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Junior Member
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 31
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Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 31
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Hi nancy
you quoted
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In some countries, goat milk has traditionally been recommended for patients with cow’s milk allergy. Goat milk is not nutritionally complete. It is a poor source of certain vitamins, especially folic acid and vitamins B6, B12, C, and D, but is rich in minerals. Goat and cow’s milk share identical epitopes (allergens). As a result, goat milk is usually not tolerated by children with cow’s milk allergy.
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for a comparrison of milk see http://www.dairygoats.org.au/goats_milk.htm
the table wont copy correctly but the rest of the article is below
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Goats' Milk
The Benefits of Goats' Milk over Cows' Milk
By Laura Davey, 1st February 2005
Many people know that goats' milk is considered to be better for us than cows' milk but how many of us know why that is? In this section, we will endeavour to explain the differences between the different milk types and the health benefits resulting from these differences.
Although goats' milk is comparable to other milk in both appearance and taste, goats' milk and cows' milk do not taste the same. Goats' milk is smooth and slightly sweeter tasting than cows' milk, with a slightly nutty flavour. It is not strong or rich in either taste or smell if it is well produced. One obvious visual characteristic of goats' milk is its pure white colour. Unprocessed cows' milk has a slightly yellow colour in it, which is a product of the compound beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is a type of carotenoid, which is the most common class of natural pigments. Goats' milk does not contain beta-carotene. This is not necessarily a good thing as the body converts beta-carotene into Vitamin A. Beta-carotene is also a powerful antioxidant and boosts the immune system.
Goats' milk is easier to digest than cows' milk. This is mostly due to the difference in the curd and the fat globule size. The fat globules in goats' milk are much smaller than those in cows' milk. A study by Ataie and Richter (2000) found that the fat globules in goats' milk were on average 27% smaller than those found in cows' milk. This gives the fat globules in goats' milk a greater surface area to volume ratio, allowing the gastric acid in the stomach to break down and digest the fat more quickly. Due to the smaller fat globule size, goats' milk does not need to be homogenised before commercial sale, unlike cows' milk.
The curd in goats' milk is soft and can be digested in approximately 20 minutes. The relatively tough curd in cows' milk takes about six times longer to digest. The difference in the curd strength is mostly due to the different protein profiles in cows' and goats' milk. Traditionally, the proteins in milk have been divided into two groups, casein and whey. Whey is the watery part of milk and casein is the curd. The alpha-s1 casein is the main casein protein present in cows' milk. The main casein present in goats' milk is beta-casein, with alpha-s2 being the main alpha casein present. The alpha-s1 casein is known to produce a stronger curd in milk. It is also one of the major milk allergens in cows' milk. The alpha-s1 casein makes up 45% of the total protein present in cows' milk on average, while a study in New Zealand has found the alpha-s1 casein to make up 3% of protein in goats' milk, though it has been recorded to be up to 10% of the total protein. As goats' milk has considerably less alpha-s1 casein, it produces a softer curd and can be digested faster.
One other reason that goats' milk is easier to digest than cows' milk are the levels of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) present . MCTs are a class of fatty acid and goats' milk has more MCTs than cows' milk. They are shorter in length than the normal long-chain fatty acids found in most other fats and oils, hence their name. They are also different from other fats in that they have a slightly lower calorie content and they are more rapidly absorbed and burned as energy, resembling carbohydrate more than fat. MCTs also have the ability to inhibit and dissolve cholesterol deposits. As they are more rapidly absorbed, they are easier to digest.
Goats' milk is a nutritious food tolerated by most people. The lower allergenicity of goats' milk has been widely reported in practice, but it has frequently been dismissed by health professionals due to lack of scientific evidence. However, recent research has suggested reasons for some of the perceived hypoallergenic properties of goats' milk. Several studies have discovered that the major allergens in cows' milk are the alpha-s1 casein protein and the beta-lactoglobulin whey protein. Resistance to digestion is a key determinant of a protein's allergenicity. Beta-lactoglobulin has been shown to be the most resistant protein during digestion. Whilst goats' milk contains a similar amount of beta-lactoglobulin to cows' milk, it is digested more rapidly in goats' milk. This leaves a less intact protein remaining in the intestine after ingestion and lessens the quantity of beta-lactoglobulin available to cause an allergic reaction.
As mentioned previously, goats' milk contains less alpha-s1 casein than cows' milk, making it less allergenic. Goats' milk contains less lactose than cows' milk, another common allergen. It also has a higher buffering capacity than cow milk. Buffering capacity is the ability of a solution to resist change in its pH levels when subjected to changes in pH conditions, eg adding an acidic solution to an alkaline solution. Goats' milk has a higher buffering capacity at the pH conditions in the stomach. Subsequently, as milk is an alkaline substance, drinking it reduces the pH level in the stomach. As goat milk has a higher buffering capacity, it lowers the pH level in the stomach more than cow milk. This is important in the treatment of stomach ulcers.
Goats' milk is a natural source of many nutrients. It contains protein; including amino acids, fat; including essential fatty acids, the carbohydrate lactose, as well as many vitamins and minerals, including calcium, phosphorus, iodine and niacin. To see the difference in the levels of various vitamins and minerals between the milk types, as well as other nutritional information, see the table in the next section. Studies performed by Aliaga (2000) and Barrionuevo et al (2002) have shown that the micronutrients in goats' milk are more readily absorbed than those in cow milk. This has been shown to be true for iron, calcium and copper. Goats' milk contains more of these minerals than cow's milk, but the enhanced micronutrient absorption of goats' milk means that we absorb a larger proportion of them compared to cows' milk, giving consumers double the benefits.
As you can see, goats' milk has many benefits over cows' milk, including lower allergenicity, enhanced digestibility and higher levels of many micronutrients. Whilst this article contains some involved chemistry in understanding the composition of both goats' and cows' milk, the message is simple. Goats' milk is better for you so drink up!
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there seems to be a lot of innacurate statements made about goats milk ...... the evidence is in trying it and there are many people who have found they tolerate goats milk but not cows milk
but we all know the cows milk producers are a very powerful group 
and more people in the world drink goats milk than do cows milk 
kozz
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