Goat milk vs cow - congestion and snoring

KristieJC

I’ve discovered that eating dairy has been causing the sometimes horrendous snoring my poor husband has to tolerate from my side of the bed. When I cut out dairy entirely, the snoring stops. I read that for some people, dairy increases mucus production, causing this problem. I also read that products made from goat milk may not have the same effect.

Does anyone else out there have this problem with traditional dairy products?

If yes, have you tried goat milk products, and did they affect you any differently?

goldthistime

I thought the "dairy increases mucus production" thing has been debunked. My husband stopped having any kind of dairy because he's lactose intolerant and still snores.

KristieJC

All I know is that within a few days of completely cutting out dairy, my snoring stops.

goldthistime

Weight loss helps with snoring. Have you also lost weight during this time by chance?

evileen99

goldthistime wrote: »

I thought the "dairy increases mucus production" thing has been debunked. My husband stopped having any kind of dairy because he's lactose intolerant and still snores.

It can make mucus thicker, making the normal amount more noticeable.

KristieJC

goldthistime wrote: »

Weight loss helps with snoring. Have you also lost weight during this time by chance?

No, not more than a few pounds.

stillnot2late

I havent had dairy in sbout 15 years and my snoring is inhuman. So maybe i will cease this maintenance mode ive been keeping and lose the remaining weight.

tirowow12385

I don't drink milk and I still snore. Goat milk propoganda.

goldthistime

evileen99 wrote: »

goldthistime wrote: »

I thought the "dairy increases mucus production" thing has been debunked. My husband stopped having any kind of dairy because he's lactose intolerant and still snores.

It can make mucus thicker, making the normal amount more noticeable.

I googled, and from what I see it definitely does not increase production of phlegm/mucus and does not thicken mucus, although it can be perceived to be making the mucus thicker around the time of drinking milk because of the way it temporarily coats your throat.

Unknown

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KristieJC

Regardless of what any web search finds, I know that when I stop eating dairy, I stop snoring. If anyone has any answers to the questions I initially posted, please share.

nutmegoreo

I don't know if it will be different with regards to the symptoms you are talking about, but I have tried goat milk. I found that it tastes about the same as how a goat smells. I gave it a few tries but just can't acclimate to the taste. If you can tolerate it, give it a go and see how it effects you.

KristieJC

Haha. My husband said the same - it tastes the way a goat smells. I’m really just looking to eat goat cheese if I can tolerate it. Cheese was the hardest thing I gave up when quitting dairy. The goat cheeses I’ve tried are okay.

Francl27

I googled the dairy thing when I was sick too and couldn't find any proof that it actually does anything to mucus production.

AmandaDanceMore

I can’t help you regarding goats milk. If you’re curious, try it, but I’d say your body is telling you it is happier being dairy free. Considering humans are the only species that drinks the milk of other species and it isn’t REALLY meant for us (we’re not growing baby cows or goats), I think MOST bodies are happier, at least in some way, without dairy. But, if you want to experiment with goats milk, you might as well. Otherwise, there are lots of plant based alternatives that you can either buy or make to satisfy that dairy fix. I thought it was going to be rough ditching dairy, but it hasn’t been at all.

KristieJC

AmandaDanceMore wrote: »

Considering humans are the only species that drinks the milk of other species and it isn’t REALLY meant for us (we’re not growing baby cows or goats), I think MOST bodies are happier, at least in some way, without dairy.

I’ve heard this argument before and it makes complete sense. And we’re also the only creatures that drink milk from a different animal. All around, it seems completely unnatural to consume dairy products. I wish that made me miss cheese less. Haha

KristieJC

Doh! You already said the same thing about drinking from other animals.

AmandaDanceMore

I thought I would miss it a great deal when I gave it up, but I really, really don’t. I have found alternatives to a lot of things that are plant based, or I just don’t worry about it. I did tell a co-worker yesterday as we delivered cheese plates full of high end, artisanal cheeses that not missing grocery store cheese was easy, but the fancy stuff, when waved in my face, was a lot harder!

whathapnd

Yes, I snore less when I cut out dairy.

I was diagnosed with gluten and casein allergies a few years ago. My symptom was a rash that would never go away. Within four days of cutting out both, I noticed a remarkable difference in nose stuffiness (that I didn't even realize I had) and a bit of swelling in my throat (also didn't know I had because I'd been living with it for so long.) The doctor said to try goat or sheep's milk cheeses because the casein is different and some people are allergic to cow casein but not goat or sheep. That wasn't the case for me. I love cheese and will sometimes eat it and suffer the consequences of the rash and stuffiness. Snoring is an issue when this happens.

