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If your kids suffer from chronic runny noses and sore throats, it might be time to dump the dairy. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, cow’s milk is the number one-cause of food allergies in children. According to the former director of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Frank Oski, there is evidence to indicate that up to half of U.S. children have some allergic reaction to milk. For these kids (and for adults who are allergic to dairy foods), milk is a mucus maker and can lead to persistent problems such as chronic coughs and sinus infections, asthma, and ear infections.

More and more physicians and dietitians realize that removing dairy products from the diet can be the solution to many childhood illnesses such as runny noses, constipation, colic, ear infections, and gas—and the list goes on.

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According to a report published by the American Academy of Allergy and Immunology Committee on Adverse Reactions to Food (part of the National Institutes of Health), the allergies of up to one third of children tested cleared after milk was removed from their diet.

Dr. Benjamin Spock, author of the world-famous book Baby and Child Care, wrote in 1998, "Cow’s milk is not recommended for a child when he is sick—or when he is well, for that matter. Dairy products may cause more mucus complications and cause more discomfort with upper respiratory infections."

In their book Allergies to Milk, Drs. Sami L. Bahna and Douglas C. Heiner report that children who are allergic to milk "may have breathing difficulty, particularly during sleep, or an irritating cough associated with a postnasal drip. … The cough is frequently associated with noisy breathing and excessive mucus in the throat, and sometimes parents worry that their child is ‘gagging.’ … Such affected children are frequently diagnosed as having upper respiratory infection, viral illness, bronchitis, … or pneumonia. Accordingly, they may be given unnecessary medications, including cough syrups, decongestants, or antibiotics. Relief, however, is not satisfactory until cow’s milk is eliminated from the diet."

A 1997 report on food allergies in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that cow’s milk allergies tend to hit children in their infancies. Recommended therapies for food allergies include "strict removal of the offending allergen" or possibly a diet centered on human breast milk.

A British study found that 93 percent of children diagnosed with cow’s milk allergy experienced asthma and/or rhinitis when milk was included in their diet. (The book Asthma and Rhinitis states that rhinitis is "characterized by itching, sneezing, nasal blockage, and discharge.")

Frank Oski, M.D., the former director of the Department of Pediatrics of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and physician-in-chief of the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, said in his 1992 book, "The fact is: The drinking of cow milk has been linked to iron-deficiency anemia in infants and children; it has been named as the cause of cramps and diarrhea in much of the world’s population, and the cause of multiple forms of allergy as well."

In his book Pregnancy, Children, and the Vegan Diet, Dr. Michael Klaper explains why milk may trigger the production of mucus: "[W]hen the protein of another animal is introduced into one’s immune system, an allergic/immune response is created in many places in the body. A common reaction to such an assault by a foreign protein in our immune system is an outpouring of mucus from the nasal and throat membranes. … The resulting mucus flow can create the chronic runny noses, persistent sore throats, hoarseness, bronchitis, and the recurrent ear infections that plague so many children (and their parents)."

According to the metastudy Milk Allergies, "Cow’s milk allergy, mainly a disease of infancy, is usually manifested within the first two or three months of life. … No age, however, is exempt, and milk allergy may be first detected during adolescence or adulthood."

Dr. Christiane Northrup states: "Dairy is a tremendous mucus producer and a burden on the respiratory, digestive, and immune systems." Dr. Northrup says that patients who "eliminate dairy products for an extended period and eat a balanced diet … suffer less from colds and sinus infections."

The mucus created by milk may cause other health problems, as well. Dr. William Ellis, who has studied the effects of dairy foods for more than four decades, says that milk is "simply no good for humans." Dr. Ellis believes that the excess mucus caused by milk can harden to form a coating on the inner wall of the intestines, hindering the absorption of nutrients and possibly leading to chronic fatigue.

According to an article in the June 26, 2003, Calgary Herald, milk is the most common source of allergies in children. Sharon Tateishi, a Calgary, Alberta, nutritionist for more than 20 years, comments, “There are so many articles coming up. You can’t ignore the issue any more. If a child has food sensitivities to milk, the symptoms can include eczema, bloating, runny nose, chronic ear infections, stomach problems. It could be asthma. Even things like kidney and bladder problems.”

Unless you like phlegm in your throat and a constant runny nose, it might be time to try soy. Click here for delicious dairy-free recipes.