It seems to be the case that there is a lot of confusion about whether milk and other dairy products create mucus in the body.
The Dairy Council denies that there is any association between milk and increased mucus production, but personal accounts (including myself) and other scientific studies have proven otherwise.
Bias in Nutrition Studies
First I would like to address the fact that nutrition studies funded by food companies (like dairy councils) are almost always biased in their interest.
A new study, co-authored by Harvard researchers and analysts from the Centre for Science in the Public Interest, found just that. They documented widespread bias in nutrition studies funded with industry money. The study they carried out questioned whether the science behind nutrition recommendations is, in fact, legitimate (1).
Dr. David Ludwig, director of the clinical weight loss program at the Children’s Hospital in Boston, analyzed 206 studies published between 1999 and 2003. He decided to focus mainly on milk and other fruit juices and soft drinks, as those beverages are “highly profitable and heavily advertised to children.”
Dr. Ludwig had a group of investigators analyze nutrition studies’ scientific conclusions without knowing anything about the financial sponsorship they had received. A separate group looked up who funded the studies, without knowing anything about the first group’s conclusions.
What did they find? When a food company pays for a scientific article, the results are eight times more likely to be favorable to the company’s financial interests than if the study were independently funded.
So of course, when we see studies funded by the Dairy Council and other dairy companies, we can be rest assured that the results are going to be in favor of the dairy industry. This is similar to what we see when milk gets promoted as building “better bones,” when in fact it does the exact opposite.
According to Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Centre for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, “both the dairy and the soft drink industries are notorious for giving investigators money to do studies that typically find things favorable to the industry. And if the studies are biased, which they appear to be, we’re not getting the correct picture (2).” Brownell goes on to say that while the studies are published and peer-reviewed in scientific journals, it is still no guarantee that the researchers or their conclusions are free of bias.
Whether the questions are framed in ways to make them more favorable or studies with negative conclusions are never published, always consider the source of where the information you’re looking at comes from. Who paid for the study you’re getting the information?
Dairy and Mucus Production
While I am not lactose intolerant, I did suffer from a lot of mucus production before giving up dairy. I receive countless e-mails and comments from people about how their mucus and phlegm issues cleared up as soon as they gave up dairy. And while I do recognize that everyone’s experiences are different, I wanted to take a look into the studies that have found dairy to be a trigger for mucus production.
If you’re not aware, casein is a milk protein and is usually involved in the mucus response. And while I do not, by any means, support the use of animals for study, some of the studies that examine dairy and mucus involve rats. Maybe one day we can get past the use of animals to study on, and instead use easier methods of study, like personal accounts of how individuals feel after eliminating a certain food group (aka. dairy) from their diets – just like I did, and noticed significant changes in how I felt.
Study #1: the milk protein casein breaks down in the stomach to produce a substance called casomorphin, which has opioid effects (this makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint as species survival may depend on a close maternal bond between infant and mother). Opioid receptors on the mucous glands in the respiratory tract may respond to the casomorphin from milk, which stimulates the production and secretion of mucus from these respiratory glands. This explains why a subgroup of the population who have increased respiratory tract mucus production find that many of their symptoms, including asthma, improve on a dairy elimination diet.
Study #2: feeding higher levels of dietary animal protein (like casein used in this study) increases colonic DNA damage and thins the colonic mucus barrier in rats. Thinning of the natural mucus barrier in the colon often leads to issues like irritable bowel syndrome (we all have mucosal cells in our body (it’s a good thing, and protects the organs). It’s when we give the body irritating foods, like dairy, when mucus production goes into overdrive). This leads to modified mucus production in the colon and can result in things like mucus showing up in the stool. I used to suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, and once I gave up dairy, I no longer suffered from the symptoms (including mucus in my stool).
The University of Maryland Medical Centre states on their website that to reduce symptoms of cystic fibrosis, to eliminate potential food allergens and foods that increase mucus production, including dairy (milk, cheese, sour cream, and ice cream), wheat (gluten), soy and corn, and to eat more foods that decrease mucus production like garlic, onions, watercress, horseradish, mustard, parsley, celery, and lemon.
WebMD, a popular medical website also supports the hypothesis that phlegm can be made worse with the ingestion of dairy products like milk, ice cream, and cheese. Dr. Neil L. Kao, MD, associate professor of medicine at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine says on WedMD that the reason people produce more mucus when they drink milk is because of gustatory rhinitis. Gustatory rhinitis is a reflex reaction triggered by eating. It is also why your nose runs when you eat hot peppers – the same thing happens when some people consume dairy products. Hot peppers are an irritant, and so is dairy. Rhinitis means inflammation of the nasal passages, and when the body triggers the inflammatory response, it usually means it is trying to protect itself or repair itself from damage (aka. from the irritant (dairy) you put in your body).
