About Sheep Milk

Sheep have been domesticated for over 13,000 years and people started milking sheep well before they started milking cattle.

Now, however, sheep milk only accounts for 1.4% of the global production of milk.

In recent years though, sheep milk production has been increasing around the world with more people looking for alternative dairy products, learning about its high nutritional value and perhaps being a little more adventurous too!

Cattle and goats can produce much larger volumes of milk on a daily and annual basis compared with sheep. Yet, sheep produce a thick, richer and creamier milk that is higher in total solids. This is the milk fat, protein and lactose (carbohydrate) component.

This makes sheep milk an excellent product for making cheese and yoghurt.

The uniqueness of sheep milk composition provides the basis for unequalled, world class product!

Sheep Milk Facts

Sheep milk has a much higher total solid content than cow or goat milk. Total solids is the protein, fat and carbohydrate (mainly lactose) - everything that is not water.

Naturally homogenised makes sheep milk easier and quicker to digest.

Sheep milk is an excellent product for making cheese and yoghurt due to it higher protein and overall total solids content.

It is loaded with minerals and vitamins and is especially high in calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, zinc, vitamins A, B6, C and E, thiamin, riboflavin and niacin compared with cow or goat milk.

Sheep milk can be classed as a source of vitamin C (4.6 mg/100g).

There is greater calcium absorption from consuming sheep milk due to its high casein content.

Sheep milk contains about the same amount of lactose as cow milk. This actually makes it less in proportion to total solids where sheep milk contains approximately 22-27% compared with 33-40% in cow milk.

Higher quantities of all the essential amino acids are found in sheep milk compared with cow milk due to greater mineralisation.

Sheep milk can be considered as an alternative dairy option for older people, athletes and people with cow milk intolerances/allergies (always consult with your doctor first).

Characterisitcs of Sheep Milk

Sheep milk is naturally homogenised. This means the cream is blended evenly throughout the milk and does not separate to form a thick creamy top. This is because sheep milk has a smaller fat globule size to cow milk as it has more medium and small chain fatty acids. This allows for a quicker digestion time and improves digestion comfort as the body can break down the smaller molecules faster and absorb the energy and nutrients quicker. Therefore, this may cause lower levels of adipose tissue deposits which may result in less total circulating cholesterol.

Qualities of Sheep Milk:

As the French say..."Sheep for Cheese!"

Viva La France

The above tables illustrate that sheep milk is abundant in all macro- (fat, protein, carbohydrate – lactose) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals).

Sheep milk contains nearly double the amount of protein to cow (3.15 g/100g) and goat milk (3.56 g/100g) at approximately 5.98 g/100g.

Protein is broken down into different forms; mainly either casein (soluble) and whey (insoluble) protein.

Sheep, cow and goat milk share a similar casein to whey protein ratio of 80:20, whereas human breast milk is about 40:60.

Casein is what forms the curds when making cheese and sheep milk is abundant in casein which increases the cheese yields.

Casein is made up of 4 different components which differ in proportion and composition between species and individuals.

Sheep milk contains approximately the following proportions of each casein component: alpha S1 (7%), alpha S2 (23%), beta casein (61%) and kappa casein (9%).

The higher quality of calcium in sheep milk improves rennet coagulation which is agreat attribute for making cheese and the higher casein content improves gel strength in sheep yoghurt.

Nutritional Components of Sheep Milk

A Nurturing Milk

Milk is the first and primary food source a mammal receives after birth to gain all its nutrient requirements.

Sheep milk contains all of the essential amino acids and fatty acids in greater quantities than cow milk.

It is rich in minerals and vitamins. In particular, sheep milk is more plentiful in calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, vitamins A, B6, C and E, thiamin, riboflavin and niacin than cow or goat milk.

Sheep milk is lower in sodium and potassium (Balthazar et al. 2013).

Calcium and phosphorus are found together in nature and are essential for bone density, growth and most bodily functions while magnesium is critical for many metabolic functions.

Sheep milk has nearly twice the amount of calcium than cow milk which assists lowering the risk of any bone related diseases developing, such as osteoporosis.

More calcium is bioavailable from sheep milk than other milk because calcium binds onto casein and as sheep milk is rich in casein more calcium is digested.

But Wait...There's More!

Nutritional aspects of Sheep milk

Fats are an important component of the diet. They help with many body functions. Vitamins A, E, D and K are known as the fat-soluble vitamins.

Sheep milk has particularly more Vitamin A and E than both cow and goat milk, respectively. These vitamins assist with skin and eye health, maintaining a healthy immune system and function of organs.

Sheep milk is also a good source of vitamin C (4.6mg/100g) (Wijesinha-Bettoni & Burlingame, 2013).

Although a similar amount of lactose is found in sheep milk to cow milk, the proportion of lactose to total solids in sheep milk (22-27%) is actually smaller than in cow milk (33-40%).

Lactose is also associated with intestinal absorption of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium and utilisation of vitamin D (Wijesinha-Bettoni & Burlingame, 2013).

