London (Reuter) New evidence published Friday adds weight to a controverial theory that feeding cows' milk to babies may cause them to develop diabetes in later life, the Lancet medical journal said.

Researchers from Rome and London said they studied 47 patients who had recently developed insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and found that 51 percent of them had immune cells that grew and replicated when exposed to a protein called beta ca seine found in cows' milk.

Only 2.7 percent of healthy people i a control group had immune cells that reacted to the cows' milk protein, the scientists wrote in the Lancet.

The theory says cows' milk can stimulate a child's immune system to react to certain milk proteins which resemble proteins found on the surface of insulin-producing beta cells. This in turn tricks the body's immune system into attacking and destroying the cells.

What About Milk?

1. Iron-Deficiency: Milk is very low in iron: To get the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance of 15 mg of iron, an infant would have to drink more than 31 quarts of milk per day. Milk also causes blood loss from the intestinal tract, depleting the body's iron.
2. Diabetes: Of 142 diabetic children tested in a recent study, 100% had high levels of an antibody to a cow's milk protein. It is believed that these antibodies destroy the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas.
3. Calcium: Green leafy vegetables such as kale are as good or better than milk as calcium sources.
4. Fat Content: Other than skim varieties, dairy products are high in fat, as a percentage of total calories:
1. Whole milk: 49% fat
2. 2% milk: 35% fat(It is 2% fat only by weight)
3. Cheddar cheese: 74% fat
4. Butter:100% fat
5. Contaminants: Milk is frequently contaminated with antibiotics and excess Vitamine D. Of 42 milk samples recently tested, only 12% were within the expected range of vitamine D content. Of 10 samples of infant formula, 7 had more than twice the vitamin D content reported on the label, and 1 had more than four times the label amount.
6. Lactose: Many people of Asian and African heritage are unable to digest the milk sugar, lactose, which then causes diarrhea and gas. The lactose sugar, when it is digested, releases galactose, a simple sugar which is linked to ovarian cancer and cataracts.
7. Allergies: Milk is one of the most common causes of food allergy. Often the symptoms are subtle and may not be attributeed to milk for some time.
8. Colic: Milk proteins can cause colic, a digestive upset that bothers one in five infants. Milk-drinking mothers can also pass cow's milk proteins to their breast-feeding infants.

This facts is published by Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 5100 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Suite 404, Washington, DC 20016, (202) 686-2210. PCRM consists of 3,400 physicians