Lactose intolerance or Cow’s Milk Allergy can be responsible for a number of health conditions – many of them not readily associated with what is in effect a relatively simple nutrition problem.

Here are some statistics that demonstrate the point:

• In a valuable piece of research, 74 patients with age ranged from one and a half years old to 46 years with atopic dermatitis were evaluated. No less than 90% of the patients were under the age of 16. Of these 17.5% had allergic rhinitis and 62.2% had associated bronchial asthma. Patients were tested for milk, egg, fish and pollen, using skin tests, specific IgE blood test and antigen-specific histamine release tests. Milk was reactive in 36.5% of patients. A diet that avoided milk, in conjunction with symptomatic treatment, led to a significant remission of atopic dermatitis. (*1)

• 56 milk-allergic patients (average age 10.5 yrs) were compared with 204 controls (average age 10.9 yrs). There was a significantly higher level (approximately double the number) of recurrent ear infection and removal of adenoids and ear tubes amongst those who were allergic, compared with controls. (*2)

Editor’s Note:

These results are not surprising to any allergist or nutritional therapist who has carried out a lot of elimination diets.

• The microflora of the gut (beneficial bacteria similar to that found in yoghurt) are essential in the development of the gut immune system. There is a relationship between allergy and the development of intestinal microflora during infancy. Probiotic supplements are beneficial in the treatment of food allergy. (*3)

Friendly bacteria are often referred to as probiotics. These bacteria lower the pH in the intestine, thereby inhibiting growth of undesirable bacteria and enhancing the nutritional status by helping to digest food and manufacture certain vitamins, such as some B vitamins and vitamin K.

Prescription antibiotics have a detrimental effect on your good bacteria in that they don’t discriminate between ‘good’ and ‘bad’. It is advised always to take top quality Probiotics after antibiotics, even if the antibiotics were taken years ago.

• A 33-year old male had flu-like illness, with acute onset of muscle aches, dizziness and tachycardia, after staying at a dairy farmhouse. His symptoms had been intermittent ever since, with varying degrees of severity. The muscle pain was worse in the morning and was chronic in nature, and required daily painkillers. Tachycardia occurred 2 to 3 times per week, frequently in the night lasting about 30 minutes. Despite investigation for over 26 years, no reason for the symptoms had been found though Chronic Fatigue Syndrome had been suggested. He ate a normal Western diet, including milk. A lactose tolerance test was performed and eight hours after the lactose test, he felt abdominal discomfort and headache. After exclusion of lactose from his diet, there was immediate improvement in all symptoms. There has been no return of these symptoms while staying free of lactose.

Non-degraded lactose is metabolized in the colon by bacteria, producing hydrogen. In some people the lactase enzyme activity declines after weaning. The usual symptoms of lactose intolerance include loose stools, intermittent abdominal distention, colic and excessive flatus after lactose ingestion. In this patient, these symptoms were negligible. The authors note that lactose intolerance can lead to severe symptoms other than from the bowel. The authors further note that symptoms could arise from the absorption of lactose or a bacterial metabolite produced when gut bacteria undergo a sudden glucose overload under hypoxic or anaerobic conditions. Some of the possible toxic metabolites could include butane 2, 3 diol, formate and hydrogen itself, which could interact with muscles and nerves. Health practitioners should realize that lactose intolerance is causing unnecessary symptoms. There should be an education program to make the public aware of the incidence of lactose intolerance and that an easy test is available. (*4)

• Dairy intolerants who are also vegetarian need to monitor their B12 levels. Of 191 vegan men surveyed by a Kings College London team, 150 had below-normal levels of B12 and 50 were at the ‘danger’ levels. This compared to only 1 omnivore with a sub-normal B12 level in 190 ‘control’ men tested.

• B12 deficiency can cause lower immunity, anaemia, depression and other neurological disorders. All the men were participating in the European Prospective study on cancer. (*5)

(*1) "Atopic Dermatitis and Food Allergy," Resano A, et al, Invest Allergol Clin Immunol, September-October, 1988;8(5):271-276."