Is A2 Milk Better for You?

My family recently starting to consume more fresh milk, especially our one year old child.

And I noticed that A2 milk cost almost twice as much as the normal milk. Which prompted me to do some searching and I found no evidence online supporting that A2 milk is more nutritious or better than normal milk. All I have so far see is some claim that A2 might be better for people who usually have upset stomach after drinking milk.

What is your thought on this? Are you buying A2 milk because you think it is better for your kid or because everyone around you tell you that it is better than normal milk?

I found this Article online.

Poll Options

  • 75
    I buy A2 milk
  • 518
    I buy normal milk
  • 73
    I don't drink cow milk

Comments

  • I heard the A2 was closing in June so they could re-prioritise upgrade works to deliver the A4

    • +1

      … and they'd probably only need smaller premises to make A4.

  • -1

    While we are talking about milk, i cannot remember the last time that i have seen expired milk that curdle like yogurt when they past their expired date. Have they change their process of pasteurisation or they they put some thing in the milk so they last longer and dont go off like before?

  • Kiwis figured out that cows can be traced to 2 origins:
    A1 = Kraut cows from Friesia.
    A2 = Jersey cows from the Channel Islands.

    Japanese would dispute this and claim their massaged cows as a 3rd race.
    All doubts layd to rest: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02406469

    • +2

      No doubts are laid to rest by a study that clearly says "Sponsor: a2 Milk Company Ltd"

  • No idea. All I can say is damn you COVID (and price gouging).

    We used to buy UHT, it was 90c a litre and we could keep it in the cupboard by the box lot for whenever we needed it. Creamier taste than home brand fresh milk too.

    Then along came COVID and everyone started buying it, price went up and now costs more per litre than fresh milk :(

    • -1

      Just prior to Covid I carted 40 cartons of UHT from my car to a nice girls apartment on the 2nd floor. She saw it coming.
      Some love it and I think everybody shall drink what they like best. My ostho doctor showed me heaps of bone x-rays confirming milk drinkers add ZERO to bones.

      Tin hatters please neg me now!!

      • My ostho doctor showed me heaps of bone x-rays confirming milk drinkers add ZERO to bones.

        That's because you also need to take vitamin C to absorb the calcium.

        • Do your Channel Island bred variety bovine sufferers also add vitamin C ?

          • @payless69: No, I take vitamin C separately.

  • By the Ops logic, goat's milk cost 3 times as much. So it should be 3 times healthier. Lol

  • +3

    The A2 cows are unionised which is why the milk is more expensive

  • +1

    I remember it was really hard for A2 to market its milk. Woolworths all the other brands, deliberately added the tagline “with A2 proteins” to confuse the consumers.

    It’s not like A2 could call them selves “not A1”!

    Ultimately the product would be suited for a very small percent of the market. But for what they did with their branding and kid formulas, well done, until the Chinese regulated their imports.

  • Used to buy it, don't any more after Woolworths kindly increased the price by 38%, nothing to see here, no price gouging at all, because 'inflation'.

    Nobody in our house has died or been hospitalised since the change to regular milk.

  • +2

    A2 milk is not better.

    But milk is beneficial for our health, if you have a particular allergy to the A1 protein, then try A2 milk.

  • -1

    My foolish wife has convinced herself a2 is better for you which i dont agree with. So we are now wasting money on a2 milk with no ascertainable benefits.

    • Could try a separate poll thread "Is Any Other Wife better for me?"

  • I get A3

    • +1

      I heard A4 is the most popular

      • you're confusing paper with milk

  • +1

    I seldom buy A2 due to the cost, but it is better for me, not from a nutritional point of view, rather the different protein in that milk doesn't trigger my (mild) allergy.
    Anecdotally it "feels" better when consuming, and afterwards doesn't leave me coughing.

  • Humans are probably the only animals that drink milk beyond infancy from another lactating species. Sometimes this makes me wonder is milk really good for us.

    • It's not that it's bad; but it is completely unnecessary. You really don't need milk in your diet at all from a nutrition point of view as an adult.

      • Any individual food item is unnecessary, but in combination they add up to a healthy and nutritious diet.

    • Don't worry we have evolved to drink milk over thousands of years.

      Other animals don't cook their food either, but again we have evolved to eat cooked food over thousands of years.

  • I go for cold pressed raw milk (http://madebycow.com.au)

    Pasteurised milk is only great for shelf life.

  • I don't know anyone who thinks it's "better" for you. Only "better" for some people who might get an upset stomach as you say.

  • We use unhomogenised milk for normal drinking and WW/coles milk for tea/coffee.

