SIgM/IgM, IgG and SIgA/IgA Antibodies in Human Milk
Veronique Demers Mathieu, Medolac Laboratories/University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA
Researchers from the University of Massachusetts sought gain an understanding of the “presence and the levels of [COVID-19] antibodies” in breast milk. The researchers measured the amounts of various types of COVID-19 antibodies in breast milk samples from 41 women during the pandemic. They found that women who “had symptoms of viral respiratory infection during the last year” had higher levels of certain types of COVID-19 antibodies than women who had experienced no viral respiratory symptoms in the last year. Heat treatment of the breast milk at 100°C (212 °F) for 30 minutes “completely inactivated” the antibodies. The researchers concluded that, “The presence of SARS-CoV-2-reactive antibodies in human milk could provide passive immunization to the breastfed infants.”
This research has confirmed that antibodies are completely destroyed through heat treatment of milk. Breast milk must be raw in order to provide antibody protection to infants. This same science applies to raw milk from other mammals.
Closing Remarks
The symposium ended with closing remarks by Dr. Bruce German and Dr. Jennifer Smilowitz from UC Davis. They discussed two important upcoming needs in the community of scientific research about milk:
Defining breast milk as the keystone research target of 21st Century for the public research funding agencies of the world, and
Positioning food as the first line of defense for nourishment and therapeutics in emerging infections of public health impact.
In other words, raw milk is considered to be the most important area of research going forward. This is because raw milk contains the bioactive genomic secrets of life, and to a large degree determines how well the immune system and gut microbiome will function. When the science of raw milk is better understood, human health will be improved and more illnesses will be prevented.
In summary, this conference confirmed the following.
Raw milk is a whole bioactive superfood that nourishes and builds the immune system.
Heat destroys the bioactive elements in raw milk that impart health benefits.
Raw whey is a new market opportunity, yet innovation will be required because the FDA forbids sale of raw whey. Safe raw whey must be produced in the same ways that safe raw milk is produced.
Raw breast milk provides protection against COVID-19 to breastfeeding infants. There is a need for more research into the immune-protective benefits of raw milk from other mammals.