Dairy Intolerance & Allergies

Why Sheep Milk may be better for some people.

Milk intolerance is a complex and diverse problem. Most people who avoid milk claim to be lactose intolerant. However, this is not the sole reason why dairy may be avoided. Milk allergies are another explanation.

A milk allergy is an immune response from the body which can be related to a protein type in milk. Milk allergies become less prevalent in adults than in children, whereas milk intolerances become more common as we age.

Studies have shown that people can be allergic to the many different types of proteins in milk; be that a casein or a whey protein type. As mentioned before, the chemical and biological properties of milk varies between species, so not all components will have the same effects on every person.

Sheep milk has shown to be an alternative dairy source for people displaying intolerances or allergies to cow milk. Below are some of these observations on how people have responded differently to different animal milks focusing on specific proteins types.

1. People have displayed intolerances to the bovine alpha S1 and alpha S2 caseins. However, research showed that fewer children with cow milk allergies were allergic to goat milk when these proteins were the focus. Sheep milk has 99% similarity to goat alpha S1 and S2 caseins but they are vastly different to cow milk (Masoodi & Shafi, 2010).

2. The β-casein component in sheep milk, like human milk, is made from the A2 type. In contrast, most cattle of European ancestry possess both A1 and A2 beta casein at about a 1:1 ratio.

The A1 protein is one of the components in cow milk which people have displayed allergies to. These symptoms include gastrointestinal inflammation, digestion discomfort, delayed transit and softer stools. These symptoms are similar to symptoms associated with lactose intolerance. A study found that after consuming milk with both A1 and A2 (40:60) beta casein, these symptoms were exacerbated in lactose intolerant people compared with lactose tolerant people. However, no differences in gastrointestinal symptoms were detected in lactose intolerant people after consuming bovine milk containing only A2 beta casein (Jianqui et al, 2016). This suggests that consuming milk containing A1 beta casein may worsen lactose intolerant symptoms.

The result of inflammation may be an explanation on how some people experience a decrease in lactose digestibility, as it slows the ability to break down the carbohydrate in the intestine, causing the longer digestion times and initiating digestion discomfort (Pal, Woodford, Kukuljan & Ho, 2015).

From these observations, sheep milk could be counted as an alternative dairy option for people who experience low level cow milk allergies. However, it is strongly advised that anyone with known allergies or intolerances to dairy products should seek professional medical advice from their physician to clear any uncertainties.

Benefits of Sheep Milk

In Brief

Incorporating dairy in the diet has shown to protect our health in numerous ways, such as reducing the risk of chronic diseases, like Type II diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. It is also an important food source for good bone health, due to the richness and bioavailability of minerals and nutrients.

Sheep milk can be a great dairy alternative for:

1. Older people: As absorption and the ability to utilise essential nutrients (fats, protein, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins) becomes less efficient as we age, consuming nutrient-dense foods such as sheep milk, with its greater bioavailability, is likely to be beneficial for the preservation of health.

For example, protein is important for preventing muscle loss as we age.

2. Athletes: As a sports recovery drink. Sheep milk is richer in all the essential nutrients which will assist athletes achieve a quicker recovery to help promote muscle repair and growth.

3. People who may show low levels of cow milk allergies: Studies have shown that these consumers display less symptoms of discomfort and greater tolerance as a result of the different protein properties found in each milk protein fraction to cow milk.

References

Balthazar, C. F., Pimentel, T. C., Ferrão, L. L., Almada, C. N., Santillo, A., Albenzio, M., . . . Cruz, A. G. (2017). Sheep milk: physicochemical characteristics and relevance for functional food development. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 16, 247-262. doi:10.1111/1541-4337.12250

Huitema, N. A. (2012). How Nutritional and Genetic Factors affect New Zealand Goat Milk Composition (Thesis, Master of Science (MSc). Hamilton, New Zealand: University of Waikato. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10289/6525

Jianqin, S., Leiming, X., Lu, X., Yelland, G. W., Ni, J., & Clarke, A. J. (2016). Effects of milk containing only A2 beta casein versus milk containing both A1 and A2 beta casein proteins on gastrointestinal physiology, symptoms of discomfort, and cognitive behavior of people with self-reported intolerance to traditional cows’ milk. Nutritional Journal, 15, 35. doi:10.1186/s12937-016-0147-z

Masoodi, T. A., & Shafi, G. (2010). Analysis of casein alpha S1 & S2 proteins from different mammalian species. Bioinformation, 4, 430-435.

Pal, S., Woodford, K., Kukuljan, S., & Ho, S. (2015). Milk intolerance, beta casein and lactose. Nutrients, 7, 7285-7297. doi:10.3390/nu7095339

Wijesinha‐Bettoni, R., & Burlingame, B. (2013). Milk and dairy product composition. In E. Muehlhoff, A. Bennett, & D. McMahon (Eds.), Milk and dairy products in human nutrition (pp. 41-102). Rome, Italy: Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations.