The mucus-producing effects of cow’s milk consumption are so
well known that nearly all pediatricians now recommend the elimination of cow’s milk from the diets of children prone to chronic ear infections. Many children have allergic reactions to cow’s milk, including nasal congestion. When passages become blocked and irritated, ear infection is the frequent result.
I
n his book
Pregnancy, Children, and the Vegan Diet
, Michael Klaper, M.D., explains how the proteins found in cow’s milk create a health hazard. He writes, "… a common reaction to such an assault by a foreign [bovine] protein in our immune systems is an outpouring of mucus from the nasal and throat membranes. … The resulting mucus flow can create chronic runny nose, persistent sore throats, hoarseness, bronchitis, and the recurrent ear infections that plague so many children."
One Georgetown University study found that about 30 percent of children with ear infections also suffer from milk allergies. Of all the foods tested, milk was the number one allergen. Scientists found a "significant amelioration" of ear infections when allergens were removed from the children’s diets. Indeed, up to 86 percent of ear infections improved when children stopped drinking cow’s milk and other allergens. The study revealed a "statistically strong linkage" between cow’s milk allergies and ear infections.
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Annals of Allergy
Nsouli et al., Georgetown University School of Medicine, 1994
A 1999 study in Finland concluded that children with cow’s milk allergies have a "significant risk" of ear infection. Researchers discovered that milk causes a respiratory reaction in children that, in turn, can lead to ear infection.
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Acta Otolaryngol
Juntti et al., Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital of Oulu, Finland
Researchers at the University of California, Davis, concluded that babies fed cow’s milk formula are at a higher risk of getting ear infections. They stated that the "average duration of episodes of otitis media (ear infections) was significantly greater among formula fed infants than among breast fed infants in both the first year and second year."
The study went on to conclude that secretions in human breast milk actually have a protective effect when it comes to ear infections.
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The Journal of Pediatrics
Dewey et al., 1995
Frank Oski, M.D., former director of the Department of Pediatrics of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and physician-in-chief of the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, warns, "The consumption of cow’s milk from an early age may have life-long consequences," including asthma and coronary artery disease. "For the newborn infant," says Dr. Oski, "there are two obvious alternatives—the right and left breast of the healthy mother."
