ACTIVIDADES

As you have already learned, if you have H pylori, you may also be gluten sensitive. If this is the case, you possibly also have a cow’s milk intolerance. Inflammation caused by gluten-sensitivity and/or digestive infections damages the cells in your intestine. If the cells that produce the enzyme lactase are damaged, you will no longer be able to digest the lactose sugar molecules that are found in cow’s milk.

Symptoms of lactose intolerance can be similar to those caused by gluten sensitivity and H pylori: bloating, wind, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Even without gluten intolerance, some people are simply lactose intolerant anyway and cannot digest cow’s milk products. Others still may react to a substance called casein, which is one of the proteins found in cow’s milk. Some people react to the protein, some will react to the lactose. Some unlucky people may react to both.

As your intestinal lining heals on a gluten-free diet you may be able to tolerate cow’s milk products again within 60-90 days, but you should certainly seek to omit both gluten and all cow’s milk products for an absolute minimum of 60-days.You can then introduce them again and see whether they cause your symptoms to return or worsen.

Lactose Intolerance Home Test

There is a simple home ‘challenge’ test for lactose intolerance and while this test may not reveal every case of lactose intolerance it may help you to identify whether cow’s milk is contributing to your symptoms.

Avoid milk products for one week. Upon awakening drink a large glass (8-12 oz.) of whole milk on a completely empty stomach. Do not eat or drink anything else for 3 to 4 hours. If you experience bloating, gas, diarrhoea, abdominal discomfort, mucous in the throat or abnormal bowel habits, you are likely to be lactose intolerant. In some cases the symptoms may not appear immediately, but should be noticeable within 24 hours.

If you experience no reaction whatsoever, you may not be lactose intolerant. However it is also important to remember that you may be allergic to the casein proteins in milk, even if you are not lactose intolerant and that this test may not reveal that casein reactions.

Not All Milk Is Created Equal

Only a small percentage of cow’s milk products in the Western world are consumed raw. Raw milk is, for many people, a health-promoting food. It is packed with nutrients that help the immune system and provides an abundance of healthy vitamins, minerals and friendly bacteria such as Lactobacillus.

Pasteurised and homogenised milk, however, are not healthy foods. Unfortunately most of the dairy products we consume as a society are pasteurised. Pasteurisation radically alters the structure of proteins in milk and destroys many of its beneficial nutrients, including the good bacteria that are necessary for keeping your digestive and immune systems healthy.

In addition to this, much of the milk produced in commercial farming is of a poor quality because the cows are fed low grade grain foods and even road-kill. In the US, cattle are also fed hormones and antibiotics, the residues of which build up in the cow’s body and are passed to humans via beef and milk.

Cows are designed to eat grass, not the grain products and soy that they are fed through modern, commercial agriculture. If you drink milk or eat cheese and butter that has come from an unhealthy animal, you will most likely not be healthy yourself.

Buying Raw Milk

When you do reintroduce cow’s milk after 60-days, aim to drink high-quality, raw milk from local farmers who look after their herds properly. Many people who are unable to tolerate pasteurised milk can tolerate raw dairy products. A wonderful resource for you to explore is www.realmilk.com. You will find a wealth of useful information on this website, including a list of producers and suppliers. Readers in the UK will also enjoy the website www.seedsofhealth.co.uk, which lists a number of raw milk suppliers. Explore local farmers’ markets and cow share programmes as you will doubtless find some excellent suppliers of raw milk products in your area.

Use Goat & Sheep Milk

Goat and sheep’s milk tends to be more compatible with human physiology and if you are having trouble weaning yourself away from all milk, they can be great replacement options for you.

Alternatively, try using a little rice milk or almond milk.

If you would like to read more about the controversy

surrounding the dairy industry, read the work of Robert Cohen.

Robert has written two very controversial books entitled Milk:

The Deadly Poison and Milk A-Z. You may also wish to visit www.mercola.com and type ‘milk’ into the search engine. You

In my comprehensive ten-week Health Freedom Secrets programme, we go into a little more detail about both gluten and cow’s milk, including the specific ways in which they cause health challenges and a more detailed discussion on how to make sure you can easily implement gluten and milk-free living into your lifestyle.