hi read quite a lot on various old posts about cutting down on milk intake why is this ?
can anyone say how long it would be before seeing any improvements ?
to milk or not to milk that is the qu... - Asthma Community ...
to milk or not to milk that is the question
13 Replies
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dairy products cause the body to produce extra mucose which blocks the lungs. If you don't have a problem then don't worry. I have milk for cereals but not in tea, always have done and can't say that it's a problem unless i have a cold or chest infection.
I would say if you eliminated all dairy products completely for at least 3 days but preferably a week you should see an improvement if they are affecting you.
Sometimes the change isn't so obvious for some people until after a few days without them, they go back to 'normal eating' and all their symptoms come back or get worse.
Some dairy products affect people more than others. eg a small amount of milk in a tea or a coffee may not affect someone but milk on a breakfast cereal might do as it is a larger quantity taken at one time.
Milk is the main ingredient in all dairy products and so if you eat yohurt, cheese, ice-cream, sauces made from milk, dishes made with cheese etc it can all mount up to quite a high dairy diet
My son is on a dairy free diet (due to cow's milk protein allergy) and we were advised by the pediatric gastroenterologist that it can take up to 6 weeks for all residual dairy to leave the body (especially the gut, intestines etc).
The best way to check if this has an impact for you is an exclusion diet but you should really only do this under medical supervision as you need to ensure you get enough calcium in your diet through other sources.
Dairy is well documented for causing mucus.
Takr care x
I have to disagree here, can you tell I like a good debate?
It is a longstanding myth that milk and other diary products can cause/increase mucus production. There is no evidence from scientific studies to support this but it can thicken saliva. It is likely that milk may indeed have a protective effect against asthma especially if if is raw or unprocessed i.e. unpasteurised/unhomogenised.
Cutting out dairy suddenly can potentially be dangerous with the loss of particularly calcium amongst other elements if not done carefully.
In answer to how long after cutting down on milk intake before seeing any improvements, not sure I could say it helped me at all. I cut down on diary products (long story but conclusion was lactose intolerance) and have had a lot of problems since with asthma and sinusitis in particular postnasal drip/mucus.
Oooh tj I like a debate too!! Lol
In this instance I shall bow down to your superior mucus knowledge 
Well too throw a spanner in the works, I was brought up on unpasteurised goats milk and still have it for breakfast but it never stopped me getting asthma or indeed makes me any better as when have pasteurised cows milk when away I don't get worse. What did make me produce more mucous the was chocolate, and I know this as my pf dips and mucous increased when my hotel chocolate selection box arrived, took several months to make the link.
Oooh! Hotel Chocolat goodie box. I might have to go for a little lie down. You'd almost have to feel happier for having one of those - even if your lungs aren't too keen the rest of you must be jumping about in glee. My treat is a Graze box, which is very well behaved but can't hold a candle to Hotel Chocolat. Speak sternly to your lungs and enjoy the choccie.
I'm kind of on the 'not to milk' side of this discussion because I have a mild lactose intolerance. It seems to be 'common knowledge' that dairy products increase mucus production and it's interesting to get another view. I seem to vaguely remember reading something about the fact that, like most mammals, we were not meant to drink milk in adulthood but many people have a genetic change that allows them to carry on drinking milk with no ill effects while others who don't carry that gene become intolerant or allergic and I wonder if the mucus thing is linked with that. Of course, this could all be rubbish and I'm remembering something completely different ......
Hotel Chocolat 
Woody-som, also grew up in my case drinking cow's milk like water
TJ, your first post said that unpasturised milk may have a protective effect, well didn't for me. I take it you had cows milk staright from the farm ? Science doesn't have all the answers, but their is evidence to support that as we age we become less tollerant to dairy products. As another poster said we were not designed to consume dairy, but you may be right when it doesn't increase mucous production, but make it thicker....either way it's a case to give dairy a miss, even AUK help files do mention it. I don't advocate removing it entirely from ones diet but reduce it. As to the health benefits yes their are many, but also problems if it cause you to become ill. Many things in life have benefits....many of us take PPI's (omeprazole etc) for GERD, but it is proven by research that long term use of these significantly increses the risk of hip fractures, why ?
I have done the Goats Milk (hated it), no improvement. Our local cows milk as a kid was from a farmer who did not pasturise, his milk and my condition still remained the same. Have done the dairy free diet, condition remains the same. So for me it made no difference, what ever I did, but if others find it helpful to have a dairy free diet by all means do it, but making sure that they get the important vitamins and calcium put back into their diet from other sources.
Woody-som, same here with no protective effect. I also disprove the hygiene theory. I did indeed have cow's milk that travelled all of a few feet almost, no food miles whatsoever.
I too found no difference sinus/asthma wise with dairy free and then lactose free products.
Anyone who wants to try no milk/dairy does need to be aware and make sure they have a good balanced diet.
Edit to add: The recent news articles on PPIs and hip fractures are based mainly on a study published in the British Medical Journal where there was a slightly increased risk of hip fractures in post-menopausal women who smoke
TJ, I have to agree the theory about living in a clean environment has made us vulnerable to asthma. I grew up around on on farms, playing in the fields and rivers. Sinitus etc are v common in asthmatics and ENT have said it's a result of the asthma meds. Pro's and cons all round.
I asked Dr Christian Jessen this yesterday, and he says milk and dairy can cause increased mucous production in asthmatics.
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