In August 2000, the American Academy of Pediatrics
issued an official statement about allergenic proteins in a mother's
diet appearing in her breastmilk and creating problems for her
baby. They stopped far short of talking about excellent
research showing that cow's milk in the diet of a pregnant or
breastfeeding woman creates even more problems than we ever thought
for her nursing baby.
Breastfeeding moms get lots of advice about the food they should
be eating while nursing their babies. I try to discuss this
with the mom- and dad-to-be when we meet during a prenatal appointment.
I often wish I could talk to more women before they become
pregnant to discuss anti-allergy measures and other topics.
Please don’t misunderstand the incredible superiority of human
milk for human babies. Infants who receive formula have
more intestinal problems by far than infants who
drink breastmilk. Uninformed medical practitioners have
actually told mothers that their babies were "allergic to
their breastmilk." Nothing could be further from the
truth.
Babies can be allergic to protein fragments from mom's diet which
end up in the milk, but if they are sensitive to those proteins,
they would be much more affected by an artificial baby milk made
entirely of non-human protein. Even so called “hypoallergenic”
formulas are rarely any better. They are made of proteins
broken down into smaller fragments to provoke less of a reaction.
They are still allergenic and don't solve the problem for many
babies.
Babies are gassy. That is an immutable fact caused by the
need to double or triple one's weight in a year. Try doing
that yourself and see if you don’t spend a little time gassy.
I have seen the gassiest babies get better when moms removed
dairy products from their diets.
Babies with blood in their stool often stop having blood when
moms stop drinking milk and eating other dairy products.
Cow's milk protein irritates the intestinal lining and virtually
always causes what's called “microhemorrhaging." Sometimes
this bleeding is quite visible and helps alert parents to the
need for mom to change her diet. Blood in the stool can
be frightening but is rarely dangerous. It has a few other
causes such as viral irritation, but the most common reason I
have seen it is dairy allergy.
Eczema lessens and often goes away completely when breastfeeding
moms become dairy-free.
Skin rashes occur frequently in newborns and babies. The
most common, worrisome, persistent problem is an allergic rash
called eczema. Dermatologists and allergists describe eczema
as not a "rash that itches, but an itch that rashes."
That is the first thing that happens and the first thing the parents
may notice: increased irritability and “face rubbing” by their
baby. They may also see a red rash which becomes more and
more "angry" looking and eventually gets scaly and even
bloody. Superficial skin infections can follow and be difficult
to treat.
Dairy elimination is crucial. Long before you use cortisone
cream, stop all dairy. Stop peanuts and eggs, too.
Constipation
Babies who are constipated often improve when dairy is eliminated
from mom’s diet. Older children may also get relief from
constipation with complete dairy elimination. In older children,
studies have shown that some bedwetting may also be cured by dairy
elimination. The allergic reaction to the offending protein
in milk is exhibited in a variety of ways that affect the bowels
and urinary tract. If your child is suffering from problems
in these areas, dietary restriction should most certainly be considered
prior to doing further testing or using medications.
Changing a breastfeeding mom's diet or changing the diet of an
older child eating solid foods will often lessen medical problems
dramatically.
Cold Symptoms
Babies who have constant runny noses often get better when moms
stop all dairy. Cow's milk allergies may look just like
"hay fever" at any age: stuffiness, cough, runny
nose that seems to persist for weeks and weeks.
Older kids with ear infections often stop having ear infections
when dairy is removed from their diets.
This has been a key intervention in my practice. I have
cared for hundreds of kids who have taken ten or even twenty
courses of antibiotics and even steroids. They were able
to cancel scheduled ear surgery because they got better when they
stopped drinking milk and eating cheese. The ear infections
just plain stopped for many of the children and for others they
decreased to manageable childhood illnesses rather than being
a constant source of pain, school absences and incapacity.
Read more at: http://www.notmilk.com/peta/mucus.html
GER (Reflux)
Before a baby gets evaluated for GER (gastroesophageal reflux),
breastfeeding moms must eliminate all dairy from their diets.
To some, this seems like a drastic step. It is far less
drastic or invasive than the tests and medications for GER in
babies.
When eliminating dairy and watching for a reduction of GER symptoms,
patience is a key. The offending protein can take a few
weeks to be completely undetectable in breastmilk. Many
will see improvement within days, because the levels begin to
decrease as a diet devoid of dairy is consumed. It is not
unusual to see little change until two or three weeks after eliminating
dairy.
The almost miraculous improvement in hundreds of troubled
babies in 22 years of practice might be the strongest evidence,
albeit anecdotal evidence, that I bring to the table. Does
this work 100% of the time? No, nothing works 100% of the
time, but dairy elimination is the single-most important advice
I give to dozens of people each and every week.
Casein and B-lactoglobulin
The two proteins that trigger the biggest allergic response are
casein and b-lactoglobulin. If your baby doesn't get as
much relief as you had hoped just from dairy elimination, read
labels carefully. Soy cheese and many other foods that we
expect to be dairy protein-free are really not.
