Moooo-ve over Asthma: Chicken or the Egg?
- Aug 24, 2016
- 2 min read
Ah, the things you see in healthcare. You would be surprised.......
Today, we'll discuss my accidental discovery this week while continuing to research the link between dairy and asthma. But first, these questions came to mind at the beginning of the week....
Am I possibly allergic to milk and never knew it? Is there a growing epidemic of people becoming allergic to milk? Or is milk an inflammatory product? If so, what's causing it? We definitely have a case of 'chicken or the egg'... what's causing what?
First, I wanted to examine the symptoms of a dairy allergy and a dairy intolerance. A dairy allergy presents as rashes, hives, itching, swelling, and then more severe as trouble breathing, wheezing, and loss of consciousness. There are two main proteins of milk that can cause an allergic reaction. Casein (solid part when milk curdles) and whey (liquid part when milk curdles). Eww. Curdled milk reminds me of my sister leaving her cereal bowls around. Yuck! Dairy intolerance is a condition where your body can't digest lactose, a sugar. This leads to gas, bloating, and diarrhea.
In my life, I've experienced welts to anaphylactic shock from other things, so I know that an allergy can present in different ways, but why do milk products only affect my asthma, specifically mucous production? That's not characteristic of a true allergy to me. This leads me to believe milk is an inflammatory product.
So, now that I've established the validity of this issue.....on to my new discovery!
Asthma is comprised of 3 things: bronchoconstriction, inflammation, and mucous production. What causes these 3 things to happen? Leukotrienes. "Leukotrienes are chemicals that are released from the lungs with people who have asthma, causing inflammation and increased mucous production in the airways. They also cause the lining of the airways to contract, which narrows the airways." Click here for resource.
This week, I read that cows suffering from chronic mastitis to their udders produce leukotrienes as a result. How long are the cows milked until the mastitis is discovered? Are the leukotrienes being transferred to the milk? Are they destroyed during pasteurization? Are we ingesting the leukotrienes? Would our body respond to others' leukotrienes the same way our bodies respond to our own chemicals? If so, could the outside leukotrienes from milk trigger an asthmatic response in dairy consumers? Click here for study.
In the book, Nourishing the Body and Recovering Health, it states, "eliminating animal products especially dairy lowers leukotriene production which could reduce or altogether eliminate the need for asthma medications." I think as consumers we really need to examine this! Click here for excerpt.
Stay tuned for next time as we continue the journey with one more post on this complicated subject!!
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