“One of the reasons a lot of people give, if they have overcome the idea that milk forms mucous, or is a risk for diseases and so on; one of their arguments is that it makes them fat. But, all the research on animals, and as far as it goes, human research, shows that milk is probably the best reducing foods there is. The mechanisms for that are now known. Not only the anti-stress effects of casein, and a good balance of saturated fats and so on, but the calcium alone is very important metabolic regulator, that it happens to inhibit the fat-forming enzymes fatty acid synthase, and incidentally that’s a characteristic enzyme that goes wild in cancer. But calcium and milk inhibit that fatty acid synthase, reducing the formation of fats and at the same time it activates the uncoupling proteins in the mitochondria, which are associated with increased longevity. Because they, by increasing the metabolic rate, the uncoupling proteins burn calories faster but they protect against free-radical oxidation. That they pull the fuel through the oxidation process so fast in effect, that none of it goes astray in random oxidation, where if you inhibit your energy producing enzymes you tend to get random, stray oxidation that damage the mitochondria. So the uncoupling proteins burn calories faster, at the same time that your reducing fat synthesis and milk is, as far as I know, they only food does both of those things simultaneously.” -Ray Peat, PhD
Indian J Exp Biol. 2003 Apr;41(4):367-9.
Protection of adrenocortical activity by dietary casein in ether anaesthetized rats.
Biswas NM, Chattopadhyay A, Sarkar M.
Adrenal delta5-3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (delta5-3beta-HSD) activity and serum corticosterone level were significantly higher in rats fed with 5% casein or 4% albumin diets after 1 hr of ether anaesthetic stress as compared to the controls, 5% casein and 20% casein (equivalent to 4% albumin) respectively. Ether anaesthesia to 20% casein fed rats caused no change in adrenal delta5-3beta-HSD activity and serum corticosterone level when compared with controls fed 20% casein diet. The results suggest that high milk protein diet may prevent acute stress effects by protecting adrenocortical activity. The present investigation opens up a new area of management of stress.
