What are the signs of dairy

intolerance?
Sarah Hanratty

Dairy is good for us, right? Especially for babies and

growing children. The public health message is that milk is
vital for good health. But could this healthy food be
making many of us sick?

Many adults, children and babies have trouble digesting

dairy. However, the symptoms of an intolerance may not
be obvious, and are often attributed to something else.
Symptoms which we tend to accept as common or even
‘normal’ could be signs of dairy intolerance.

Signs of dairy intolerance in babies

Colic is considered ‘normal’ and eczema is usually treated
with medical creams. Yet both of these are possible signs
that formula milk or something in a mother’s breastmilk is
causing problems.

In my experience, most health professionals are concerned

with life-threatening food reactions only. I suspect that this
is because a diet without cow’s milk is considered
inadequate, and alternative formula milks are somewhat
lacking and only to be used as a last resort.
There is also hope that as a baby gets older, their digestive
system strengthens, immune system normalises and the
problem will go away. Dietitians will try to train the body
to accept dairy products by putting them back into the diet
a little at a time. Sometimes this is successful, but other
times it isn’t. It appears that all has gone well, but the
child develops other health issues that are considered
unrelated to dairy (see below) – when actually they are.

The issue of dairy intolerance is easier to address if you

are breastfeeding your baby. You have control over what
you eat and therefore what goes into your baby’s milk.

It’s not always easy to make big dietary changes when you
are post-natal and sleep deprived, but it’s worth it.
However, you do need to be strict about elimination.
Cutting out milk and leaving in cheese or ‘just’ having
milk in cups of tea may not be enough. You need to cut it
all out to find out for sure.

Signs of dairy intolerance in childhood

Remember I told you about the child who seemed to have
outgrown their problem with dairy? The problem is now
they suffer from lots of ‘normal’ childhood health issues:

repeated bouts of tonsillitis

ear infections
snoring
sleep apnoea
constant runny nose
bed wetting
joint pains
stomach aches
digestive issues (excess gas, constipation and/or
diarrhoea).

There is a possibility that all of these symptoms could be

linked to an unresolved dairy issue. The inflammation
caused by keeping dairy products in the diet can affect
immune system function.

These health issues are so common, we see them as a

normal part of childhood. Often parents think their child
has outgrown his or her dairy intolerance because their
eczema or diarrhoea has passed, but now they have
asthma or recurrent tonsillitis. This is a big red flag that
they can’t tolerate dairy – all that has changed is their
symptoms.

Eliminating whole food groups from the diet may concern

you, especially when we have been programmed into
thinking our child’s health won’t flourish without it. I
suspect that if your child has problems digesting dairy
that this may affect their ability to use and absorb
nutrients. So careful removal under the guidance of a
professional may actually improve their nutrient uptake
and significantly boost their health.

Signs of dairy intolerance in adults

Adults with dairy issues might experience obvious
digestive symptoms like reflux, wind and constipation
and/or diarrhoea, but they might also exhibit less-obvious
symptoms like recurrent sinusitis, urinary tract infections,
fatigue and acne.

A causal relationship can become difficult to pinpoint

because dairy is usually a regular feature in the diet and
symptoms can take up to 48 hours to appear. This can
leave you suffering from regular aches and pains with no
obvious known cause. Looking in your history for the
types of ailments mentioned above might give you a clue.

Food intolerance testing and

elimination diets
You can run a food intolerance test to find out if there is a
dairy intolerance present. This can’t be used on children
under the age of two. Another option is to try a full
elimination diet for four to six weeks. The elimination diet
should be strict with every type of dairy taken out of the
diet and all labels should be scrutinised.

I should mention that at this point, goat’s and sheep’s milk

should be avoided, too. They have similar proteins and
around 70% of people that react to cow’s milk react, to
goat’s milk too.

Initially, the avoidance of dairy should provide some relief

from your symptoms. If your symptoms have been with
you for a long time then it may take a while to get some
relief. The important thing to note is what happens when
you add dairy back into the diet after six to eight weeks of
complete avoidance.
Within 48 hours of its re-introduction, you will probably
get a strong reaction, with more noticeable symptoms. It is
this re-introduction that tells us whether dairy is a
problem for you.