Kids who drink raw milk have less asthma, allergies
Sep-17-2011

Children who drink raw milk are less likely to develop asthma and allergies than those who stick to the safer pasteurized version, according to a large European study.
Although the study isn't ironclad proof that the effects can be chalked up to raw milk itself, researchers believe certain milk proteins that are destroyed by heat could be helpful to children's developing immune systems.
They warn, however, that parents shouldn't start giving their kids raw milk.
"The consumption of raw milk is a double-edged sword," Georg Loss, a researcher with the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in Basel who worked on the study, told Reuters Health by email.
"On the one side it is protective for the development of asthma and allergies but on the other side it may imply serious health risks due to harmful microorganisms."
Raw milk proponents claim the drink has several health benefits -- among them reducing asthma symptoms -- that aren't found in the pasteurized milk sold in most grocery stores.
But there is little evidence for their claims, according to U.S. government researchers who say consumption of unpasteurized milk, cheese and yogurt can be dangerous.
Last year, for example, scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked raw milk to a 2008 outbreak of E. coli in Connecticut that landed four people in the hospital with life-threatening illnesses.
The agency repeated its warning after learning of the current new study, which is published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

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