PodgeThePuffer's World

I’ve recently been talking with a respiratory friend of mine who says that milk is bad, really bad. In fact all dairy products are bad. [This conversation was brought about by my recent bout of chest infections and my sulky reference to how COPD sucks :-)] She told me that I must give up all dairy products if I wanted to help my lungs and get back out cycling. Now, my problem is that I like my breakfast cereals and they need milk; I like coffee and that ‘needs’ milk; I like tea, custard, chocolate, cream cakes, hot chocolate with whipped cream; I like it all but it was not being able to have my the breakfast cereals that really hurt me. It was suggested that I tried Soya Milk: Well, I’ve tried that stuff before and I’m not trying it again. So, in desperation I asked my friendly respiratory lady if using lactose free milk will be a good alternative. Her response was very sternly thus:

Lactose free is just as bad, sadly – it’s the cows’ milk protein as well as the lactose that causes many problems.

Lactose is a milk sugar that we don’t produce an enzyme for after infancy (lactase). No other mammal drinks the milk of another species – they are not designed to and neither are we.

Cows’ milk protein contains bovine lactalbumin a and b that we also don’t have enzymes for and cannot digest. What happens is that it leaks through, undigested into our bloodstream where it shouldn’t be (because of leaky gut – hence the Saffron* also helps to prevent this) and your bloodstream and immune system treat this protein like an invading bacteria (because it is labelled Cow, not Human) and attacks it, usually having been primed to do so in infancy.

Giving babies (especially our generation, but it is still bad today) cow based formula sensitises us to CMP when our guts are immature. Babies’ gut walls are designed to be leaky, to let all those good white blood cells and antibodies through into the bloodstream, that we should have been getting from our mummies. Giving cow, soya, wheat (rusks), corn based foods younger than 4-6 months sensitises babies to these foods; gives them food and other allergies and makes them ill because their immune systems start fighting them instead of viruses and bacteria.

Hence the reason why I am also a qualified Lactation Consultant in my spare time, helping women who are struggling to bre*st feed.

Most of us (around 70%) covertly react to cows’ milk protein, because we were bottle fed or given formula in hospital at a very early stage, even if human-fed the rest of the time.

It is at the root of most of the chronic diseases of the western world; asthma, heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

* I had been previously recommended to drink Saffron Tea

She also told me to breath the fumes of Calvados, and even drink it as well 🙂 as the fumes have been shown to kill off TB Bacteria. I haven’t got TB but I’m more than happy to go with this last one and, given the sternness of the response and my needing to get back on my bike, and breath well of course, I decided to go for it and cut out dairy products. I’ve cut out all milk related products altogether and today is the last day of the first week without milk. How do I feel? Effin Brilliant. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not ready to run a marathon, nor am I ready for any significant cycling but after the past 6-weeks I am genuinely feeling so much better.

From a dietary perspective it hasn’t been that much of a challenge although splitting up with breakfast cereals was probably the real wrench. For a few days, I replaced these with sausage and egg rolls (yummy) but this can’t continue so it will be toast & jam from now on and maybe fruit but definitely no milk.

Next week, I shall start out on the turbo trainer (indoor cycling) to start to get my legs moving and stretch my lungs and go from there. I’m not going to rush but I’m still targeting next years the 2014 Remembering D-Day Cycle Challenge.

Another bloody good reason for sorting myself out is that I’ll be 60 next year and I’m not ready to start being old, though the ‘Victor Meldrew’ part of being old does have it’s attractions. 😉

As for COPD, well, it still sucks and I still challenge the diagnosis, even though I know they [the doctors] are probably right.

Must keep pedalling: Must keep pedalling.