Note From Dr. Huber 

Millions of people are adversely affected by exposure to allergens. Environmental allergens such as grass, trees, and molds may occur seasonally but other allergens to cats, dogs, and even dust mites in your home may go on year round.  Food allergies are also a significant problem and can affect you more broadly than you might suspect.  They can affect you immediately after eating a food (such as peanut allergy) or they may be more sneaky and cause things such as headache, joint pain, or a fuzzy headed feeling days after you have eaten them. All of these issues lead to poor quality of life and often multiple visits to doctor's offices trying to diagnose the source of the symptoms and to gain relief.

In the past if you had allergies you first had to identify that this was the problem and then seek help from an allergist to give you shots to treat them. The shots used by allergists contain small amounts of the very allergens that you are allergic to but are given in very small doses to encourage "tolerance" on the part of your immune system. The big problem with this type of therapy was the cost, the inconvenience of going to your doctor's office each week and the pain of getting an injection.

Well I have some good news to report.  

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Got Camel Milk?

by Katherine Wight, R.D, L.D.

Have you noticed?  There is a new crowd of 'milks' alongside the traditional cow's milk cartons.  How does a nice tall glass of cold and refreshing camel milk sound? Too weird? What about donkey milk or buffalo milk? You may wrinkle your nose at the thought, but likely if you haven't yet tried one, you have at least seen a cow's milk alternatives.  Almond milk, soy milk, rice milk, coconut milk, oat milk and hemp milk are gaining real estate on grocers' shelves, but more interestingly are replacing cow milk products in many shopping carts.

According to SymphonyIRI Group, a Chicago market research firm, the introduction of almond milk in the refrigerated dairy case in 2010 helped to fuel 13% growth in milk alternatives. Refrigerated non-dairy alternates are the highest growth dairy category in the natural channel with 18.1 percent growth in 2010, according to SPINSscan Natural. What is behind the recent boom in sales? At LMI we have been recommending these products for years, long before their newfound popularity, which has even skeptics pouring themselves a glass.

Why are so many milk alternatives becoming so much more available?  The market is responding to increased consumer demand.  So why the increased consumer demand?  While cow's milk alternatives appeal to a vegan or vegetarian consumer group and that  is certainly responsible for some of the boom, we believe their growth is driven by the increased awareness of food allergies and sensitivities, with allergies to cow's milk being one of the most common.

Unfortunately, food allergies in general are on the rise and the population that is hit the hardest is children. Food allergies in children have increased by nearly 20% in the last 10 years, and are increasing among children of all ages (boys and girls) and among children of different races/ethnicities[1]. Physicians are diagnosing more food allergies as newer research has linked food allergies to both asthma and skin allergies such as eczema[2].  For example, asthma now affects 1 in 12 Americans, an increase of 12% during the last decade[3].  While more common in children (9.6%) than adults (7.7%), asthma is increasing in all population subgroups.  Shockingly, the most significant increase in prevalence is occurring in black children, who saw an almost 50% rise in diagnoses from 2001 to 2009. Now, nearly 1 in 6 black children has asthma. The presence of asthma is a predictor for persistent cow's milk allergy.

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