Do dairy products *really* make babies mucousy? Any evidence?

[Tinker]

Keep reading that they do but being a sceptic, I want proof! Have a snotty rattly baby who has been since getting a cold, oh, weeks and weeks ago.

[science hat on again]
Setting aside proper dairy allergies and non-respiratory intolerances, 'milk makes mucus' seems to be tosh I'm afraid.
A few peer-reviwed articles with quick précis:

\link{http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=2154152&query_hl=3&itool=pubmed_docsum\1990 article} - people with colds were equally snotty no matter how much milk they drank, but the people who believed that milk was bad for colds felt snottier, even if they drank no milk.

\link{http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=8452377&query_hl=3&itool=pubmed_docsum\1993 article} - More people who believed 'milk makes mucus' said they got lots of colds than non-believers, and disliked the sensation of drinking milk. No symptoms consistent with allergy and intolerance were seen.

\link{http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16373954&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum\2005 review} of all the literature concludes that
a) people who believe 'milk makes mucus' feel worse than non-believers, even when their noses are running exactly the same amount,
b) milk doesn't exacerbate asthma and
c) cow's milk allergy is a separate issue, and can be the cause of asthma-like symptoms.

Looks like the milk-mucus-believing subset of the population is just more sensitive to being snotty. Weird, eh?

This may sound ignorant, but what do you replace the cow's milk with? A soya variety? A sheep's or goat's milk? I was also unaware that milk contained omega 3 any idea how much?

intolerance to milk is totally different to these mucus stories, imo (ie can be medically identified)

absolutely!
hence the disclaimer before I started banging on about it .

I'm confused now.

My db has had asthma/hayfever/eczema since he was very young, although the eczema has mostly gone. He finds if he cuts out dairy products and increases his fruit & veg intake, his eczema goes really quickly and the asthma & hayfever isn't as intense as usual.

So is it the high fruit/veg intake which alleviate the symptoms or the no dairy?

Nightynight, only just checked this thread again. Think Mrs Badger's post has got there before me in providing evidence that milk/mucus is a myth.

Mercy, the original question was about milk and mucus. Which aren't related.

As far as eczema goes, I believe some people do find cutting out dairy is helpful, but not sure this has ever been demonstrated scientifically - may well have been but just can't remember now. I

Oh, and hayfever is an allergy to something you breathe in. So it clearly affects your nasal passages. Food allergies aren't related to breathing and they don't create mucus.

annobal, i give dd goats milk and it doesn't seem to affect her. she gets a severe blistered nappy rash when she has anything with cows milk in it, including some formulas. she hates soya milk so thats a no go. goats milk is fantastically healthy and tastes just the same, dp has been known to 'borrow' some when he runs out of milk!

only just seen this thread.
mrsbadger and edam, you are completely missing the point, and so are the papers that you quoted.

The mucus thing isn't about getting more mucus when you have a cold, nor is it about believing that milk allergy gives you more colds. Both these theories are clearly nonsense to me, and I react to cows milk, so I know what the symptoms feel like.

However, it is possible to show classic allergy symptoms including a runny nose, in reaction to cows milk, as you yourself implied on another thread, edam:

by edam Sunday 26 April 2006 4.36.40
"Her symptoms are allergic symptoms, not intolerance i.e. immune system response not just digestive. So I'd avoid all milk products, if I were you, at least until you can discuss with your GP or consultant (if you are already seeing one about the other allergies). Luckily most children grow out of milk allergies. "

Note that, according to this post, immune system response includes symtoms similar to hayfever, ie these symtoms are not just caused because pollen gets into the breathing system.

this thread is a classic example of how an incomplete scientific picture makes the situation worse, by purporting to prove scientifically, that the truth is false.