AJPeabody

Milk contains some elements of whatever the mother has eaten, and this applies to all mammals, including cows. If a cow eats an antibiotic, some traces will be in its milk. When I was a kid, sometimes the milk would have an oddish taste, which was explained by the cows eating certain weeds (there was a lot more field grazed cows in those days). So I suspect that if European cows ate American feed, and vice versa, the odd phenomenon if geographic milk intolerance would be reversed.

Melig

I am not dairy intolerant but for the last 3 years I have terrible stomach problems almost all the time living in California. However whenever I travel abroad (Europe, Asia) the problem disappears within 24 hours. When I mentioned that to my physician, he laughed because he said usually it's the other way around. He said that my problem is usually a sign of inflammation along the digestive lining probably due to some kind of a sensitivity not quite an allergy. We can never figure out what I am sensitive to but I always wonder if it has something to do with animal feed/antibiotics or plant gmo's.

thursdaysd

Inflammation is dangerous, your physician should not be laughing. Can't you try eliminating different classes of food - dairy, gluten, etc. - or switching entirely to organic to see what changes? Have you tried visiting an allergist rather than a GP? Do you have the same problem in other parts of the US?

Dukey1

Interesting that someone who knew they were allergic to dairy products would go to Europe and eat them anyway but obviously what was learned was beneficial. The indiscriminant use of antibiotics IN HUMANS is a much greater danger.

nytraveler

There are huge differences in how food is processed - not only from country to country but based on how it is made. Most supermarket breads have incredibly long shelf life (weeks) since they are full of all sorts of preservatives. But if you get bread from an actual bakery it is not treated that way and will get stale in 3 days or so - and can go moldy fairly fast.

So the problem might not be gluten but other ingredients. I had a friend who found out "gluten" was not her problem when she switched to fresh bread (granted easily available here but may not be in most places). You just have to make up your mind that you have to buy bread every 3 days (in europe it's often bought daily) versus keeping it on a shelf for weeks.

Not sure of the details of lactose intolerance, which often appears with age - never mind where or when the milk if processed. But in the case of the OP sounds like a different means of pasturization.

IMDonehere

I am just intolerant.

jubilada

Milk and beef without Baghdad or other hormones is widely available in the US. So if the OP has tried those milks in the US and still has trouble, that is not the issue. If she has not, it is worth a try.

jubilada

Interesting autocorrect, sorry. BGH

flpab

Why don't you just eat Kerry Gold or President french cheese and butter? Dubliner cheese is excellent also. I can get those at my regular supermarkets.

AJPeabody

Melig: If your food intolerance disappears in 24 hours on a trip, you can try a conceptually simple process that may identify the cause of your problem. The idea is to change your diet to entirely different foods from what you usually eat, starting with very few substitute foods. Your symptoms should disappear if you have removed your offender from your diet. Then add back foods one at a time and see which one(s) cause symptoms.

For example, if your usual starch is wheat-based plus potatoes, change to rice. If you eat fish, beef, pork, and chicken, switch to lamb or lentils. Eliminate every vegetable you usually eat, same for fruits. You will probably end up with only a very few foods, but you only need 2 days to see if you are well. Then add one former food to the mix for 2 days, observe, and repeat.

This used to called something like the elimination diet, and was used to detect food allergies.

worobash

Just doing some searching on this again, as I miss yogurt so much!

I have the exact same issue - complete mystery. I have always had sinus issues immediately after eating dairy (my brother does, too, which is how we figured it out), then the stomach issues come later. So I do eat dairy sometimes as it's not life or death for me, just living with the consequences.

Between a few trips abroad and returning it's been completely clear that it's the US vs. elsewhere. I've been to a nutritionist about it, who had never heard that before. I recently went to a naturopath (amazing!) and she agreed that it's the processing and ingredient differences. Just the way it is here...

So frustrating to know there is food elsewhere in the world that your body can handle just fine, but you don't have access to it. I have tried non-homogenized (local, organic, etc) milk here with no success. Different states have different laws regarding the different types of processing, so maybe you can find something that works. I've had some luck with European yogurts, but they get pricey, so I don't do it often.

I'm currently trying to be strict about it again. Even though it's a lot of work to cut it out, I want to do what I can to control my health. I'm sick of living within the norm here of dairy in everything.

thursdaysd

If organic milk, yogurt, cheese etc. still causes the symptoms it's a bit surprising that European equivalents don't affect you. Are you sure they're truly organic?

bilboburgler

note that organic does depend on stuff like the environment being the same in two places, high levels of hormones and plastics in parts of the world will still allow a product to be "organic" and have drastically different content, Lake Eire springs to mind.

PatrickLondon

>.You just have to make up your mind that you have to buy bread every 3 days (in europe it's often bought daily) versus keeping it on a shelf for weeks.<<

My compromise (as a single person) is to buy sliced wholemeal and keep it in the freezer, and just use slices as I need them. It means you only ever have it toasted, but I can live with that rather than waste food or go without it altogether.

thursdaysd

"Organic" does have some kind of official definition, and I thought it included not injecting cows with hormones and antibiotics, but could be wrong. I do have trouble with "normal" American dairy, but can eat Whole Foods plain organic whole milk yogurt with no issues. Haven't tried low fat, at least recently, that processing might have an effect too.

kcwaters

I have never been lactose intolerant but I have always built up very thick mucus in my throat when I drank milk but cheese does not bother me. As with others that have gone to Germany and not suffered I went for college this summer and enjoyed my milk to a great degree. No coughing no mucus I love this freedom. Boy that sounds dumb but it is true I enjoyed my milk. I hoped when I came home I would again be able to have milk, but I have not found that to be the case. It would be terrible to want to live you birth country because of milk but I do or did enjoy being able to have it while I was there.

bilboburgler

the critical use of antibiotics in any animal is that mutation of microbes rather than the mutation of the animals.

Hence overuse in animals is just as dangerous as overuse in humans

That, in the US, they confuse anti-biotics with growth hormones is just lunacy.

Guenmai

I've had a dairy allergy for decades and it doesn't matter where I am in the world I'm still allergic to dairy as I've accidentally come in contact with it in foods in various, overseas places, and have had an immediate reaction to it there just as I have reactions here in the U.S. The only exception is butter which I usually don't have a reaction to, either at home or overseas, but not always.

Happy Travels!

Lvtwft

Its the type of casein protein the European cows have that is different than American cows. The protein in Europe is much easier digestible than it is America. And it seems like Australia is going with the easy digestible protein also.

BritishCaicos

I had a colesterol test just after Christmas, my doctor started to perform the last rites after she opened the results. My BMI is very good I just seem to be very dense !!!

Doctor told me, amongst everything else, to cut out all dairy. Her argument was that you would have great difficulty explaining to an alien,who'd just landed on the planet, the whole process of dairy production and consumption.

To me, now, it is a pretty revolting process. I've cut it out of my diet totally and combined with more balanced sugar/carb intakes, over the past few weeks have seen huge increases in energy levels.

The downside is that for those weeks my digestive system is in crisis without the comforting Cadburys Dairy milk for breakfast or Fish and Chips twice a week.