It's bad enough to have a cold or allergies, but the last thing you want to do is make it even worse. While scientific studies exist to show that dairy products do not affect mucus production when you have a cold, you may perceive such a relationship anyway, based on your own allergic reactions or beliefs. The best thing to do for your cold may be to do simply whatever makes you feel better.
Stuffy Noses
Your nose may be stuffy for one of four reasons: a viral infection or cold, structural abnormalities, allergic reactions or the chronic condition called nonallergic rhinitis. With colds, your body releases histamines to fight off the virus. These chemicals increase the blood flow to your nose and cause the tissue to swell and produce excess mucus that clogs your nasal passages. With allergies, your body also releases histamines.
Mucus and Dairy Products
Researchers in a 1990 study published in "The American Review of Respiratory Disease" injected subjects with a cold virus and tracked their symptoms over a 10-day period to see if milk and other dairy products caused an increase in mucus. The results showed that the dairy products did not cause an increase in either congestion or the amounts of nasal secretions.
Individual Differences
Despite the findings in the 1990 study, 80 percent of the people who came into the study believing that milk caused more mucus also reported that milk increased their mucus during the study. The difference in perception may result from differences in the quality of the mucus. For example, James Steckelberg, a physician writing for MayoClinic.com, states that milk may make mucus or phlegm thicker than it might otherwise be. Another MayoClinic.com article notes that some allergy sufferers, as opposed to those with colds, do find that milk increases mucus production, while cheese or other dairy products do not.
Feed a Cold?
While you may want to cut back on dairy products when you have a cold, you shouldn't stop eating altogether. Scientific studies have found that the adage to "feed a cold and starve a fever" holds some truth. A 2002 study published in the journal "Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology" found that food did increase the body's immune response levels against invaders such as cold viruses. A 2005 study published in "Medical Hypotheses" found that an anorexic response, or "starving a fever," is useful to help the body fight off bacteria that may cause fevers.
References
- American Academy of Otolaryngology; Stuffy Nose; 2011
- "The American Review of Respiratory Disease"; Relationship between milk intake and mucus production in adult volunteers challenged with rhinovirus-2; C.B. Pinnock et al.; February 1990
- MayoClinic.com; Cold Symptoms; James M. Steckelberg M.D.; October 2010
- MayoClinic.com; Asthma; October 2009
- "Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry"; "Feed a Cold, Starve A Fever"--Folk Models of Infection in an English Suburban Community, And Their Relation to Medical Treatment; C.G. Helman; June 1978
- "Medical Hypotheses"; Starve a Fever and Feed A Cold: Feeding and Anorexia May Be Adaptive Behavioral Modulators of Autonomic and T Helper Balance; K.A. Bazar et al.; 2005
