My ADD son is a milk drinker. He never SEEMED to have trouble with it. My daughter had problems with milk until thsi month. It used to be whenever I drank it when I was nursing her or later on if she drank it, she developed eczema and congestion. My second son is 4 months old. I discovered his allergy to dairy when I did eliminationin my diet for his reflux. If I consume any dairy, eggs, peanuts or soy, he develops painful reflux. SO, my question is, would it be reasonable to think that my ADD sons condition may be aggravated by milk?

Ginger

Lactose Intolerance vs Milk Allergy
by John H. Samson, M.D., F.A.A.P.

Many parents share a very common misconception. Frequently the condition of cow’s milk protein allergy and lactose intolerance are confused.

Cow’s milk contains specific proteins as well as the carbohydrate, lactose (milk sugar). A patient who is allergic to milk is reacting to the protein in it. That is, he has made specific antibodies to the bovine protein. The reaction between the antibody and the protein causes release of substances from the various body cells that provoke the symptoms of allergy. Depending on the individual patient the symptoms can range from nasal discharge and cough to diarrhea, vomiting, rashes and behavior changes.

A child who has an intolerance to lactose may develop diarrhea, cramps, abdominal distension and even vomiting whenever he ingests dairy products. Respiratory symptoms are not provoked by this condition.

The problems come from the lack of an enzyme, lactase, produced by the intestine. The enzyme is needed to break down lactose to the absorbable molecules of glucose and galactose. Thus, if lactase activity is insufficient the undigested lactose remains in the bowel leading to the symptoms described above.

Keeping these two conditions in mind let us look at LACTAID. It is essentially cow’s milk treated with lactase, which causes the breakdown of lactose. Unfortunately it is not completely changed. The manufacturers state that 70% of the lactose is turned into its digestible fractions. The remaining 30%, in some patients, may still cause symptoms. Nevertheless, for some lactose intolerant patients it can be a very helpful product.

The allergic patient is reacting to the protein and, therefore, altering the carbohydrate fraction will NOT help prevent allergic reactions. We must remember that the cow protein is not altered by Lactaid or by taking lactase separately.

A perfect example of the queries I receive in my practice and via e-mail is as follows:

Question: My two-year-old son gets a runny nose and cough whenever he drinks whole or low fat milk. Several weeks ago my neighbor told me to use LACTAID because it was good for people who could not tolerate regular milk. She said it was treated with an enzyme that changed the formula. I took her advice and he still gets the runny nose and cough whenever he drinks it. Why doesn’t it work, or is my son not allergic to milk?

To specifically answer this question it is necessary to point out that the child is allergic to cow’s milk. Furthermore, I think you can see why LACTAID did not help him. Basically LACTAID is very helpful in the management of lactose intolerance, but has no place in controlling cow’s milk protein allergy.

Researchers also believe they have found a link between Soy Milk and ADHD: http://www.hon.ch/News/HSN/509534.html

You should know that none of the research I have found points to a link between ingesting cow's milk and the cause of ADHD.

However, some have found that an intolerance to Milk was actually what was causing the ADHD-like symptoms: http://www.nowheat.com/grfx/nomilk/

Keep in mind that you should take all information off the Internet with a grain of cyber-salt (yes, I have coined that phrase :) ).

The morale of the story? Anything is possible. In consultation with your son's doctor, maybe you should try a lactose or dairy free diet for a short period of time, and document the changes you see, if any. Also, keep in mind that dairy plays a very important part of a growing child's diet, so please make sure you make these dietary changes with his doctor's knowledge and advice.

And...

Keep asking questions and reading available information :)

Thanks for the response. I have to admit that I never gave lactose intolerance and milk allergy any thought until it cropped up in my kids. And if I had formula fed I probably would have though that it was the lactose, as most people do. But as breastmilk has lactose in it too, I know it has to be the proteins. I do not think any certain food caused the add(it definitely has genetic roots in my family) but I am concerned with foods that may make things worse. Thanks for the links. Checking those out now.

Ginger

Oh, and while I do not drink milk and dd doesnt too often. I let him have unlimited dairy. He is a very picky eater and the meds are certainly no help. He recently lost weight he really needed not to. He is very skinny(think ribs showing and bony shoulders) so I let him eat,within reason, what I can get in him.

Ginger