Milk attraction: morphine and other opioids (WAS: Mother's milk is absolutely NOT addictive)

[Guest guest]

Rawschool [ <Rawschool >

Rawschool ] On Behalf Of Robert Rust

Thursday, August 10, 2006 9:25 PM

[Rawschool] Mother's milk is absolutely NOT addictive

 

Peaches, oranges, cherries, apples, bananas and all other fruits and non-harmful

foods have

numerable chemicals that give rise to flavour, smell, and appeal. Shall we call

these addictive

too? ....

 

To claim that mother's milk has harmful elements within it is to claim that

nature has designed

mothers to create substances that are harmful to their babies in order for the

baby to be

attracted to the food the mother provides for the baby's healthy development and

existence. This

is pure absurdity and nonsense.

_____

 

Robert,

 

I have made no such claim, these are your words, not mine. What I have said, and

say again here,

is that mother's milk contains tiny quantities of substances universally

regarded as addictive

(at least if consumed in any substantial quantity), and that these substances

appear to be

present in the milk for the specific purpose of attracting and holding the

baby's interest in

nursing until the " proper " weaning age.

 

What scientists have found, much to their own dismay at first, is that cow's

milk contains a

tiny quantity of morphine, manufactured in the liver. This substance has NOTHING

to do with

giving the milk flavor or scent or any other form of sensory appeal. Rather, the

presence of

morphine has to do with influencing the baby's brain chemistry, pure and simple.

 

The presence of morphine in milk was discovered quite by accident in 1981 and in

various

subsequent research conducted by several groups of absolutely disbelieving

scientists -- by all

accounts, they literally did not believe their own eyes when they first saw what

looked like

morphine when examining cow's milk through a microscope. After running test

after test, they

finally concluded that what LOOKED like morphine, WAS morphine, though often in

barely

detectable quantities.

 

The discovery of casein in milk and research regarding casomorphins followed, as

did some other

related research. Anyone who wishes can easily explore this topic on the

Internet and/or in the

scientific literature, it's not a secret.

 

In addition, all mammal milk contains several proteins, such as casein, that

yield opioids when

broken down (digested). More specifically, certain peptides contained within

specific milk

proteins, such as caseïn, lactalbumin, beta-lactaglobulin. and lactoferrin, form

opioid

substances through the natural process of digestion.

 

In the case of casein, probably the best known of these proteins, cow's milk

contains a lot,

human milk a small amount. When casein is digested (broken down), one outcome is

the formation

of casomorphins, which in biochemistry are classified as opioids (substances

that resemble opium

in structure and in effect).

 

More generally, in the digestive tract, milk proteins are decomposed into normal

peptides,

opioid peptides, and amino acids. The milk also contains substances (e.g.,

substance P) that

enhance permeability of the intestinal mucus, assuring that the baby absorbs the

peptides with

ease. Further, the opioid peptides are relatively indigestible (cannot be

further broken down);

this further assures that they are absorbed " as is " , without further

decomposition. These opioid

peptides cause mild physical attraction or dependence, depending upon one's

point of view, in

the nursing infant, to assure that the infant desires adequate quantities of

mother’s milk,

completes the nursing term. Additional benefits may be improved sleep, and

slowing down of the

intestinal function, particularly the bowel.

 

The following is from Dr. Neal Barnard, president of PCRM (Physicians Committee

for Responsible

Medicine), www.pcrm.org/. PCRM is the doctors' alternative to the AMA (American

Medical Assn)

and has taken a VERY strong stand favoring a zero-dairy diet for humans of every

age, quite

opposite from the AMA and most other " health " organizations (diabetes, heart,

etc.), and also in

direct opposition to the dairy industry and its allies, the USDA/FDA, etc.

 

Dr. Barnard writes:

 

Like it or not, mother’s milk has a drug-like effect

on the baby’s brain that ensures that the baby will

bond with Mom and continue to nurse and get the

nutrients all babies need.

 

[And of course much, much more.]

 

One further point ... there is some, though less extensive, research which

indicates that EVERY

food --- and including every fruit --- contains at least one or two substances

that, if taken

alone and/or in sufficient quantity, are toxic to our species. I realize this

conflicts with

traditional NH thinking, and this may indeed be one area with the NH writings

(Shelton, Fry,

etc.) are simply outdated, and need to be updated. This body of research may be

a bit more

obscure, if anyone is interested, please write to me privately using

Elchanan,

and I shall be happy to help track some things down.

 

This post concludes my writings on this subject matter, at least in this group.

 

Best to all,

Elchanan

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I would just like to say that it is important in the internet world to read

carefully a person's post before you respond to it. I read Elchanan's

previous post on the matter and did not get the impression that he was

saying anything negative about human breastmilk. Hopefully no one will get

that impression from this post as well. Human breastmilk for baby humans =

best thing there is. The addictive substance is there for a reason, a very

good one. Cow products for humans = very poor choice, consuming an

addictive substance that is designed for calves, not humans. Whether you

agree with him or not is a personal matter of course, but this is what he is

trying to convey. There was a question in this group earlier about raw

cheeses, which I believe is what started this discussion. Elchanan is

trying to convey that even if the cheese is raw, it is not in your best

interest health-wise, in his opinion, based on these and other studies about

the harmful effects of dairy.

 

 

~Molly P.

Northern MI homeschooling mama of 3 (and pro-breastfeeding)

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

 

rawfood [rawfood ] On Behalf Of

Molly Paryani

Friday, August 11, 2006 1:34 PM

rawfood

Re: [Raw Food] Milk attraction: morphine and other opioids (WAS:

Mother's milk is

absolutely NOT addictive)

 

I would just like to say that it is important in the internet world to read

carefully a person's

post before you respond to it. I read Elchanan's previous post on the matter

and did not get

the impression that he was saying anything negative about human breastmilk.

Hopefully no one

will get that impression from this post as well. Human breastmilk for baby

humans = best thing

there is. The addictive substance is there for a reason, a very good one. Cow

products for

humans = very poor choice, consuming an addictive substance that is designed for

calves, not

humans. Whether you agree with him or not is a personal matter of course, but

this is what he

is

trying to convey. There was a question in this group earlier about raw

cheeses, which I believe is what started this discussion. Elchanan is trying to

convey that

even if the cheese is raw, it is not in your best interest health-wise, in his

opinion, based on

these and other studies about the harmful effects of dairy.

 

 

~Molly P.

___________

Thanks, Molly. You have my intent correct, exactly! I was merely attempting to

point out that

milk is designed in Nature to attract the young of each species to its own

mother's milk, and

NOT to the milk of another species.

 

And of course I agree and fervently believe that others may hold whatever

opinion they choose,

in accordance with their own background, beliefs, etc.

 

Best to all,

Elchanan