99% OF WOMEN WITH A DAIRY ALLERGY GO UNDIAGNOSED

“About 75 percent of us have a dairy allergy,” asserts Prudence Hall, M.D., founder of the Hall Center in Santa Monica, California. Unlike lactose intolerance, which occurs when the body doesn’t produce enough of the enzyme lactase to break down lactose (a sugar in milk), dairy allergies occur when the body has an allergic response to proteins in milk. “The body goes into attack mode, secreting histamines to eliminate the proteins,” says Michelle Schoffro Cook, Ph.D., author of Allergy-Proof Your Life. “Over time, histamines cause inflammation, triggering GI upset, congestion and fatigue.” But most people, including doctors, don’t recognize these symptoms as dairy allergies. As a result, Schoffro Cook says 99 percent of sufferers go undiagnosed.

“Dairy allergies seem to be more prevalent as women age,” says nutritionist Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph.D. To blame: age-related immunological changes. It’s also common to develop an allergy after experiencing GI tract damage, which can be caused by illness, foodborne parasites, even menopause, adds Dr. Hall. “The damaged intestinal tract may become more easily upset by dairy.”

Since skin allergy tests aren’t always accurate for dairy allergies, Dr. Hall suggests eliminating dairy from your diet for two weeks, then reintroducing it. “If bloat, gas, pain or diarrhea occur, you have a dairy allergy.”

“Avoiding dairy is the easiest fix,” says Dr. Hall. Besides cutting the usual suspects like milk and cheese, check labels for ingredients like casein and its aliases: potassium caseinate, magnesium caseinate or hydrolyzed casein.

Also smart: adding probiotic-rich fermented dairy-free foods like kimchi and sauerkraut to your diet to strengthen your immune system.