Casein consumption and its effect on health is up for debate. Some advocacy groups claim a casein-free diet can help particular medical conditions, such as autism, but official recommendations supporting this claim do not exist. Nonetheless, casein-free diets are getting more attention, and this may have you wondering what casein is and which foods contain it.
Background
Mammals produce milk that contain various proteins, and casein protein is the most abundant one, making up 80 percent of its total protein content. This includes milk that comes from humans, cows, sheep, goat, buffaloes or camels. When milk is left out and sours, it separates into a thicker and solid curd portion, and whey, which is the watery portion. Casein protein comprises the curds and other proteins make up the whey. People can develop allergies to casein, whey or both.
Foods that Contain Casein
Any product that contains dairy generally contains casein. Foods most commonly associated with casein are milk, cheese, butter, yogurt and ice cream. Remember all forms of cheese, milk and butter fall into the casein category. This includes clarified butter called ghee often used in Indian cooking, all types of cheese, and all types of milk including skim milk, powdered milk, evaporated milk, buttermilk, half and half and more. Human breast milk is a source of casein, as well. Other products you might not immediately think contain milk product and casein include lunch meats, hot dogs, sausage, pudding and custard.
Hidden Ingredients Containing Casein
Look out for ingredients on food labels such as caramel coloring, brown sugar flavoring, natural chocolate flavoring, Bavarian cream flavoring or coconut cream flavoring -- they all contain casein. Reading food labels is essential for determining casein content. Some names to look out for include malt, magnesium caseinate, tagatose, artificial butter flavor, nutralose and malted milk margarine, among others. Organic products have nothing to do with casein content. If a food is labeled "organic," it still contains casein.
Considerations
A casein-free diet is recommended by autism advocacy groups who say autistic people can't metabolize casein properly, and this as a result exacerbates symptoms. The medical community, however, doesn't uphold these claims. If you remove casein from your diet, you'll lose valuable sources of calcium, which is required for good health. For adults, 1,000 to 1,200mg of daily calcium is recommended. Calcium is even more important for kids, especially during the adolescent years. Recommended daily dose for kids between ages 1 and 3 is 500mg; 800mg for children between ages 4 to 8 years; and 1,300mg for kids between ages 9 to 18. Calcium supplements are available, but discuss them with your doctor before you eliminate casein or start to take them.
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