It’s the picture of Italian ice-cream in a shop of Rome, Italy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Tonight I found a site by Dr. John Briffa with a fairly recent post on cow’s milk and pediatric constipation: Could dairy products be the cause of some children’s constipation?
I nearly wanted to explode “YES!” because I just can’t get this information out there loud enough! Dairy causes constipation in (some) kids. We saw this one year ago in my (then 6-year-old) daughter when we completely removed dairy several times and added it back in several times. And what do you suppose happens to those constipated kids if dairy is never removed? Well, maybe they turn into adults like me with severe, severe constipation. I am not sure why (or if) dairy causes the initial constipation yet, but I do know that lifelong gut immotility has led me to have some issues with bloating, probably SIBO (small intestinal bowel overgrowth)–which makes sense because I was not getting the sweeping motion forward to keep the bacteria from creeping upwards. I also have lots of food sensitivities (non-IgE) that I can’t help but wonder if they didn’t form through the years with the continued insult on the GI (gastrointestinal) tract.
It may be encouraging to know that my 7-year-old daughter was exceptionally sensitive to ALL dairy one year ago. Even as a solely nursing infant, she would have longer than normal periods of no bowel movements, and I speculate it was due to my dairy intake. She can now tolerate an occasional ice cream cone with no stalls in peristalsis. We overhauled our diet in a big way, taking out “bads” and putting in “goods”, and maybe, just maybe, she can continue her dairy dalliances at times with exceptional nutrition otherwise.
The research article that Dr. Briffa was referring to was “The Role of Cow’s Milk Allergy in Pediatric Chronic Constipation: A Randomized Clinical Trial.”
For those who are following along regarding my GI progress, I am currently “taking my diet down” to I guess what would be considered Autoimmune Paleo, although I still adhere to GAPS. I’ll let you know how it goes for my gut. I’ve done it for four days now, and the last two days I’ve skipped my magnesium with success. I believe any endeavor must have a goal. By “taking my diet down,” I’m hoping to see improved bowel movements with either less magnesium or preferably none at all, less bloating, no irritable bowel symptoms, and no headaches. I’m putting diet to the test. We’ll see how much that honey, almond flour, egg, and fruit actually affect things here.
Other constipation related posts:
Slow and Steady Constipation Improvement (April 17, 2013)
Cow’s Milk and Refractory Constipation ((January 2, 2013)
A Doctor Visits the Doctor (December 5, 2012)
Whats’ Working (A Constipation Post) (November 3, 2012)
The HSD 