Too Much Mucus From Dairy

Can anyone help

Just like to say T-Nation is an awesome website, articles are great.

Have been reading your articles on Soy Protein and am a little scared.

I am not worried about most of my food as my wife and I cook from scratch for the majority of the time.

However 3 years ago I stopped eating Cheese, Milk and Yoghurt and associated products basically because they damaged my immune system. After eating any of theses products especially Milk I would start producing excess mucus resulting in blocked nose, coughing and at worse throat and nose infections. I have sinitus and Dairy makes it 100 times worse.

Due to this I have had to be careful what Whey Protein I use. I do not use Protein containing Casein as this seems to aggravate my condition, and even with being picky I still get extra mucus production from Whey Protein.

Having difficulty breathing sucks

After stopping I decided to give Soya milk drinks such as Alpro and So good a try. Just for my porridge, smoothies and protein drinks. On average I consume 1 to 1.5 Litres per week.

Now I am thinking dump the SOYA Milk.

I am a natural trainer so want to maximise my T levels as much as anyone else who trains.

Has anyone come across this reaction to Dairy before (eggs are fine)?

Can any body recommend a protein that is good quality but does not aggravate my condition?

Many Thanks

According to the recent article by John Berardi (check the front page), that small amount of soy should be fine.

You may want to try different brands of casein/blends, though. Some may give you problems, while others may not.

I’ve had severe problems with sinusitis, congestion, allergies, and recurrent sinus infections in the past, enough to contemplate surgery, but seem to have gotten rid of them now. These are the things that helped:

  • lots of fresh fruits and veggies, especially oranges and pineapple, every day
  • lots of fish oil
  • make sure I get 8 h of sleep
  • antioxidant supplements
  • daily saline flushing
  • Life Extension’s rosmarinic acid supplement

I can go into more detail about the rationale if you’re interested.

[quote]andersons wrote:
You may want to try different brands of casein/blends, though. Some may give you problems, while others may not.[/quote]

I suffer the same issue and haven’t found that changing brands make a difference. Any significant source of casein causes the same effects, regardless of whether it’s a food or supplement. The casein is the cause.

[quote]NickJones wrote:
Has anyone come across this reaction to Dairy before (eggs are fine)?[/quote]

It is not uncommon. Read this:

http://www.realmilk.com/

Thanks for your input, very kind of you all.

Yep Andersons I would be interested in some more detail. Although what you have already said is helpful.

Thanks

you could try making your own nut/seed milk (walnuts/almonds/pecans). it’s got healthy fats and it’s low in carbs if sweetened with stevia or splenda. just don’t throw in it with Surge.

1 c almonds
1 gallon of water

blend for 5 minutes straight

strain through a new white t-shirt or cheesecloth.

I had the same issue. I felt like I was choking on my own phlem all the time and was miserable. I ate NO dairy for about 5 years. It it really tough because they sneak casein into damn near everything. Recently I found that I can eat cheese with no difficulties. Metabolic Drive doesn’t seem to bother me much either. So maybe just taking some time off from dairy will help. I would also avoid anything like milk or yogurt that coats your throat when you eat it, as they seem to cause me more problems.

I know GNC makes an Egg protein blend. You could try that. It is okay but doesn’t mix that well if I remember correctly.

I also wouldn’t worry too much about the soy milk. Some doctors actually recommend Soy to male patients with high estrogen/ low testosterone as it discourages your body from converting T into E. So like everything else, just consume in moderation and see how you react to it. Try switching to almond milk for a while and then go back to soy after a while and see if you notice any difference.

Good luck.

[quote]BigBen72 wrote:
I also wouldn’t worry too much about the soy milk. Some doctors actually recommend Soy to male patients with high estrogen/ low testosterone as it discourages your body from converting T into E. So like everything else, just consume in moderation and see how you react to it. Try switching to almond milk for a while and then go back to soy after a while and see if you notice any difference.

Good luck.[/quote]

The logic behind that is that soy is a competitive inhibitor of the aromatase enzyme.

Personally, I wouldn’t take the risk. Soy is bad stuff.

[quote]HK24719 wrote:

I suffer the same issue and haven’t found that changing brands make a difference. Any significant source of casein causes the same effects, regardless of whether it’s a food or supplement. The casein is the cause.[/quote]

I understand that that can be the case. Just suggesting that it’s worth experimenting to find out, if he hasn’t already.

[quote]andersons wrote:

  • lots of fresh fruits and veggies, especially oranges and pineapple, every day
  • lots of fish oil
  • make sure I get 8 h of sleep
  • antioxidant supplements
  • daily saline flushing
  • Life Extension’s rosmarinic acid supplement
    [/quote]
    My sinus problems were associated with airborne allergies. People with allergies and sinus inflammation have a lot of inflammatory compounds in their system. Cytokines, histamine, leukotrienes, C-reactive protein… So you want to eat foods with anti-inflammatory properties. And take supplemental antioxidants.

Fruits and vegetables in general are loaded with antioxidants. Inflammation always produces lots of free radicals, so antioxidants are important.

Oranges contain bioflavonoids which have anti-histamine properties, as does vitamin C.

Pineapple contains bromelain, which also is a natural anti-histamine.

I’ve tried supplemental bioflavonoids and bromelain, but I feel that my morning smoothie with oranges and pineapple is better.

Fish oil contains fats that are precursors to anti-inflammatory prostaglandins. It makes a HUGE difference.

People who don’t get enough sleep have elevated inflammatory compounds, such as C-reactive protein, and stronger allergic responses.

Saline flushing of the sinuses has been shown to quell sinus inflammation as effectively as steroids. The hairs that move mucus out of the sinuses (cilia?) are overwhelmed and sometimes damaged in people with sinusitis; help them out by mechanically flushing out the mucus. The recipe from my doctor was 1/4 t salt, 1/2 t baking soda in 1 c water. I use a ear bulb thingy. It works.

The new Ocean Ultra spray is very helpful too.

Life Extension sells a supplement called rosmarinic acid. The research suggested that RA kills the immune cells that are elevated in the allergic immune response, without suppressing the immune system overall. If this were true, it would be a silver bullet for allergies.

I think milk is a problem not so much because of mucus production but because it’s pro-inflammatory. However, I tolerate some dairy just fine (greek yogurt, Metabolic Drive, some cheese) as long as I do all those other things I listed. It’s probably about balancing the pro-inflammatory dairy with the anti-inflammatory everything else.

Thanks everyone.

Realy Useful info, some of things suggested I already do, but will try the other thins as well.

Nice one