milk allergies, and how I've dealt with my own problem...

pologirl wrote:

Vicky Bilaniuk wrote

I don't know *what* I react to, but I sure do react to *something* in
regular milk. It seems like filtered is the only way to go, for me

[...]

Filtration will trap things that are above a certain size; do you
know what that size limit is?

FWIW, I think it is highly unlikely that the filtration itself is
responsible for your being able to drink the milk. Rather, I would
bet the filtered milk comes from a specific dairy or cooperative.
And those cows have a diet that lacks whatever you are allergic to.

I have a brother who is allergic only to something in milk bottled
in a certain part of the US. Which means that if he avoids dairy
products from a certain major supermarket brand, he can be fairly
confident of having no exposure to the allergen. Whatever it is.

Pologirl

Heh heh, sorry for yet another reply, but I found a more interesting
definition of the filtration that the companies I buy from claim to use
(microfiltration):
BACTERIA REMOVAL/ EXTENDED SHELF LIFE MILK : The most common separation
in this category is the removal of bacteria and spores from milk. In
some regions the somatic cell count of fresh can be difficult to manage.
In other parts of the world vegetative spores associated with animal
feeds pass directly through the animal and into the milk supply. Some of
these spores survive pasteurization and can cause
shelf-life problems in certain of the final products
produced. Microfiltration can allow milk to pass
through the membrane and reject the problem bacteria
which are too large to pass through the membrane. This
can also be used as a precursor to pasteurization allowing for
extended shelf-life of products with standard pasteurization
techniques.

It's from
http://www.geafiltration.com/html/ma...n_of_milk.html

Anyway, it could be the spores that do it to me. Who knows.

Zannah wrote:

Pardon my ignorance, but what is "filtered" milk?

I apologize again because it seems that this product is not available
widely, so I never should have mentioned it. I honestly thought that it
was available everywhere. Anyway, "filtered" milk is just milk that has
been processed a bit further. In particular, they pass it through a
microfilter that removes bacteria and spores that the cows consume
accidentally, and that also breaks up the fat globules even more than
regular processing does (another thing I learned). This is done before
pasteurization. The claim is that it makes milk taste better and last
longer. Personally, I don't care about the taste (I'm not picky, as
long as it has a basic milk taste, which it does), and the shelf life is
only marginally increased for skim milk in bags. The only thing I care
about is that for some reason, I am able to drink it without a reaction
(and my reaction happens in less than a minute, so it's an easy thing
for me to test). Seriously... If you put a glass of regular milk
beside a glass of filtered milk, I'll be able to tell the difference
between the two simply based on what my stomach does (first reaction
occurs in stomach). ;-)

"Vicky Bilaniuk" wrote in message
Zannah wrote:

Pardon my ignorance, but what is "filtered" milk?

I apologize again because it seems that this product is not available
widely, so I never should have mentioned it. I honestly thought that
it
was available everywhere. Anyway, "filtered" milk is just milk that
has
been processed a bit further.
snip

Don't feel bad! I've never heard of it before today either, but it was
interested to learn about :-) I'm also curious about what you mean about
it coming in "bags"? I've never seen milk in a bag before (unless it is
dry, and then it is more like an envelope) and am having trouble
picturing it!

--
Em
mama to L-baby, 10 months old

Em wrote:
"Vicky Bilaniuk" wrote in message

Zannah wrote:


Pardon my ignorance, but what is "filtered" milk?

I apologize again because it seems that this product is not available
widely, so I never should have mentioned it. I honestly thought that

it

was available everywhere. Anyway, "filtered" milk is just milk that

has

been processed a bit further.

snip

Don't feel bad! I've never heard of it before today either, but it was
interested to learn about :-) I'm also curious about what you mean about
it coming in "bags"? I've never seen milk in a bag before (unless it is
dry, and then it is more like an envelope) and am having trouble
picturing it!

Imagine buying 4L of milk (something over a gallon) in a bag, basically.
Actually, it's split up into 3 smaller bags, all contained in one big
bag. Advantages: you don't expose all of the milk at once and each
little bag is lighter than a jug (which you can buy here, as well, but
the jugs aren't as popular, plus I think they're a bit smaller).
Disadvantages: sometimes the bags break, you need to buy a holder for
the small bags (although this can be cheaply done), and the bags aren't
resealable so when in the fridge, they are always open. The bags are
also floppy, so if you don't get them in the holder properly, they can
spill (although personally, I just *don't* have this problem, but DH
does because he is not a milk drinker, so if he replaces a bag for me,
it's like a new experience for him).

The best way to buy milk is in a carton, actually, but they only make
them in 1L and 2L sizes. The material is also not recyclable (at least
not in my city). I used to buy the 2L cartons all the time until they
started offering microfiltered skim milk in 4L bags. (I still sometimes
get the cartons, depending on where I shop - not everyone sells the bags)

Jugs are increasingly hard to find around here. Doesn't bother me,
though. ;-) I used to get jugs all the time (back when I lived in a
place where you could only get milk in jugs - no cartons, even) and I
didn't like them. The things *always* had a problem with a ring of
rotted milk around the lid. It always grossed me out. I mean, you
would buy a fresh jug, it would be clean, and after the first use, the
milk left at the top would dry out and flake off the next time you would
open the jug. I had mastered the art of blowing on the opening in just
the right way to get rid of the flakes but without having them go into
the milk. ;-) (I would loosen the lid, but not remove it - that way, I
could blow away the flakes but keep them away from the milk) One thing
I miss about the jugs, though: my cat *loved* to play with the little
plastic rings that they used to seal the lids.

BTW, I think this milk in a bag concept is once again an Ontario-only
thing (as far as Canada goes, at least - it has apparently been done in
parts of Europe). I'm not sure, but I've read that other provinces are
sticking with cartons and jugs. ...and I just found this out. Again, I
thought that something that was available here was available everywhere.
;-) Oops. (and the stupid thing is that I *have* stepped outside my
own province, many times, but I've just never cared about who sells what
kind of milk and how, heh heh)