  • A2 milk is not particularly better. The taste is just similar to most other brands'.
    PRC Chinese like them though. Before COVID, they shipped a lot of A2 milk powder from Australia to PRC to sell. It pushed up the A2 shares price a lot then.

    I find Norco milk better and the Norco Our Finest Full Cream Milk is the best.
    https://norcofoods.com.au/product/our-finest-full-cream/

    Farmhouse Gold Full Cream milk is also good, better than many others.
    https://www.pauls.com.au/products/milk/full-cream/farmhouse-…

  • Before the A2 milk brand launched with these very successful marketing claims, this was not a question and nobody was worried about it. And that is the answer.

  • Well if you are allergic and/or have trouble digesting A1 protein then yes you will benefit from just drinking pure A2 milk is the obvious answer.

  • A2 milk is better for people who have allergies to casein protein / get sinus issues with milk as i do.

  • Doubt A2 is any better than normal milk. If you don't have issues with normal milk, find one that tastes the nicest at the price you are happy to pay.

    A2 works for my in-laws and myself (I used to drink at least a litre of milk a day, but started to get diarrhoea after 200ml in my late 30s), but doesn't work for a couple of other friends. That being said I'll take the L and play with fire, as I agree with the previous comment about Farmhouse Gold!

  • I used to buy A2, now just regular milk. No difference to my guts.

  • Let me ask my wife. ( she buys groceries you dirty minded people)

  • A2 success is due to marketing that it is better for you if you watch the block masterchef it's you will be bombarded by A2. I tried it and didn't find it any worse or any better than the normal milk. If the normal milk upsets you and this one doesn't and it is not just a placebo effect then go for it.

  • I am lactose intolerant and I buy A2 milk sometimes as alternative of lactose free milk. According to my son lactose free milk is sweeter and tastes better than normal milk (I can't compare them myself unfortunately). I am guessing the de-lactose process makes the milk less sweet and as an compensation, company adds sugar to lactose free milk? (no research done just guessing). A2 milk doesn't trigger gastro problem for me like normal milk does.

    • +1

      The lactase enzyme breaks down lactose in to a different sugar that tastes sweeter. No sugar is added

    • The process to remove lactose is by adding an enzyme called lactase. This enzyme makes it sweeter, which is why lactose free milk is sweeter than regular milk. IIRC there is a lactose free A2 milk now being sold - could be more agreeable with your guts so you can buy one milk for your son and yourself?

  • If I haven't been drinking milk for a while, I'd have a slight upset stomach and getting bloated the first few time I started drinking again. Eventually I'd be fine after a week or so if I continue drinking.
    On the other hand, if I drink A2, after a long time of, I don't feel bloated as much.

  • No
    It's marketing bullshit

  • It's all about the taste than anything. A2 does taste better for me. Not the nutritional factor at all

  • I've stopped drinking milk of late and don't miss it, but I'm sure A2 is very good for some people.

    Jumped on the wagon with our lactose intolerant friends to some degree, still don't mind a bit of Camembert and Brie though.

  • -1

    I don't drink milk

  • I can say unequivocally my stomach and post meal satisfaction is better on A2 milk and i've had my partner blind test this on me for years. This is mainly with cereals where it's a large concentration of milk.

    • and definitely not a vested interest or working for the A2 company … ?

  • I would believe Dr Karl, he has done all the research for you.
    If you want to do your own research, don't google it and don't watch you tube videos on this topic. Go to Google scholar (Scholar.google.com.au) and read some published and peer reviewed studies.

  • How do we find out if a company is using injections etc to boost the milk production from cows? I know this happens a lot in the US but dont know if this is common practice in Australia.

    I usually just buy the Pura Original milk.

  • I developed a mild asthma since after arriving in Australia to study, and also becoming quite susceptible to skin irritations. I made a deliberate decision to try A2 and it did wonders to alleviate the conditions (in particular asthma).

    I have been drinking A2 ever since!

  • After father was diagnosed with Cancer I looked for different options to reflux medications, currently trying a2 milk. Depending on the foods it's helped.
    Everyone is different, I buy UHT version $2.80 Coles.

  • This whole premise of this topic has been laid out poorly anyways, since it's subjective as to what is 'healthier' for YOU based on your own intolerances.

    A2 milk is marketed as a product to those who are intolerant to A1 milk protein, not to be labelled as 'healthier' alternative to those who drink A1 milk

    Just like gluten free products may be better for your health if you have intolerances to gluten.

  • I always buy organic milk from Aldi or health stores.

  • A2 milk is 1% better for 100% higher price - u doo the math … CP value ?

  • Seriously. stop consuming cheap non milk

    go for organic milk. just google it, go to their site and they will tell you where to buy it.

    if in Melbourne. Schultz. milk now sells in glass bottles you can refill.

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