More than anyone I know how big a difference there is between lactose
intolerance and milk allergies. I've spent 20 years studying lactose
intolerance so I feel comfortable making statements about it. I try to avoid
saying anything much more than generalities about milk allergies because I
haven't put anywhere near that kind of work into it and it's too sensitive
and dangerous a subject to be half right about.

That said, the tests for LI are in fact extremely accurate, both in
identifying positives and lack of false positives.

And after having heard from literally thousands of people in the four years
I've been running my web site, all I can say is that one of the hardest
things in the world is pinning down the exact true cause of any digestive
complaint. There are too many variables and too much unknown. I feel
infinitely better telling people to go to doctors and get tested. There are
too many truly serious digestive conditions that most people don't know the
first thing about.

Perhaps it's completely different for milk allergies. I can't say. I leave
that to the experts who live with it.

Steve Carper