Yes, mycobacterium paratuberculosis (MAP) is suspected in at least the breastmilk of mothers with Crohn's (or mycobacterium tuberculosis with moms with tuberculosis --I'm not sure whether it's decided as to whether this is the same bacterium or not -- can anyone correct me on that??). Many similarly viable bacteria are isolated from grocery-store infant formulas, so my suspicion is that MAP is in there too. From my years of reviewing the evidence on Crohn's, I see it as a two-fold punch (otherwise any of us who drink cow's milk would have it). First, the intestinal integrity is severely interrupted (like from chronic antibiotic usage, Montezuma's Revenge, or especially chronic cow's milk protein intolerance reactions), then the MAP(often supplied by cow's milk) has a chance to take hold and produce the typical symptom complex associated with Crohn's. A clue to your friend with a Crohn's daughter, many studies report 100% remission with elemental formula -- they say it has nothing to do with milk or other protein intolerance -- that is just gives the intestines a "rest" (a rest from what??) Just as many studies report like 85% remission with total milk avoidance, along with any other known food antigens to that person -- then these studies report that the other 15% simply couldn't stick to the diet (and the conclusion is that dietary avoidance is not worth considering). Feel free to contact me [log in to unmask] *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html