Sleep apnea and dairy...

[mtlieb]

I've made an interesting discovery recently and wanted to hear others experiences.

I've never had a sleep study done, but since my teens I've been told that I snore something awful and frequently stop breathing throughout the night (which tends to scare the heck out of overnight guests). I've also had frequent recurring ear infections my whole life, strep throat, chronic sinusitis, stuffy head, and allergic shiners (dark puffy circles under the eyes). I rarely feel like I've gotten a good restful sleep and often wake up tired. My most recent ear infections (both ears) lingered for almost two months.

Then I read several articles about dairy allergy, ear infections, nasal congestion, sleep apnea, etc. I was pretty desperate so I decided to do a little experiment and give up all dairy for ten days. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be but I was really hoping it wouldn't improve anything (I love cheese!). Well I'll be danged if by day three my ears didn't start popping and draining, my left maxillary sinus which has been blocked for quite a while started to feel better, the dark circles under my eyes are fading, and I'm getting a much more restful sleep. I honestly can feel the energy difference.

Several nights ago I put this to the test and ate two slices of cheese with dinner. Just two ounces total for the day. The next morning I woke up tired, congested, and my right ear was blocked again.

Interesting, huh? I've eaten a lot of dairy everyday for my entire life, and have always had these recurring problems.

I'm going to stay dairy-free long-term now and see just how much things keep improving.

Anyone else have a similar experience with dairy?

Jim

[Pam Alexson]

Definitely agree to the merits of this issue . I remember my ex roomate from the 70's having to give up dairy due to chronic ear infections and it worked . My middle daughter also had such issues and had to have surgery @ 3 due to same, back in the 80's. I personally can not tolerate milk products within hours of bedtime d/t the congestion/ stuffiness, they create in me.

As we humans have only been drinking cow's milk for a relatively short time in history... I guess it is not strange to think that the cow's milk protein may be more foreign to us and challenging for human consumption and metabolism.

So definitely understand and so sorry for your loss...creamy, yummy, milk no more!

Pam

[mtlieb]

Thanks Pam,

When you think about it... it does seem rather strange doesn't it? That we humans steal breast milk from other nursing mammals and drink it for ourselves? LoL. We're the only animal to do that. We're also the only mammal to drink milk past infancy. Basically we're all still breastfeeding. We just breastfeed off other animals. I'm not sure we're supposed to do that. :confused:

Jim

[gfox42]

Jim,

Well, in lots of cultures they actually don't drink milk after infancy. . .

I know it was a major revelation to me when I started using lactose-free milk: gut problems I'd always been plagued with disappeared. When I'm traveling and forget, I always regret it for a couple of days.

I should probably try to go cold turkey on dairy one of these days, since I'm certainly prone to nasal congestion, plugged ears, and such.

Gordon

[mtlieb]

I should probably try to go cold turkey on dairy one of these days, since I'm certainly prone to nasal congestion, plugged ears, and such.
I would have hated to go dairy-free prior to 2006. Thankfully the food allergen labeling reforms have made it much easier to avoid now since any dairy content (casein, whey, etc.) has to be clearly labeled. It has forced me to give up most processed foods, almost all of which contain dairy in some form. But I suppose that is a good thing.

[Midge Rollins]

Thanks all. I just shared this with my husband who has suffered from sinus stuff forever. He had given up dairy at one time due to Lactose intolerance. But he outgrew that. So, I think he will try again. He is snorting as I speak!

[caroline]

Well folks, I haven't had any dairy for 10 years, so I guess that isn't my problem :)

[Dorothy]

To: mtlieb,

Jim, does this mean that I'll have to eat your piece of cheesecake when I go to Cleveland in April? I'd really hate to have you miss out on such a treat!