Mayo Clinic also states that drinking milk makes phlegm thicker and more irritating to your throat than it normally would be when you have a sore throat. Unfortunately, the same applies to when your throat isn’t sore – you just don’t notice it as much when your throat isn’t sore and irritated.
Studies Funded By Dairy Industry
To demonstrate just a few studies (amongst many others) that are funded by the dairy industry, I’ll leave a short list below. These studies, of course, only mention positive results. You’ll never find a negative study result being funded by the dairy industry.
Study #1 – Funded by the Swiss Federal Research Station for Animal Production and Dairy Products (ALP).
Study #2 – Funded by the Global Dairy Platform, Dairy Research Institute, and Dairy Australia. An author of the study received the Wiebe Visser International Dairy Nutrition Prize from the Dutch Dairy Association’s (NZO) Utrecht Group. Another author of the study is the recipient of research grants from the Danish Dairy Research Foundation, the Global Dairy Platform, the Danish Agriculture and Food Council and the GEIE European Milk Forum.
Study #3 – Studies lead author, Jonathon Maguire, has a long history of receiving money from the dairy industry and of publishing studies with unsubstantiated conclusions that are favorable to the dairy industry (3). In this study, it is suggested that cow’s milk is essential for obtaining vitamin D, but the problem here is that vitamin D isn’t even found naturally in milk – it’s artificially added by milk processors. The best place to get vitamin D? The sun. This study was a project of TARGet Kids, which lists as funders – Dairy Farmers of Ontario and the Danone Institute.
Study #4 – Fully funded by the dairy industry, including the Dairy Research Institute and the Danish Dairy Research Foundation. The study was criticized in a letter to the editor of the journal, and stated that the “experimental diets were apparently designed so that the possibly desired conclusion could be drawn (4).”
The National Osteoporosis Society also warned that diets, which cut out dairy, could be a “ticking time bomb” for young people’s bone health, a claim made after the Society carried out a survey that found a fifth of under-25s has cut down on or completely given up dairy.
What this scaremongering survey fails to mention is that the National Osteoporosis Society is funded by a dairy company – Yoplait (5) – and that the company “donates annually to the National Osteoporosis Society in the UK and the Irish Osteoporosis in Ireland (6).”
Of course, this is false information that the National Osteoporosis Society is spreading, as children and adults alike can get calcium from plant-food sources like kale, sesame seeds, okra, dried figs, chia seeds, almonds and more. Calcium from plant-based sources is actually better for you than dairy, as the high acidity in dairy actually buffers the pH in the body, stripping alkaline minerals (like calcium) from the bones.
Can You Get Enough Calcium From Plants?
Quick answer: yes!
Many people aren’t aware that certain plant foods are high in calcium. This is because the dairy industry pushes its products so hard through marketing and advertising that they have completely brain-washed society into thinking dairy is the only way we can get calcium.
This is far from the truth!
Plant foods are actually some of the best sources of calcium. There are two reasons for this.
- Dairy is high acid, and plant foods are alkaline. The high acidity of dairy actually makes the body pull alkaline minerals from the bones (like calcium and magnesium), making them weaker and more prone to fracture. Plant foods, on the other hand, are mineral-rich and don’t strip alkaline minerals from our bones.
- Plant foods are just high in calcium, period! Everything from bok choy to kale and collards. Just two tablespoons of chia seeds contain six times the amount of calcium found in a glass of milk! You can find an entire list of plant-based foods high in calcium here.
So instead of reaching for a container of dairy the next time you’re at the grocery store, why not reach for some coconut milk? I highly suggest making your own oat or almond milk, because it is much easier (and cheaper) than buying your own! Most of the almond milk in stores is watered down with other ingredients too, so by making your own, you’ll make sure you’re only getting the good stuff.
I personally love making my own coconut yogurt. You can find this recipe and more in my Freedom from Inflammation recipe eBook, which is packed with over 50+ plant-based recipes to reduce inflammation in your body to restore your health!
The Bottom Line
While many believe that dairy is not the cause of mucus – studies say otherwise. The studies that claim dairy doesn’t create mucus are directly funded by the dairy industry, so massive bias lies in resultant data.
Regardless of studies and science, when will people start listening to their body and recognizing what certain foods elicit in their body upon consumption? What do you think? Do you notice a difference when you stop consuming dairy?
Sheila says
Very interesting article.
It describes my issues to a T.
Can you tell me what are alternatives you use to get the calcium your body needs?
