The Link Between Cow's Milk and Type 1 Diabetes

This is my sixth and final blog regarding the growing epidemic of Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP) and its effects on human health (as a causative agent in Crohn’s Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Type I Diabetes) in countries that drink cow’s milk.

I have discussed at length the link between MAP, an organism prevalent in dairy herds that resists pasteurization, and Crohn’s and Irritable Syndrome. I now want to touch briefly on studies connecting MAP with Type I Diabetes, as well as providing links to other MAP/Crohn’s research.

In a true democracy we would would be hearing and reading about the MAP epidemic in the mainstream media. The reality is that powerful corporate interests (such as the dairy lobby) have the ability to censor what we see on TV or read in the newspaper. At present most of this information is only available in medical journals, via the Internet or through Project Censored (where I first learned about it). All the journal articles listed below are Open Access (another example of the democratizing influence of the Net).

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) has long been recognized as an autoimmune disease in which antibodies attack the pancreas and destroy its ability to produce insulin. Scientists have known for decades that children who carry a genetic predisposition to develop T1DM only develop the illness in response to an environmental (most likely infectious) trigger. In addition exposure to cow’s milk is a well established risk factor in the development of T1DM. Scientists have now discovered the actual mechanism by which drinking milk can trigger the development of T1DM in genetically susceptible individuals. There are now numerous studies suggesting infection with Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP) – known to survive pasteurization – triggers an immune antigen response leading to pancreatic damage and the development of T1DM.

1. Studies linking MAP and Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0004386

http://www.gutpathogens.com/content/2/1/1

2. Dr Hermon-Taylor’s doomsday paper on the growing MAP epidemic and its potentially catastrophic public health consequences

http://www.gutpathogens.com/content/1/1/15

3. Dr Manfred Stein’s excellent website on the MAP/Crohn’s link. Although the site is in German the images of patients with Crohn’s transcend language.

http://www.animal-health-online.de/gross/2009/02/03/morbus-crohn-das-ist-die-realitaet/12167/

4. Research linking MAP and Irritable Bowel Syndrome

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17913930

5. New treatment approaches in Crohn’s that directly target MAP