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Do You Have Milk Allergies?
As a nation, we have been raised with milk on our breakfast cereal, ice cream as a reward, sour cream on our potatoes, and milkshakes at the local fast food restaurant. Dairy products are in the majority of our recipes, served in our school lunch programs, and a part of American life.
MY STORY
When my daughter suffered from respiratory infections, ear infections and sinusitis, I did not know that what I fed her could be contributing to her problems. At nights she would wake up screaming that she couldnˇ¦t breathe. My husband and I would run into her room, grab her and take her into the bathroom. We would run the shower'¦s hot water till the bathroom became steamy. Soon she could breathe and would start to calm down. Sometimes that wouldnˇ¦t work and we would have to go to the emergency room where they would put her in an oxygen tent to relieve her gasps for air.
A friend suggested I stop giving her milk. I was annoyed as the only milk she ate was on her cereal. I decided to try it and almost immediately, she was having more restful nights. There was a backlash when she spent time with others that fed her ice cream, but otherwise, her ear infections and breathing problems stopped.
I started to research this issue learned that that "At least 50% of all children in the United States are allergic to cow's milk, many undiagnosed. Dairy products are the leading cause of food allergy, often revealed by diarrhea, constipation, and fatigue. Many cases of asthma and sinus infections are reported to be relieved and even eliminated by cutting out dairy." Natural Health, July, 1994, Nathaniel Mead, MD
A few years later, I began having regular bouts with sinusitis. Soon I was taking antibiotics on a regular basis. After awhile, they didn't work anymore and I had to take stronger antibiotics. When I complained to a coworker, she told me of a physician that made a huge difference in her life by working to see if she had any allergies. The physician had taken her off milk, and this made a huge impact on her sinus infections.
I went to see the physician, who, after looking at my nose, asked me to keep a food diary. I was annoyed. I thought I was a healthy eater and this was a waste of my time. However, as I wrote down what I ate. I found that every time I ate dairy products, my nose began to run. Like my daughter, I too had a milk allergy.
I switched to soy milk and my sinusitis completely ceased. I was sorry that I hadn't known this years before, when I had round after round of sinus infections in college. I had found that I could save time in the college cafeteria by grabbing a shake and a sandwich. I probably had allergic reactions to the ice cream in the shakes.
A Frequent Problem
Allergists say the most common allergen is dairy products. Dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage and cream cheese, buttermilk, butter, sodium caseinate and lactate) are the cause of 60% of food allergens. There are also secondary chemicals that travel through the food chain in meat and milk such as chemicals, hormones, drugs and wheat, peanuts, etc. (http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html)
Symptoms of Milk Allergies
According to Dr. Agatha Thrash, (Ucheepines.org website), milk allergies aren't only sinus infections, rashes or a leaking nose. They can also lead to confusion, poor brain function in children and much physical suffering. Babies suffer the most since their nutrition comes mostly from a diet of milk. Children may experience pain, loss of appetite, itching or burning of the mouth with ulcerations of the lining of the mouth, all due to cow's milk.
Swelling of the lips, tongue, chronic coughing, asthma, rhinitis, bronchitis, urinary bleeding, constipation, and recurrent pneumonia can be symptoms of milk allergies. Because of diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, gastrointestinal problems can occur. Ulcerative colitis has been shown to have acute exacerbations with the use of milk. "In reality, cow's milk, especially processed cow's milk, has been linked to a variety of health problems, including: mucous production, hemoglobin loss, childhood diabetes, heart disease, atherosclerosis, arthritis, kidney stones, mood swings, depression, irritability, ALLERGIES." Townsend Medical Letter, May, 1995, Julie Klotter, MD.
Many adults have some degree of lactose intolerance. For them, eating or drinking dairy products causes problems like cramping, bloating, gas, and diarrhea. It may manifest as breathing difficulty, hives and rashes, or serious pain in the gut leading to inability to get nourishment from food and dangerous weight loss. These symptoms can range from mild to severe (http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html)
According to some authors about one-fifth of children with cow's milk allergy have central nervous system disorders. Bedwetting has been ascribed to milk allergy along with cystitis and the nephrotic syndrome. Failure to thrive and sudden infant death syndrome has been felt to be due to milk allergies. In adults the tension-fatigue syndrome may be due to milk allergy. It can also cause migraines, sleep difficulties and asthma. Israel Journal of Medical Sciences 1983;19(9):806-809 Pediatrics 1989;84(4):595-603
WHAT ETHNIC GROUPS GET THIS?
Certain ethnic groups are much more likely to have lactose intolerance. For example, 90 percent of Asians, 70 percent of blacks and Native Americans, and 50 percent of Hispanics are lactose-intolerant, compared to only about 15 percent of people of Northern European descent. (Harvard School of Public Health)
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, consider this quote from Family Corner.com: "Lastly, it is important to note that the milk we drink was created by God to feed baby cows. It is full of essential nutrients to grow a nice big cow, not a baby human. Nowhere in nature will you find adult animals drinking milk. Only the babies drink milk. Why should humans be any different? Cow's milk is for baby cows; human milk is for baby humans. Save yourself a multitude of health problems and make the switch to soy or rice milk. Or better yet, give it up completely.¨
About the author:
Laurie Snyman is co-owner of The Vegetarian Express, http://www.thevegetarianexpress.com/,a website offering easy-to-prepare vegan food mixes and seasonings.
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