Even diaper creams may contain casein.
Read more at: http://www.drjaygordon.com/nutrition/dairy.htm
Increased exposure to allergens like dairy allergens can even
lead to fatal reactions. Fortunately, the "minor"
symptoms almost always go on for a long time before major reactions
in almost all babies, children and adults.
Lactose Intolerance
The major "sugar" in cow's milk is lactose and some
people confuse lactose intolerance and cow's milk protein allergy.
Lactose intolerance evolves gradually after about age 7 or 8 years
and is particularly common in those of Asian, Native Alaskan and
African decent. Gassiness and bloating after drinking milk, eating
cheese or ice cream occur in many people. Some choose to
ignore it, others limit dairy and still others just use supplemental
lactase (an enzyme) to lessen their symptoms.
Viral stomach flu can create temporary lactose intolerance.
We adults are clearly not meant to drink cow's milk and the number
of children adversely affected by dairy protein and dairy sugars
is underestimated in mainstream nutrition books.
A very informative article in August 2000 issue of "Discover
Magazine" features a discussion with T. Colin Campbell, an
ex-dairy farmer now a Cornell University nutritional biochemist:
"The bottom line for Campbell is simple: 'It's unnatural
to drink milk.' Most adults in Asia and Africa, along with many
in southern Europe and Latin America, have trouble digesting lactose,
the main sugar in the milk of both humans and cows. Some suffer
from bloating, cramps, or diarrhea if they try. A 1978 population
survey, compiled by geographer Frederick J. Simoons of the University
of California at Davis, suggests that it was only because of a
genetic aberration that milk became a food staple in northern
Europe and North America. Nature normally programs the young for
weaning before they reach adulthood by turning down production
in early childhood of the enzyme that breaks down lactose. But
a gene mutation inherited by people of northern European descent
prevents the production of this enzyme from being turned down.
As a result, the majority of Americans can drink milk all their
lives."
This excellent, short article also talks about osteoporosis as
it relates to dairy consumption: Countries with the highest dairy
intake have the highest incidence of osteoporosis. This
striking fact seems at odds with everything we think we “know”
about calcium and nutrition. Osteoporosis is related more to calcium
excretion due to salt and protein intake than to calcium deficiency
in the diet. The entire article and the attached graphics
are well worth a look.
Read more at:
http://www.discover.com/aug_00/featmilk.html
Other Medical Experts on Dairy
Hundreds of medical articles and many books have been written
about the problems with milk products in humans. The authors
are physicians of great standing in the medical community.
The late Frank Oski MD was head of the Department of Pediatrics
at Johns Hopkins University and the editor of the Yearbook of
Pediatrics. The late Dr. Benjamin Spock was the most famous and
most influential physician of the past 100 years and many other
doctors have participated in trying to bring dairy's shortcomings
to the attention of doctors and patients alike.
Dr. John McDougall often cites milk's problems alphabetically:
Allergies (dairy is the leading cause of allergies in
adults and children) and continuing with a discussion of .
. .
Anemia. Again milk products are the number one cause
of this problem because they cause blood loss and also interfere
with iron absorption. Additionally, kids who drink lots
of milk feel very full and often have no "room" for
healthier iron-containing foods. Dr. Oski wrote many articles
about milk's role in causing anemia in America's children.
Arthritis is the third on Dr. McDougall's list and he
documents published studies from the British Medical Journal,
the Journal of Arthritis and Rheumatology and other major medical
journals. The mechanism of action involves antibody/antigen
particles which lead to inflamed joints.
Atherosclerosis, or heart and blood vessel disease, make
the third "A" on the list. Milk is the number
one source of saturated fat in most diets. A further problem
involves the antibodies formed against milk attacking the delicate
lining of arteries.
Blood loss, constipation, and diabetes follow in alphabetical
order. The medical evidence strongly points to early exposure
to cow's milk leading to an increase in Type 1 diabetes.
I have seen constipation clear up in a matter of days when parents
remove dairy products from their child's diet and the intestinal
blood loss from drinking milk (or exposure to milk protein through
breast milk) is an accepted medical fact.
Read more at: http://www.ffl.org/html/milk_facts.html
Talking to patients about dairy products is a lot easier than
it used to be because the “problems with milk” are better known
than just a few years ago. Still, it’s hard to combat the
$400,000,000 annual advertising budget available to the purveyors
of dairy products. Milk does not “do a body good” nor build
strong bones. It is a traditional food which has become
a lazy staple of the American diet.
Children (and their parents) get healthier when they have fewer
dairy products and are healthiest when they have none.
When I'm talking to older kids about making dairy a smaller part
of their diets, I tell them that it's kind of like an old Seinfeld
joke: “Hey, look at those large animals in the field!
Let's go squeeze those things underneath them and then drink whatever
comes out. Then, let's take whatever's left over, put it
aside for a year or so and . . . eat it!” The
kids respond with a hearty “eeeeew!” Even adults get it
sometimes.
