Milk. Does a Body Good?

     By Cary Bryson

     My son was diagnosed with acute asthma around the age of six months.  Asthma does not run on either side of our family, nor do we smoke.  My son's asthma attacks progressively worsened, from 1 per month to 3-4 per month.  Chronic wheezing and coughing lingered between the attacks as well.  Around the age of six months I relinquished breastfeeding and introduced him to cow's milk.

     From the time we are able to talk, most of us were told to "drink your milk".  The calcium in cow's milk will make your bones strong and your teeth healthy.  We are taught that the only way to get a sufficient amount of calcium is to drink at least two 8 ounce glasses a day.  Yet, humans are the only mammals that drink the milk of the other species.
  
     Dairy, such as cow's milk and cheese are sometimes called mucus-forming dairy foods.  These common foods can worsen all respiratory conditions and even clog lungs.  When more mucus builds up in the lungs than can be expelled, asthma attacks develop.  Just recently, doctors and researchers feel that undiagnosed milk allergies may have a strong relationship between milk and asthma.

     Milk is one of the two or three most common food allergens.  Half of school-aged children may be allergic to milk without knowing.  Not all reactions to cow's milk are serious.  Most allergies can manifest various ways and can change over time.  Some children may develop severe acne as a teen, which means the allergy moved into a different organ.  Therefore, misleading patients and doctors into thinking the allergy has been outgrown.  Milk allergies may even manifest into eczema, bronchitis, sinusitis, autoimmune disorders, ear infections, frequent colds, chronic runny nose, and sometimes behavioral problems.

     The allergy is not from the cow's milk itself, it is from the antibiotics (penicillin) given to cows to help treat mastitis.  My daughter was diagnosed with 6 or more ear infections in one year before the age of 3 and she frequently complained of a belly ache.  Her treatment for the ear infections was penicillin.  Within 12 hours she was in the hospital due to an allergic reaction to the penicillin.

     I switched pediatricians and he suggested that I limit the amount of milk for my children and eventually eliminate it completely.  At first, I though he was fishing for solutions, but after a few weeks without cow's milk, I was convinced.  My son's asthma attacks went down to 1 per month and the coughing and wheezing subsided.  My daughter also had less ear infections nor did she complain of stomach aches.

     I tried a lot of milk substitutes.  Goats milk, soy milk, hemp milk, coconut milk, and organic milk.  Most come in chocolate and vanilla flavors.  I was concerned about the loss of calcium so I increased our intake of greens by using broccoli and spinach in just about everything.  My son has not had an asthma attack in almost two years and my daughter has had a couple of ear infections in 3 years.  I even stop using dairy for a few weeks when we have the common cold and it shortens the sickness.

     If you or someone you know is suffering from any of the symptoms I talked about, experiment with emliminating cow's milk temporarily or completely.  Give it a try!  You may be surprised with the results.
    

Sources

http://www.naturalnews.com/