It has been known for some time that living on a farm protects children against asthma and allergies, so a recent study sought to investigate whether raw farm milk might be partly responsible for this effect, and to determine which constituents of the milk might be responsible.

Results from a very large survey of more than 8,000 parents of school-aged children in rural regions of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland suggested that raw milk consumption lowers the risk of asthma, atopy and hay, independent of other farm exposures. Boiled farm milk, on the other hand, did not confer these benefits.

The study concluded that the protective effect of raw milk consumption on asthma might be associated with the whey protein fraction of the milk.

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