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Milk allergy is one of the most common and troublesome food allergies and intolerances. Cow’s milk is found in many food products, including those in which its presence is not expected – for example in cold cuts, bread and breakfast cereals. If your milk allergy is severe, it is imperative to eliminate these and many other foods from your diet. Unfortunately, cow’s milk proteins are one of the most common allergenic substances, and an allergy to them can appear at any age. This is particularly troublesome due to the fact that milk and milk products contain many valuable nutrients (including calcium, phosphorus and magnesium as well as vitamins B2, A and D) that people allergic to milk proteins must supplement in other ways.
What is the difference between a milk allergy and a milk intolerance?
Lactose intolerance, often referred to as milk intoleranceis due to the lack of an enzyme (lactase) needed to digest milk sugar, i.e. lactose. People intolerant (intolerant) of lactose do not have the ability to break down milk sugar into two simple sugars, i.e. glucose and galactose. Lactose intolerance manifests as abdominal pain, diarrhea, flatulence, nausea and a feeling of fullness in the stomach. Milk allergy concerns proteins contained in milk and is the immune system’s response to an allergic factor.
Do you want to perform diagnostics for intolerance? You can do it without visiting a laboratory by selecting a lactose and gluten intolerance mail-order test. If you suspect that it is not the only food allergy you suffer from, order a test for 10 allergens.
Milk allergy – symptoms
Milk allergy can give symptoms not only on the part of the digestive system. Allergic skin reactions such as hives, itchy skin and atopic dermatitis may occur. For other unusual (not related to the digestive system) symptoms milk allergies These include: coughing, sneezing and runny nose, and recurrent pharyngitis, as well as urinary tract disorders, conjunctivitis, and muscle and joint pain. As a result allergies to milk proteins Sleep disorders (insomnia, frequent and too early waking up) and migraine headaches may also appear in milk, milk products and other food products.
Strong in severe cases milk allergies (to the protein it contains) may even lead to anaphylactic shock.
If you suspect you are allergic to milk, we recommend performing Imutest Allergy – Milk – Home Cassette Test. Results are available within half an hour. You can do the test yourself without leaving your home.
Milk allergy – causes
The cause of milk allergies is allergic to milk proteins, most often casein, which makes up 80% of milk proteins (the remaining 20% are so-called whey proteins). Allergy to milk however, it may also apply to other proteins: lactalbumin (present only in fresh milk), glycoprotein (it is present in milk, butter and cream), lactoglobulin (people allergic to this protein can consume goat’s milk and its products) and beta-lactoglobulin that occurs also in beef and veal.
Milk proteins (except lactalbumin) do not lose their own sensitizing properties even after heating or preparing dry powder from milk. After consuming food that contains them in the body of an allergic person, it gives a response from the immune system, which reacts to irritating (allergic) stimuli by producing inflammation. Since milk contains several types of proteins, a allergy may concern only one of them, a thorough diagnosis is recommended before introducing a restrictive diet.
Milk allergy it most often occurs in infants and children up to 3 years of age, less often in adolescents and adults due to the fact that the digestive system of children is less developed and there is a greater risk of allergy to some food component.
For the causes of milk allergy genetic determinants are also included – it occurs more often in children with at least one parent allergic to milk.
Check opinions about dairy products at Opineo.pl.
What if you are allergic to milk?
The simplest advice on allergy to milk is to eliminate cow’s milk, dairy products and other products that contain cow’s milk proteins from the diet. In case of milk allergies you have to give up eating yoghurt, cream, butter, cheese, cold meats (containing milk proteins) and all foods containing allergens derived from milk. Such a diet is much more restrictive than that of people with lactose intolerance – the latter can drink yogurt and eat dairy products.
People with allergy to cow’s milk need to switch to soy, rice or other drink milk equivalent, they must also make sure that these milk substitutes are also used in the preparation of cakes and other dishes and for breakfast cereals. They should also learn about the composition of milk substitutes, so that in the event of vitamin deficiencies present in cow’s milk and its products, they can supplement them.
Sensitizing properties of milk decrease with its processing at high temperatures – for this reason, for example, bread and cakes containing milk proteins are tolerated by some people with allergy to cow’s milk. In the case of strong allergies You should also eliminate such products from the diet – absolutely you should avoid any food products containing milk proteins, which is neither easy nor cheap.