Day 033 - 10 Oct 94 - Page 39


     
     1        Professor Keen's statement?
     2        A.  Well, I agree with Professor Keen that there is a body
     3        of evidence that does cast some suspicion on cows milk,
     4        particularly, the proteins in cows milk, in the aetiology
     5        of type 1 or insulin-dependent diabetes.  However, it does
     6        appear that the exposure has to be early in life.  It is
     7        not known to be restricted to the first three to four
     8        months.  I do not think that is known.
     9
    10        Frankly, the only way of a child of that age could be
    11        exposed to those proteins would be either through baby
    12        formula or milk being fed directly to the child or if a
    13        breast feeding mother consumes a milkshake or a dairy
    14        product, and then the cows' milk proteins can leave the
    15        digestive tract and can pass to the breast milk and can
    16        reach the child.
    17
    18   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That is completely different to
    19        what -- I had assumed that Professor Keen when he said
    20        "the consumption of cows milk in the first three or four
    21        months of neonatal life" meant by the neonate, not by the
    22        mother of the neonate.
    23        A.  This is an early enough area of research that,
    24        regrettably, there is lots of room for speculation and
    25        relatively little solid conclusions regarding the link
    26        between cows milk and type 1 diabetes.  So, many of --
    27        what is known is that children who are diabetic quite
    28        often do have antibodies in their blood stream, antibodies
    29        that can destroy the insulin producing cells.  These same
    30        antibodies appear to be caused by exposure to cows milk.
    31        Some researchers have disputed that.  I would have to say
    32        the jury is still out on that.  At this point it is
    33        suspicion.
    34
    35   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Unless you want to make a great thing of
    36        this, I suggest you leave it because, whatever else is
    37        said about Professor Keen, he is obviously a very
    38        considerable expert in his field of diabetes.  It was not
    39        canvassed that it went anywhere beyond the strict terms in
    40        which that sentence appears in his report.
    41
    42   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.
    43
    44   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I remember all we have said about you not
    45        being criticised for not putting things, but if we are
    46        going to go into what appears to be a new area, it has to
    47        be raised.  Quite frankly, I do not think it is a big
    48        point for you.  You want really to concentrate on the late
    49        onset.
    50 
    51   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.  (To the witness):  So could you then talk 
    52        about dietary implications for what is known here as type 
    53        2 diabetes?
    54        A.  Certainly.
    55
    56   Q.   Not insulin-dependent diabetes.
    57        A.  Yes.  It is not controversial, and all authorities
    58        would agree that obesity encourages, or obesity increases
    59        the risk of non-insulin-dependent or type 2 diabetes.
    60        High fat diets, for the reasons that I explained before

Prev Next Index