A2 milk: primal milk?
Cow milk exists for about 87% out of water. The other 13% is a combination of minerals, lactose, fat and protein; the so called solids. The major component of protein is casein. About 30% of the casein in the milk is called beta casein. There are two main types of casein: A1 and A2. Each animal receives one copy of the gene from its sire and one from its dam, so the animal will be either A1A1, A1A2 or A2A2.
The difference in protein structure between A1 and A2 seems to affect the way proteins are being broken down during digestion. Research suggests that some people may not have stomach discomfort when they drink milk with only the A2 protein.
AI Total has the following A2A2 sires in its line-up:
NAAB CODE | NAME | BETA | gTPI | NM$ | MILK | FAT | PRO | PL | DPR | SCE | PTAT | UDC |
307HO00004 | ALASKA RED | A2/A2 | +2468 | +643 | +1367 | +50 | +45 | +5,2 | +1,3 | 7,3 | +1,97 | +2,13 |
515HO00316 | ALTEREGO | A2/A2 | +2679 | +782 | +1573 | +78 | +56 | +5,2 | +1,7 | 7,4 | +2,45 | +2,13 |
515HO00286 | BALTASAR | A2/A2 | +2624 | +708 | +1149 | +43 | +48 | +5,9 | +3,0 | 7,6 | +2,03 | +2,22 |
607HO00002 | BALTAZAR | A2/A2 | +2528 | +746 | +929 | +68 | +42 | +6,0 | +1,6 | 6,8 | +1,15 | +1,86 |
515HO00287 | BANGALORE | A2/A2 | +2597 | +757 | +923 | +82 | +44 | +4,7 | +0,2 | 8,8 | +1,90 | +2,32 |
515HO00285 | BAYLABOY | A2/A2 | +2626 | +712 | +1254 | +47 | +42 | +5,7 | +4,6 | 7,0 | +2,10 | +1,39 |
515HO00317 | CHARM | A2/A2 | +2722 | +844 | +1724 | +82 | +66 | +5,8 | +2,5 | 6,3 | +1,79 | +1,64 |
606HO00004 | CHASSY | A2/A2 | +2716 | +834 | +1582 | +85 | +56 | +6,0 | +2,2 | 8,1 | +1,90 | +1,97 |
606HO00002 | COACH | A2/A2 | +2697 | +816 | +1983 | +67 | +64 | +6,3 | +3,0 | 7,3 | +1,69 | +1,70 |
515HO00310 | ECLIPSE | A2/A2 | +2514 | +692 | +2570 | +90 | +77 | +2,0 | +0,3 | 7,6 | +1,65 | +1,18 |
515HO00324 | ELVIS | A2/A2 | +2623 | +822 | +2085 | +87 | +57 | +5,3 | +2,5 | 5,3 | +1,15 | +1,47 |
307HO00002 | HONG | A2/A2 | +2740 | +819 | +1677 | +75 | +63 | +5,4 | +2,8 | 7,1 | +2,50 | +2,27 |
515HO00309 | KHAL | A2/A2 | +2681 | +835 | +1827 | +74 | +61 | +6,4 | +1,7 | 7,8 | +1,82 | +1,95 |
223HO00048 | MADAGASCAR | A2/A2 | +2707 | +881 | +2082 | +80 | +64 | +6,6 | +1,9 | 6,2 | +1,50 | +1,65 |
515HO00300 | MADDOX | A2/A2 | +2603 | +712 | +1699 | +75 | +63 | +3,6 | +2,1 | 7,2 | +2,19 | +1,76 |
515HO00319 | MITCH | A2/A2 | +2650 | +838 | +1261 | +100 | +62 | +3,9 | -0,3 | 6,0 | +1,70 | +1,60 |
515HO00138 | MODIOUS | A2/A2 | +2383 | +581 | +1827 | +62 | +49 | +3,1 | -0,9 | 5,9 | +2,19 | +2,01 |
515HO00327 | PETER | A2/A2 | +2637 | +749 | +1804 | +57 | +60 | +6,1 | +2,9 | 7,8 | +2,12 | +1,95 |
515HO00216 | POPEYE | A2/A2 | +2514 | +666 | +319 | +60 | +41 | +5,0 | +2,1 | 6,5 | +1,76 | +1,92 |
A2 is considered to be the original gene in dairy cattle, while A1 was developed around 8.000 years ago because of a genetic mutation. This occurred when cattle were first domesticated. So A2A2 milk can be called primal milk.
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