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Casein?

Noelle126

By Noelle126
in Related Issues & Disorders

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Noelle126 Apprentice
Noelle126
Posted

I am a little confused...I hear about Casein Intolerance a lot here and I don't know what it is? I'm trying to get better and I hear how a lot of celiacs are Casein intolerant too...what does that mean? I hate to sound stupid but all of this is so new to me...I just want to know more...Thanks in advance...y'all are so helpful!!!

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mart Contributor
mart
Posted

I believe casein is a protein found in milk, at least that's the way the pediatrician described it when he told me my son had an allergy to casein at birth. He told me he'd outgrow it, but now I'm not so sure. He was never tested for this - the pediatrician just diagnosed it based on symptoms. I've heard others on this board say that an allergy to casein can also cause malabsorption. My celiac disease son has been gluten free for almost four months and I don't see any weight gain yet or growth. I'm going to have to beg the GI to test him for casein allergy on our next visit. Casein is not to be confused with lactose, which I believe is milk sugar.

tarnalberry Community Regular
tarnalberry
Posted

Casein is the primary protein in milk - any mammalian milk, be it cow, goat, sheep, whale, or human. There are different subtypes of casein, and different animals produce milk that has different proportions of the subtypes of casein, which is why some people report that they can handle goat's milk, even if they can't handle cow's milk. Like gluten, the protein in plants, casein is in derivatives of milk as well. It can cause people a problem either with an allergy (casein is one of the eight most common food allergies) or with an intolerance. Casein intolerance can cause villi damage, but that - in and of itself, as a direct and unique cause - is very rare.

If you think you're allergic to casein, have an allergist test you. True food allergies are nothing to play around with, and if you have one, you should carry an epi-pen with you at all times. If you think you're intolerant to casein, you can try labs that do testing for it (York, Enterolab, etc.), but not all doctors will accept the intolerance theory, and you may have trouble getting insurance coverage for the tests. You can also do an elimination diet yourself - eliminate ALL sources of dairy (obvious and hidden) for two weeks, and then reintroduce and see how you feel. (In the case of an elimination diet, testing with dairy is complicated by the fact that you can also be lactose intolerant, which means that you don't produce enough of the enzyme lactase to digest the milk sugar lactose.)

Claire Collaborator
Claire
Posted
I believe casein is a protein found in milk, at least that's the way the pediatrician described it when he told me my son had an allergy to casein at birth. He told me he'd outgrow it, but now I'm not so sure. He was never tested for this - the pediatrician just diagnosed it based on symptoms. I've heard others on this board say that an allergy to casein can also cause malabsorption. My celiac disease son has been gluten free for almost four months and I don't see any weight gain yet or growth. I'm going to have to beg the GI to test him for casein allergy on our next visit. Casein is not to be confused with lactose, which I believe is milk sugar.

Yes, casein is the protein in milk. Lactose is an enzyme. You can be intolerant of one or the other or both. In celiacs the intestinal damages often makes dairy products reactive. They tell me this sometimes clears up overtime.

Many celiacs are Gluten-free Casein-free by choice. I choose to be because of the remarkable similiarity between the wheat protein gluten and the dairy protein casein. Their molecular structure is virtually identical - meaning that the immune system may not always differentiate between one and the other - i.e. the immune system can react to casein as if it were gluten. Read some on the subject of 'mimicry'. Hope this helps. Claire

Noelle126 Apprentice
Noelle126
Posted
  • Author

Thank you for all of the info...I'm going to look more into it! I love this board...so incredibly helpful!!!

Emme999 Enthusiast
Emme999
Posted
Yes, casein is the protein in milk. Lactose is an enzyme. You can be intolerant of one or the other or both. In celiacs the intestinal damages often makes dairy products reactive. They tell me this sometimes clears up overtime.

Yup, casein is a type of milk protein. Lactose is actually a form of sugar found in milk - lactase is the enzyme that breaks down the lactose. A lot of people have a lactase deficiency, causing them to be lactose intolerant. If the problem is merely lactose intolerance, you can purchase the enzyme lactase in health food stores & it's supposed to help. (Haven't tried it though, since I've got the allergy - but I hear it helps people with milk fetishes ;))

Another thing - lactose is present in the tips of your intestinal villi. Celiacs often don't have those tips left after being exposed to gluten a few too many times & this leads to the lactose intolerance common among Celiacs.

- Michelle :wub:

Noelle126 Apprentice
Noelle126
Posted
  • Author

Another thing - lactose is present in the tips of your intestinal villi. Celiacs often don't have those tips left after being exposed to gluten a few too many times & this leads to the lactose intolerance common among Celiacs.

That's an interesting thing...That kinda makes sense actually!

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Claire Collaborator
Claire
Posted

Someone on the forum recently posted that Lactaid tablets have gluten. Nothing said about other brands. I have inquired but no response. Claire

Someone on the forum recently posted that Lactaid tablets have gluten. Nothing said about other brands. I have inquired but no response. Claire

P.S. I stand corrected. Bean is right. I stated it incorrectly. That's what I get for quoting a GP. :lol:

jenvan Collaborator
jenvan
Posted

I have replied to the issue over Lactaid before...Fast acting and regular ARE gluten-free, states so on their website :)

Open Original Shared Link

StrongerToday Enthusiast
StrongerToday
Posted

How can you tell the difference between a Casein intollerence versus a lactose intollerence?

and FWIW - my next step is to try some dairy, the dietician I'm working with wants me to try Digestive Advantage - a once/day lactose intollerence pill. They are gluten-free. Anyone else tried them?

Thanks!

FaithInScienceToo Contributor
FaithInScienceToo
Posted

Another thing - lactose is present in the tips of your intestinal villi.

It's actually 'lactase':

"The enzyme that splits lactose into glucose and galactose is called lactase, and it is located on the surface of the small intestinal villi," so when the villi are damaged, the lacTOSE intolerance results -

This is why Celiacs often can return to consuming lacTOSE after being gluten-free for a while -

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About casein:

Celiacs often have a problem with this protein because the same bio-chemical mechanism that allows the non-fully digested gluten through the gut wall also allows casein through, resulting in autoimmune problems, etc to both....

Enterolab offers a stool test for casein antibodies (immune problems),

and York offers a finger prick blood test for IgE (delayed allergy reactions) to casein in dairy-

I tested positive for both.

I recently went casein-free and was able to go off Ritalin, AND my tummy has never felt better!

Yippee!

Good luck to you - Gina

Emme999 Enthusiast
Emme999
Posted

It's actually 'lactase':

Oops! Sorry, you are right. Typo. :)

Going off of all dairy products (and beef and gelatin) has made a world of difference for me. I highly recommend it ;)

FaithInScienceToo Contributor
FaithInScienceToo
Posted

I figured it was a typo ;)

but, decided to make sure to not confuse the newbie while I was throwing in even more info about lactose vs lactase...

Welcome back, btw!

Good to see you on here again!

aikiducky Apprentice
aikiducky
Posted
How can you tell the difference between a Casein intollerence versus a lactose intollerence?

Go off all dairy for a while...see how you feel. Then introduce some hard, matured cheese ...see how you feel. If you don't feel any different, you're probably all right with casein. Then introduce some plain milk...see how you feel. If it gives you trouble, it's likely the lactose.

Hard matured cheese doesn't have any lactose to speak of, that's why it's good to try that first. Now if the cheese already causes symptoms, that would mean likely it's the casein, and that means no dairy, not even low-lactose dairy. If only the milk gives symptoms, but not the cheese, low-lactose products, or lactase pills, could help.

Hope this helps!

Pauliina

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