Question: How common are dairy allergies?
Dr. Brownstein's Answer:
My estimates are that more than 60 percent of my patients are allergic to dairy. I routinely check my patients for dairy allergies via blood tests for casein antibodies. When the casein antibodies are elevated, I counsel my patients to avoid dairy. Dairy allergies can have many, varied symptoms. Some patients will have a runny nose, others may wheeze and yet others may get eczema or psoriasis as well as other skin rashes. Gastrointestinal symptoms of dairy allergies are common and include diarrhea, constipation, and bloating. I have seen many patients diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome completely overcome their illness by becoming dairy-free. I believe anyone suffering from allergies, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis deserves atherapeutic trial of being completely dairy-free for two months.
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