If you develop certain symptoms after consuming dairy products, you may want to consider participating in a dairy elimination diet. An elimination diet is performed to help identify which foods may be causing an allergic reaction or intolerance. Talk with your doctor before implementing any dietary changes.
Purpose
Many elimination diets remove more than one food to identify if those foods are causing adverse reactions in the body. MayoClinic.com recommends removing the food from your diet for one to two weeks before reintroducing it. Food allergies can lead to a severe allergic reaction. A dairy elimination diet needs to be performed under a doctor's supervision.
Milk Allergies
Milk allergies are not common among adults, affecting only about 4 percent of American adults, according to MayoClinic.com. A dairy allergy causes the immune system to overreact to certain foods. After eating dairy products, your immune system mistakes the proteins in the food as dangerous and unleashes an attack against them. The two proteins with a milk allergy are casein and whey. The body creates various chemicals to help fight off the allergens. These chemicals cause common allergy symptoms.
Symptoms
Symptoms of a dairy allergy include digestive complications, respiratory issues and skin reactions. Digestive symptoms include abdominal cramping, discomfort, vomiting, diarrhea and nausea. Wheezing, coughing, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, sneezing, nasal congestion and throat irritation are common symptoms of respiratory symptoms. A milk allergy can cause general skin itching, eczema or hives, according to MayoClinic.com.
Observance
After the food has been completely avoided for up to two weeks, reintroduce the food into your diet in small quantities, according to AskDrSears.com. Keep a journal of when you ate the food, how much of it you ate and how it affected you. It is important that the reintroduction period is completed under a doctor's supervision in case of a severe allergic reaction. If you experience allergy-like symptoms, call your doctor immediately.
Conclusion
If you experience significant reactions after reintroducing the food into your diet, your doctor may recommend further testing. An elimination diet is not used to diagnose a food allergy or intolerance, it is used to help identify suspected foods that are causing a reaction in the body. A food allergy is an immune system reaction, whereas food intolerance is a malfunction of the digestive tract to properly digest certain proteins and sugars found in foods.
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