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Should I bother reintroducing dairy?


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Sorry for bringing up a topic that have already been discussed at length but I was curious about where you all stand on this issue currently. My dd's DAN has told me to reintroduce dairy into her diet after running an ELISA allergy blood panel and finding out she supposedly has no issue with dairy. She hasn't had any dairy in almost 2 years now. I have been reading previous posts about this issue and keep coming back to Dr. T's warning about cheese and yogurt products containing s. thermophilus. I was so looking forward to putting a container of yogurt or a cheese stick in her lunchbox but now I'm afraid to. Are any of you using yogurt or cheese? Do you see a difference? How long did it take before you noticed anything? We have not reintroduced gluten or yeast yet (this is coming next) and I'm at a loss as to what to give her for lunch. Last year in kindergarten I only had to provide a snack. The kids still made comments about what she was eating because it was different from all of theirs. It didn't seem to bother her too much but she's getting older and I know the comments will most likely get worse in first grade. I suppose I could just give her some yogurt or cheese and see how she does but right now we have so many variables going on. We started a higher dose of Flagyl and we started a new antiyeast product(Enhansa). If she reacts I won't know what she is reacting to. When I talked to my daughter's DAN he said there was no connection between the strains of strep. Does anyone know if Dr. T is still standing by his previous advice of being careful when using products containing s. thermophilus? I'd appreciate any input you can give! Thank you!!

 

Caring Mom

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Yes Dr T does stand by that theory. There are yogurts out there that do not have that strain of strep. I believe that go gurt may be one of them. Milk was ok - no issue w that.

 

Good luck!!

He says it might be a factor for some children (not all). My daughter's doctor said there is no correlation, but recently my daughter had an increase in symptoms when we introduced a new probiotic with it--we stopped it and the symptoms decreased. I have to say, we do avoid yogurt/kefir because of it. I think soy yogurt is ok.

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About the general topic of dairy.....I've found that since his last exacerbation, he doesn't eat a lot of dairy. I let him choose when to have a glass of milk. He likes milk, and I will offer it, but he rarely chooses it. My gut tells me its his body telling him to limit it and I respect it.

 

My son's main form of dairy is probably yogurt and cheese. Even that is not to an extreme.

 

As for the strep strain in yogurt, honestly I don't know if his has it in there. I don't think it does.

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Yes Dr T does stand by that theory. There are yogurts out there that do not have that strain of strep. I believe that go gurt may be one of them. Milk was ok - no issue w that.

 

Good luck!!

 

I just looked up go gurt at Yoplait's website and it does have the strep strain. Lactobacilus and Streptococcus thermophilus are the two cultures added to milk to create yogurt. So I'm assuming that's all yogurt...but not sure about soy.

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Thanks for the responses everyone - I appreciate you trying to help me out. Vickie, what kind of yogurt and cheese do you use? I don't think my daughter will go much for milk either but I'm sure she'll want cheese and yogurt. I'm starting to think I might just have to try it out with the strep strain and see what happens. I was really hoping to find a yogurt that is organic with no additives or artificial flavors that doesn't contain the strep strain. I went to Mother's Market and every yogurt I picked up had it. If anyone finds a good quality yogurt or cheese that doesn't have the strain in it please keep me in mind!:)

 

Caring Mom

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My kids eat "Yoplait Thick and Creamy" and the new "Simply GoGurt". Reading philamom's post, I guess it does have that strain in it. It doesn't affect him at all.

 

As for cheese, regular dairy cheese....cheddar, colby jack.....

 

He just doesn't go over board at any given time.

 

fyi...Stoneyfield makes a probiotic yogurt. I've never tried it since my kids like thick yogurt, but at least you'd be getting probiotics too.

Edited by Vickie
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Thanks for the responses everyone - I appreciate you trying to help me out. Vickie, what kind of yogurt and cheese do you use? I don't think my daughter will go much for milk either but I'm sure she'll want cheese and yogurt. I'm starting to think I might just have to try it out with the strep strain and see what happens. I was really hoping to find a yogurt that is organic with no additives or artificial flavors that doesn't contain the strep strain. I went to Mother's Market and every yogurt I picked up had it. If anyone finds a good quality yogurt or cheese that doesn't have the strain in it please keep me in mind!:)

 

Caring Mom

I enjoy Stonyfield yogurts...very tasty and nutritious. Also good, is FAGE lowfat greek strained yogurt with fruit. But again, I think Strep thermo is used as part of the process in making yogurt and kefir...am I wrong? If concerned, you could always call the manufacturer and ask them. I give my daughter "Good Belly" strawberry probiotic drink...it's dairy free and comes in a little cup.

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Thanks for the responses everyone - I appreciate you trying to help me out. Vickie, what kind of yogurt and cheese do you use? I don't think my daughter will go much for milk either but I'm sure she'll want cheese and yogurt. I'm starting to think I might just have to try it out with the strep strain and see what happens. I was really hoping to find a yogurt that is organic with no additives or artificial flavors that doesn't contain the strep strain. I went to Mother's Market and every yogurt I picked up had it. If anyone finds a good quality yogurt or cheese that doesn't have the strain in it please keep me in mind!:)

 

Caring Mom

Kefir does not have the strep bacteria strain in it and it is a super-powerful probiotic. if you have a dairy or casein problem, you can buy coconut milk w/ kefir strain. it is also fairly easy to make yourself. that way you can be sure of the bacteria used and use any type of "milk." My son used to react to yogurts, but they also tend to have lots of sugar, so it is hard to tell what the reaction is to.

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Thanks for the responses everyone - I appreciate you trying to help me out. Vickie, what kind of yogurt and cheese do you use? I don't think my daughter will go much for milk either but I'm sure she'll want cheese and yogurt. I'm starting to think I might just have to try it out with the strep strain and see what happens. I was really hoping to find a yogurt that is organic with no additives or artificial flavors that doesn't contain the strep strain. I went to Mother's Market and every yogurt I picked up had it. If anyone finds a good quality yogurt or cheese that doesn't have the strain in it please keep me in mind!:)

 

Caring Mom

Kefir does not have the strep bacteria strain in it and it is a super-powerful probiotic. if you have a dairy or casein problem, you can buy coconut milk w/ kefir strain. it is also fairly easy to make yourself. that way you can be sure of the bacteria used and use any type of "milk." My son used to react to yogurts, but they also tend to have lots of sugar, so it is hard to tell what the reaction is to.

The brand of Kefir (Lifeway) we drink does have the strain listed. I pulled this off the internet:

 

Today, Yogurt is strictly defined as a milk product produced by the action of two bacteria- Streptoccus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus. In addition, yogurt may contain other strains. The first two are NEEDED to covert milk to yogurt and the other strains are added because of their health promoting properties.

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Where can I read about Dr.T's theory about the strep strain. My son's probiotic has the strep strain in it. I'd like to understand why it matters.

 

Hello PhillyPA,

 

I'm now going to show all of you how computer unsavvy I am. The way I found that thread on Dr T's advice on s. thermophilus was by typing in the word "yogurt" in the search bar at the top of the page. Then scroll down to tygertoo's post labeled Strep Thermophilus info from Dr. T.

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Hi - Recently, someone posted a really good article about probiotics. It said that s. thermophilus isn't pathogenic in the same way as strep throat as it doesn't possess M proteins on its surface. To me that seems as though it shouldn't be a problem but my science brain is fairly puny.. anyone got thoughts on the M protein thing?

 

Dr T also posted a good article on probiotics on his yuku site that discusses how they work by stimulating the immune system, not just by suppression. Dr T wondered if this could be why some kids react badly to probiotics...

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