[roxiefoxie08]

Does anyone know if it comes from a milk protein cause my dog is milk intolerant she cannot have cheese nor yogurt since some foods have this.
http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Lactobacillus_casei

 

[roxiefoxie08]

anyway know

 

[jenneses]

It is usually derived from milk products. You may have to contact the distributor/manufacturer to determine if a particular strain has been developed another way, but since it is the base used to build milk proteins, I'd doubt they could.

 

[gingerkid]

I'm confused, are you asking about the bacteria Lactobacillus casei or the milk protein casein? L. casei[/] (the bacteria) is found IN milk products (as well as many other places, including your own gut!) and is added to milk curds as part of the cheese making process. Its one of the bacteria that helps make cheddar cheese. It is also the bacteria responsible for most yogurts, is what turns cabbage into saurkraut, is partially responsible for Belgian lambic beers, and basically anything else in food where something is naturally fermented. It can be isolated and cultured in a lab very easily. It doesn't come from a milk protein (that doesn't make sense - its like saying you come from beef...) and it is naturally present pretty much everywhere. SO, if you're wondering if your milk-sensitive dog can eat food etc. with L. casei, I don't see why not - he's probably eating it without you knowing anyway.

Casein, on the other hand, is one of the major protein components of milk. But I have to clarify something: does your dog have a milk allergy or is she lactose intolerant? They're not the same thing. If she is lactose intolerant, things with casein in them might be fine, especially in very small quantities. If she has a milk allergy, I would avoid anything that list casein (or other milk ingredients) as an ingredient. In either case, the particular bacteria L. casei should be fine, for the reasons stated above.

 

[roxiefoxie08]

it showed up in her allergy test that she is allergic to whey and milk her symptoms were vomiting and loose stools and i was feeding her yogurt for awhile,and merrick dog food that contains Lactobacillus casei so i am not sure if it was intolerance or not.

 

[zhaor]

The bacteria itself does not "come" from milk protein. It feed on the sugars in milk and is present in fermented diary like cheese and yogurt. It's a probiotic, so "good" bacteria

milk intolerant or lactose intolerant? Lactose intolerance comes from the body's inability to produce lactase, the enzyme used to process lactose. In nature, the body decreases or ceases production of lactase eventually since only babies drink milk. When you drink milk and there isn't sufficient lactase to break it down, bacteria in the colon can then thrive on the unprocessed lactose and that's what leads to gas and diarrhea. It why even if a non lactose intolerant person can get gas and diarrhea from drinking too much milk.

When it comes to processed diary like cheese and yogurt, some of the lactose is broken down by bacteria like the Lactobacillus during the fermentation process. This is what makes cheese and yogurt more tolerable than milk for lactose intolerant...creatures. So yes there will be strains of the bacteria in stuff like cheese and especially yogurt since it's a probiotic.

Milk intolerance on the other hand are different than lactose intolerance since they can be sensitive to some other thing in milk and diary. It's not nearly as common though.

 

[gingerkid]

it showed up in her allergy test that she is allergic to whey and milk her symptoms were vomiting and loose stools and i was feeding her yogurt for awhile,and merrick dog food that contains Lactobacillus casei so i am not sure if it was intolerance or not.

Whey is essentially concentrated milk-protein water that's left after most of the fats and some proteins are removed (as in cheese making). If you've ever bough yogurt (especially greek- or balkan-style) and when you opened it up it looked like it had separated, the watery stuff is whey. If it showed up on an allergy test then it would be an allergy, rather than an intolerance. Lactose intolerance comes from animals (including humans) being unable to digest lactose, the major sugar molecule in milk, because of lack of the specific enzyme to break it down. Has similar symptoms as a milk allergy generally (gas and soft stool in cases of mild intolerance, diarrhea and abdo pain in more severe cases) but the mechanism differs. In a milk allergy the immune system attacks milk proteins that have entered the body through consumption like it would attack a virus or bacteria - the immune system sees them as as harmful invaders that must be stopped! Isn't biology fun!

I wouldn't feed her yogurt, but merrick food would probably be okay even if it lists L. casei as a separate ingredient (just check that it doesn't list other milk ingredients, such as "modified milk ingredients", "whey protein", "lactose", or "casein".)