milk (dairy) question

is there anyone here who doesn't give their LOs a lot of whole milk bc they feel it creates more colds? i was told to switch to rice milk or to do 1/2 and 1/2 in the beginning and i would see less colds and an overal 'healthier' baby(ies)

 

Milk doesn't cause colds viruses do. It sounds like they might be allergic to milk. You might want to check with the pedi to see if they'll do a milk allergy test.

 

I agree with Christine. I can tell you that when my kids have a cold, they are less likely to drink milk and I start giving them pediasure cut with water but I have not seen any health issues in my children as a result of milk.

 

I've always heard that milk and dairy can increase congestion, but not necessarily that it makes them more susceptible to colds. I do know that when I eat a lot of dairy I sniff and clear my throat a lot. ardon: That being said, my guy drink quite a bit of milk and are almost never snuffy!

 

Yeah I would also have to agree with the other posters. Milk in itself isn't a cause for infection but can cause allergic reactions that may mimic cold/flu like symptoms. I agree, try and get an allergy test done if you can.

My guys had a milk protein allergy while on formula so we had to use the super expensive hypoallergenic formula but at 12 months I started giving them whole milk and there was no problem at all so my best guess is that they grew out of it.

Good luck, I hope you find some answers!

 

they were fine all summer. now it's an issue. i'm assuming its a cold but they had a cold 2 weeks ago and now they have anohter one? :headbang:

 

Dairy does make my kids (and me) more susceptible to illness (of any kind) because we are allergic to it to some degree. I did notice a significant difference in how frequently we were sick when we switched to goat's milk, but again, I think it's because our bodies don't process it well so it compromises our immune system. Does that make sense? If you think your kids might be struggling with processing dairy, it's certainly worth a shot at finding alternatives. There are plenty out there

 

I give whole milk but my girlfriend sweared that dairy promotes ear infections. Her son had a congenital condition which made it so every time he had an ear infection they had to take blood. She had read about the dairy issue and took him off it. She swears that he hasn't had an ear infection since.

 

Your kids likely have frequent colds now because the weather is cooler and the "sick season" is starting. The average child gets 10-12 colds a year and if they stay well all summer, well, you do the math!

October/November usually brings croup, December/January influenza, Jan/Feb RSV, Feb/March rotavirus with a smattering of other unnamed viruses throughout. Winter is just a yucky time till they start to build immunity to all of it.

 

My Grandma always says that milk makes mucus thicker (but not really more) and that you should never drink milk with a cold or if you have a fever.

That being said I don't really alter my consumption of milk on anything :-D. Love the stuff. Probably won't change my son's consumption either unless he doesn't want to drink it. DD has issues with cow's milk so I have her on toddler formula. I do worry about the hormones in milk though and it's one of the only things I worry about buying organic. They don't always have it in stock but I always try to buy organic milk. The price drives me nuts but it's important to me.