Try differently aged goat and sheep cheeses to see if it makes a difference. Aged cheeses are the worst for me (also have a tyramine allergy which is present in ages foods) and cause an immediate reaction. Soft cheeses cause a reaction 12-24 hours later. Try a small amount of one cheese and wait three days to see if you have a reaction.

Good luck!

lemurcat12

I haven't, but I know some people do react differently to goat and cow milk, don't know why (I also personally prefer goat's milk, although I rarely consume any milk). Wouldn't hurt to try and see.

annieinnm

I switched to goat milk 7 years ago as a cooking ingredient for savory dishes. As a result, inflammation in my body went WAY down. I also cut out all cow's milk, gluten-containing grains especially wheat, and sugar. All of those foods are inflammatory. It did not affect my snoring, but it sure eliminated a lot of pain.

psuLemon

KristieJC wrote: »

AmandaDanceMore wrote: »

Considering humans are the only species that drinks the milk of other species and it isn’t REALLY meant for us (we’re not growing baby cows or goats), I think MOST bodies are happier, at least in some way, without dairy.

I’ve heard this argument before and it makes complete sense. And we’re also the only creatures that drink milk from a different animal. All around, it seems completely unnatural to consume dairy products. I wish that made me miss cheese less. Haha

It's the vegan argument that is meaningless. Humans have evolved in so many ways it's not even funny, to include technology, consumption of a wide range of foods and cooking. We figured out how to drink animal milk for a long term, to include develop an enzyme to process lactose.


Removing dairy never helped my wife's snoring, but it's possible that it's causing less mucus production for you. And regardless of what or why, it shouldn't really matter.. keep doing it.

Casympere

I know there are many factors like smoking, drinking alcohol, overweight, some diseases(and I've never heard about milk). My husband, for example, has never snored but before one year he was diagnosed with Parkinson's he snored very loud. We tried many anti-snoring devices like pillows, nose clips, face mask and even bought a mattress for snoring because my husband has read about them. Nothing helped. After a year of fighting with snoring, he came to his neurologist (long story, he complained almost about everything) and she said that my husband has Parkinson’s. And snoring was supposed to be a signal for us.

Better to be realistic than paranoid... but there could be hidden serious health problems.

AnnPT77

It's possible that you have a allergy/sensitivity to cow dairy, and it's possible that goat milk may not aggravate it. It's the case that some people I've known who can't tolerate cow milk (with other symptoms than snoring being the problem) can tolerate goat milk.

Is there a universal effect that cow dairy milk increases snoring? Responses in this thread suggest not. (It doesn't have that effect on me, either, courtesy of Northern European peasant genes honed by centuries of milk consumption among my ancestors.)

And humans aren't the only animal that drinks the milk of another animal. Various domestic animals (cats, dogs, others) do so with great enthusiasm, when given the opportunity. Wild animals will happily consume the milk of a lactating female kill. I'm unaware of any other animal besides humans that is able to milk a living cow regularly enough to make cow milk a major routine part of their diets, but I think that's more about big brains and opposable thumbs than about liking to drink the milk.

We're also the only one that routinely refrigerates our food or cooks it, among other strange human habits.

ElizabethKalmbach

Dairy nerd here: The beta casein present in American cow's milk (Interestingly, not so much in cows found in Asia - India in particular.) can be an irritant and agent of inflammation in some people. Though still present in some quantity in cow and sheep milk, there is definitely less beta casein in those other dairy options, which can be helpful to many who react poorly to beta casein, even when lactose intolerance is not present.

ElizabethKalmbach

Sorry - to link that beta casein comment to the snoring - if beta casein is causing general inflammation, it should be enough to effect snoring/not snoring, even if snot production continues to be normal.

When I have a cold, I cannot take most cold medicines, but I will *still* take an ibuprofen before bed to help me breathe more easily. Reduction of the inflammation in my sinuses helps keep my airways open, even if there is still a lot of mucus.

ElizabethKalmbach

ElizabethKalmbach wrote: »

Dairy nerd here: The beta casein present in American cow's milk (Interestingly, not so much in cows found in Asia - India in particular.) can be an irritant and agent of inflammation in some people. Though still present in some quantity in goat and sheep milk, there is definitely less beta casein in those other dairy options, which can be helpful to many who react poorly to beta casein, even when lactose intolerance is not present.

I missed the editing window. Goat and sheep's milk have less beta casein than cow's milk. If your problem is not the beta casein, switching will not resolve the issue, but it may be worth a trial just to know. I'm not sure that this is something that allergists commonly test for and I'm also not sure if it's a proper allergy or just an intolerance.