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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    Why do I get sinus and a blocked nose after eating dairy?

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    Allergy Colds & Flu Digestive Health
    Whenever I eat any dairy including cheese, chocolate, milk or yoghurt I get a stuffy nose and usually wake up with a sinus headache. Should I give up dairy?
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  • 67

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    Janc102

    HealthShare Member

    Hi

    I have the same problem and have to limit the amount of dairy I eat.  I cannot drink full fat milk unless it is not homogenised, I can also drink A2 milk with no problems at all.  If I eat too much yogurt or cheese I have the same problem so limit it to every couple of days. 

    I have just started taking coconut oil to help me lose weight and one of the unexpected things is that my sinuses have completely cleared up.  I read that coconut oil has anitibotic properties and can help with sinus so this was a very welcome “side effect”!

    So this is just anecdotal from my own experiences. 

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  • 15

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    lovelife

    HealthShare Member

    Thank you Janc102 I will give the coconut oil a go and see what happens - how do you take the coconut oil - is it straight or in food if so how much should I take each day ?

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  • 27

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    Janc102

    HealthShare Member

    I have just finished reading The Coconut Oil Miracle by Bruce Fife and he suggests 2-4 tablespoons a day.   I have one in my porridge and then another in soup or on toast - I don't really like the taste of coconut so mix it with other things!  Some people eat it straight from the jar.  I also like it with a cup of A2 milk, a tablespoon of coconut oil and a couple of heaped teaspoons of cacao (full of antioxidants).  I have a couple of tablespoons a day and also cook with it.

    It is a saturated fat but is a medium chain saturated fat.  It goes straight to the liver where it is easily broken down and converted to energy rather than being stored in the cells.  I have also been more energetic which is another plus, very noticeable because I am not geting the afternoon lag anymore.

    I have been cooking with coconut oil for a long time now and the reason why I started to look into it a bit more was because one of my friends who is 74 has had wonderful results.  I saw her a few months ago and she looked terrible, with numerous age related problems including heart palpitations.  The next time I saw her she was positively glowing!  She had lost weight, her heart palpitations had stopped and she was walking every day, also her cholesterol was normal.  So well worth the effort.

    Make sure you get organic, virgin oil, Banaban is the one I use and you can get it at health stores or delicatessans or you can buy it online http://www.naturepacific.com/index.html, just make sure it is organic and cold pressed or virgin.

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  • 14

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    lovelife

    HealthShare Member

    wow sounds amazing, I had heard briefly about coconut oil a while back but steered clear of it because of it's saturated fat content, but now you have explained that to me I am going to go straight out and buy it - I am in Australia (not sure where you are) but I will try and get it from a Health Food store here somewhere :)

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  • 5

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    Lynley Chalmers

    HealthShare Member

    Hi can you tell me the brand of coconut oil that has helped please?

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  • 13

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    Janc102

    HealthShare Member

    I live in Brisbane.  One of the studies done with coconut oil was to try to fatten pigs up using coconut oil and they found that the pigs wouldn't put on weight!  When they fed them on other oils they fattened up nicely.  Good luck with it, I suffered from chronic sinus for many years which stopped on the whole once I stopped drinking milk (aka in cafe coffees!) but has never really gone completely.  I have been eating a lot of dairy in the past couple of weeks and haven't had any sinus at all!

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  • 6

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    lovelife

    HealthShare Member

    I drink coffee usually skim milk at a cafe (one a day). I found my sinus all started after I cut my eye on a grevillea bush while pruning it. I went to the doctor and he gave me an antibiotic cream to put in it. After this all my sinus problems began, I really believe the cream clogged up my sinuses somehow, but of course no doctor will admit this cream can cause these problems.

    I may check the library to see if I can borrow it there, good to hear it isn't a fattening oil. Thank you for all your advice. I am moving to Noosa in the near future if I can't get the book from the library I may try a bookshop in Brisbane. Much appreciated.

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  • 2

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    Janc102

    HealthShare Member

    If I can't get books locally or for my Kindle I get them from The Book Depository in the UK www.bookdepository.com there is no charge for postage and their prices are really good.  I think it would be the skim milk blocking your sinuses.  Your body has probably just got to the point that it has had enough the onset of the sinus coincided with the cream.  You could Google all of the ingredients as well and see if any of them have that sort of affect.

    My partner's Mum who has eaten seafood all her life had an anaphylactic reaction after eating prawns in her 70s so sometimes your body is just finally overwhelmed and will react.  I didn't develop sinus until my 30s!

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  • 8

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    lovelife

    HealthShare Member

    Will check that site out, yes I was probably in my early 40's when I developed the sinus problems, even on an excellent diet I still get it, I found Cod Liver Oil helps as it does clear out the mucous membranes

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  • 16

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    Lynley Chalmers

    HealthShare Member

    I have deleted dairy from my diet completely, as i have dairy I have almost immediate effects on my sinuses.  I am going to try your Cocunut Oil, sounds great. Thank you for sharing.

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  • 40

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    Joy Anderson

    Dietitian, Nutritionist

    Joy is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Accredited Nutritionist, as well as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). She has a special interest in … View Profile

    In answer to the original question: These symptoms after eating dairy suggest that you are intolerant to dairy protein. This may vary over time, depending on other things happening in your life, such as stress from any source, hormonal state, and generally how well you feel. The better you feel, the more tolerant you are likely to be. If this has come on in your 40s, it may possibly be associated with your hormonal state - start of menopause.

    Intolerance is all about ‘dose’, so you may be able to get away with occasional or small amounts of dairy and not suffer symptoms, but if you have too much too often, it will build up and cause symptoms. So you may not have to give up dairy altogether.

    You may need to work out if you can have enough dairy or calcium-fortified alternatives to get sufficient calcium. If not, it might be a good idea to take a calcium supplement, say 500-600 mg calcium per day.

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  • 15

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    Janc102

    HealthShare Member

    I agree Joy, if I eat cheese 4 days in a row I will end up with sinus but I can eat it for 2-3 days and then just have a break.  A friend of mine got rid of her wheat allergy by going off it for 9 months - although if she really ODs on it she will get symptoms.  You just have to find out what works for you.

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