Carly Fraser says
Hey Sheila, check out the article I wrote here: https://livelovefruit.com/20-plant-foods-that-contain-more-calcium-than-milk/
Jennifer says
Hi Sheila, just came across your article about increased flem and tickle/cough which I’ve developed in the last 2 months. I’ve also had hives on and off for many years. Generally not too bad though. We did move to the mountains from desert so perhaps that’s contributing, but I think it’s food and perhaps hormonal changes. Anyway…I’m going to try your juice that has cucumber et la specifically for this. Since I’ve been on a an antihistamine diet, think I need to leave out tomatoes?
Carly Fraser says
I wouldn't be too concerned about tomatoes, just make sure they're organic. Listen to your body – if you think it's something you should leave out, then do so.
Andy says
I have switched to A2 milk and don't seem to have the mucus issue in the morning when having milk on my cereal.
Pam says
What is A2 milk ? I haven’t had milk for a while now An my bones are breaking in my back.. Does lactose milk cause mucus ..
Carly Fraser says
Yes, lactose in milk causes mucus. Historically, cows produced milk that contained only the A2 form of beta-casein. Today, most of the milk available from the local grocery store contains mostly A1 proteins.
Maryam says
Thanks for this note of differentiation between A1 and A2 milk. I found that pasteurization causes alot of the intolerance with milk. I personally cannot drink pasteurized cow’s milk because it creates a lot of phlegm in me. A lot of people who drink raw milk say their mucus issues go away as well, so perhaps the source (raw) of the milk is important for mucus pervention.
Carly Fraser says
Raw milk still contains the compounds mentioned in this article. I know people who drink raw dairy products and still get mucus.
Jo says
I have been using myself as a guinea pig as my granddaughter suffers from excema and asthma. Until very recently I suffered from excema on the palm of one hand and in my ears. The skin would split on my hand and my ears constantly itched and sometimes would weep. So, I first gave up my bio yoghurt that I used to mix with my smoothie, then gave up all cheese (except for occasional mozarella), and two weeks ago gradually stopped having milk in my coffee, tea etc., and used soya milk as an alternative but hated it so I now have almond or oat ‘milk’ instead. There has been an amazing transformation in the skin on the palm of my hand. New soft skin is beginning to show through the last of the rough patch left by the excema. My ears are beginning to flake less and one thing that has really got my attention, I no longer have any mucus especially first thing in the morning. Even though I do have occasional mozarella, that doesn’t affect me at all, which is interesting as I understand it is made differently to other cheeses. It was then I decided to make a Duck Duck Go internet search and inputted ‘milk and mucus’ and found your site. What I read actually mirrors my own conclusions, so thank you! I shall pass my own personal findings onto my daughter and give her your web address so that she can read your findings for herself.
Carly Fraser says
Hey Jo! I’m glad you came across my article! It’s interesting the different ways our health improves once giving up dairy products, isn’t it? I’m happy you’ve finally found what was causing your skin to crack and feel so uncomfortable – I hope your daughter can give it a try as well!
matt says
Hi, I am a Dietitian and I do not believe there is a link between mucus and lactose. It is a common complaint from people to dismiss studies because of who is funding it. The dairy council are not going to fund a study on oranges, they will spend money to fund studies that are specific to their industry otherwise who else is going to pay for this. You can look at it as bias or an industry being responsible!
The key thing to look for is the strength of the study, can it be recreated and who has supported it.
The issue I have is that some people will avoid milk and all dairy based on your article which isn’t correct. By all means do a elimination diet or speak to a dietitian but I have patients who are at risk of malnutrition but will avoid lactose containing supplements on the false belief they will develop increased mucus, when infact they don’t and they are at a much higher risk from malnutrition.
Carly Fraser says
Hey Matt, thanks for your comment. While I understand your concern, the bias in many of the dairy-funded studies doesn’t make them believeable. Any Google search will confirm the bias in studies funded by the very industries that want only positive results for their benefit. In the end, we’ll both have our own opinion on this, but the fact is, is that studies are very often swayed in reporting of results when funded by the companies that want those researchers to reproduce “good” results. This happens *all* the time in regards to scientific studies. The bias going around is insane, and really quite sad.
To address your other concerns regarding your patients. I don’t believe anyone requires dairy to get out of a state of malnutrition. That is spreading misinformation on your behalf, considering many plant-based foods are 100x more nutrient dense in all respects when compared to milk (take any simple plant food like chia seeds, dark leafy greens, oat milk, almond milk, etc. – I have many articles on this). The benefit? They don’t have to depend on dairy to meet those needs, and thus they no longer support an industry that promotes rape of mother cows.
What kind of lactose-containing supplements are you referring to? I would be curious to know, because if it is something along the lines of ensure or any of those other products, I’d be highly cautious of the extra fillers in those supplements as they do more harm than good.