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Monday, April 3, 2017

An Expensive Health Solution Is Cheaper Than Medicine

This post contains a subject that might make you squeamish. Turn away now if you have a touchy stomach or are eating.

First, Dominique gave me another egg on Sunday, three days in a row. It was a late breakfast but was three scrambled eggs and a2 milk.

I have narrowed down another culprit for gastric distress that happens often lately. In the past I could spend hours in the bathroom. Later, weak and dehydrated, I thought back. It seemed beef was part of the problem. Well, being allergic to all mammal products is a bummer.

Since my hysterectomy, my bowels have not returned to normal functioning. I have been eating a bit of cheese and probably too much milk. But, I can go for a week and have no problems. Then, it hits and sometimes for days.

Of course, I know too many chocolate treats can be a problem. But, the puzzling part is that I can sometimes gorge on chocolate and have no problem. Finally, I narrowed it down to milk+sweets, like milk and brownies.

Then, I came upon an article about a2 milk. I purchased a half gallon for $3.78 at Publix. I am drinking it in excess and eating chocolate treats in excess. This is a 24-hour experiment since I don't need the excess chocolate.

So far, almost 24-hours later, I am having no cramps or further distress. This milk has been compared to goat's milk for its ease of digestion. The first thing I did was to taste it--straight--in a big gulp. It tastes like the cow's milk that it is.

It is sold at Publix in this town. If it solves my gastric distress problems, I will give up trying to find $.99 milk prices or any cheap milk.

Three specialists have strongly told me to drink only whole milk. Of course, it is a mammal product. I will pass this information along to the allergist to see what his opinion is on my drinking this milk. There is a protein in mammal products to which I am allergic. The difference in proteins is what makes a2 milk easier to digest. Normally, stores sell milk with the a1 protein.

I believe I read there were other products made from a2 milk, like cheese. By the way a2milk is the brand I bought. It is all a2, no a1 milk in the product.

According to research, the a2 milk can help autism, schizophrenia, eczema, and a host of other problems. I could find nothing that was .edu in order to include a link. However, this Mother Jones post can give you information, and you can decide whether to pursue this further.

When I consider the cost of the above ailments, expensive milk is a cheap solution. So far, 24 hours later and lots of junk and milk, almost a half gallon, and I have no cramps and have not needed extended bathroom time.  I have not had cramps. This could save substantially on tp and I can go back full time to using cloth instead. Maybe the savings on tp could be applied to the milk purchases. Believe me, I do not normally drink so much milk in so short a time!

Your turn
Have you heard of a2 milk? Have you tried it? Does it help you avoid gastric upset? Urspo, can you shed more erudite light on this or a medical site link? I will include it in the post.

14 comments:

  1. I haven't heard of a2 milk, but I avoid milk anyway. I use half and half in my coffee, real butter for baking and cooking, and real, sweetened and whipped- by-me cream on desserts, with no problems, but cannot tolerate milk for the reasons you wrote about. I can cook with it, though. Interestingly, I have hated milk since I was a kid. Fortunately, being Mediterranean, my father didn't buy into the "milk is good" garbage of most Americans, so we weren't subjected to that.
    We can get raw milk here, which some people say avoids those issues. I haven't tried it, though.
    You wrote very delicately about an indelicate issue!

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    1. Meg.
      Things I avoided as a child were things I am allergic to now. If I used less milk and milk products, I would probably not suffer so. I cannot wrap my head around the fact that milk might not be necessary. I just love a cold glass of milk, with or without brownies. You may get milk from a cow with a2 protein. Thanks. I was trying not to gross out too many people.

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  2. We drink Lactaid here. I once got a crate of free 2% chocolate milk from school. It was the last day before summer vacation so everyone took some home. It was delicious, but all three of us were in the bathroom for days afterwards. Our daughter had to go straight to soy as a baby. Milk products are not the same as they were when we were kids. Lots of hormones and who knows what else?

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    1. Lorraine,
      Three people in the bathroom! aargh, hope you had two baths! I do believe the changes to our milk supply is a problem for many people. Free chocolate milk would have done me in!

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  3. I left this as a reply to your comment on my blog, but I'm posting it here, too:

    This is the first I've heard of A2. While I don't consume a lot of milk, and I doesn't seem to react to it, I'll look into it. I also seem to have developed a reaction to ground beef, specifically, although consuming steak, pork, turkey and chicken doesn't seem to bother me. For overall health Reasons, I primarily eat chicken or fish.
    I discovered an intolerance for gluten, which causes much of the same issues my IBD does, about a year ago. Any chance this might be an issue for you, too?

    Sassybear
    www.idleeyesandadormy.com

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    1. sassybear,
      Ground beef was my worst reaction. I eat just a little pork. Anything mammal I avoid, mostly. For years, 99% of my meat consumption has been turkey and chicken. The doctor said I have no problem with gluten, just wheat. However, whole wheat is what causes terrible allergies, including whole body itching. Thanks.

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  4. have never heard of this kind of milk. I have a DIL that cant eat beef or drink milk because of the protein. I will ask her if she has heard of this a2milk. Thank you for posting about this. I pray that this will continue to work for you. I would miss milk and chocolate.

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    1. Barbara,
      I just happened to see it on a side-bar as I was reading something else, not even health news. The name of the milk is actually "a2Milk." That is the brand I bought, but there may be others available. The problem was--I ate brownies and milk and suffered! I hope this works for her.

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  5. Hi! For great information on the differences in a1 and a2 milk, read "The Devil in the Milk", by Keith Woodford. Quite an eye-opener! It makes a huge difference in many things. Also, there's a tick-borne virus called AlphaGal (?) that makes you have an allergic reaction to red meat. That might be worth looking into, also. Good luck!

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    1. Norene,
      Thanks. I have ordered that book recommended in the article. I had a tick bury its head in me once. And, I had a test for lyme disease, but need to have a better one that actually can find it better. That is on the list of things to ask the allergist. I think allergies have caused the auto-immune diseases I have. Although, I was born this way, according to my mother...lol. Plus, my father's family is full of allergies. Thanks for the information. Keep it coming if you hear anything else, and I will keep reporting on my progress.

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    2. after my daughter got lyme disease she has been unable to digest most dairy and no meat, even poultry. she also gave up fish.
      relies upon pulses mostly.
      we found that lyme sufferers may go into anaphylactic shock if they eat red meat.
      she drinks goat milk [4$ per quart], almond milk and some soy milk.
      she can eat goat and sheep cheese.
      never saw a2 milk but read that many american health problems would abate if cows were bred for the genes which produce a2 milk.
      seems so simple a solution but it seems nothing much is done about it.

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    3. Deborah,
      The doctor tested me for lyme once. It seems cheese causes me no problems. But, I was told I could go into anaphylactic shock if I consumed any mammal products! The solution would be to spend money, so we know how that goes!

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  6. Hi there! I am sorry about your distress! I was dx in 2011 with ulcerative colitis, its like crohns. Anyway before I new what I had I tried everything. It was a long haul and I still stay far far far away from dairy. I eat eggs and some cheese but thats it.

    I hope you find your way. If you havent done a colonoscopy you should. Also the BEST pribiotics on the market are expensive but worth it. VSL #3. Try them but start slow!

    Good luck!!!! Xoxo

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    1. Debtgirl,
      Sorry about the diagnosis. Have you tried the a2milk? Thanks for the recommendation.

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Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.