<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Hi everybody! (Hi Dr. Nick! :-)

Here's the questions that came out, and the paragraph below them is the
explanation of how they came about:

When dairy cows eat or are fed gluten grains, do they pass the gluten on in
their milk? In other words, does milk contain gluten, or is it GF?

How this question came about is from me getting sick off Lactaid Chewables.
I had been avoiding dairy products for years before I knew I was CD. I think
before I knew about CD the damage that it had done to my intestines had long
before screwed up my ability to digest dairy products. I had been talking to
friends who recommended Lactaid as a way to have dairy once again. So I
bought a bottle of the Ultra Chewables. The only reason I grabbed these was
they were the smallest quantity, and I figured if I was going to throw them
away if they didn't work, tossing half a dozen was better then tossing 60 or
100. I used them over a 5 day period, during which I had cheese, sour cream,
and ice cream. At first they seemed to work as I did not suffer gas or
cramps and pains after eating the dairy products. However I started noticing
after a few days of taking them that my abdomen seemed to be swelling, like
bloating. I also noticed a change in my bathroom. Then I started developing
body wide aches and pains and confused thinking, irritability, difficulty
with memory and thinking, all the symptoms I get when I've been poisoned
with gluten. The only thing I didn't get was the rash. By day 5 of the
Lactaid Chewables I had a glass of chocolate milk (milk I mixed with
Hershey's chocolate syrup in a glass). At this point I was wracked with
pain, could barely think and function, and the bathroom was really screwed
up, and I was getting nausea attacks (but no vomiting). The thing that was
blowing my mind was, was this from the Lactaid Chewables or the dairy? A
call to Lactaid's 800 number and I got the info on the Chewables possibly
containing gluten. OK, that explains the about immediate resumption of all
the CS symptoms in me, but the thing that seemed to put it over the top was
the milk with the Hershey's syrup on day 5 of the Lactaid trial. The thing
that then blew my mind was the lady I spoke with at Lactaid said the Lactaid
Ultra tablets were GF (they just could not verify the GF status of the Ultra
Chewables I'd been taking), however, she could not vouch for the GF status
of the milk I'd been drinking! This set off alarm bells in my head. The GF
status of the milk I'd been drinking?? She seemed to be saying that cows
could pass gluten on in their milk when fed grains. I confess, this idea had
never occurred to me before. It sounded like some sort of legal argument in
order to protect themselves, rather then one that had been proven
scientifically. I mean I really have trouble with this notion, the idea of a
cow eating wheat, then producing gluten laden milk. I talked it over with a
few friends and they all think it can happen. My one friend from India is
telling me to drink goat's milk. He says goats mainly eat grass, and he
thinks I'll have no problems with goat's milk or goat's cheese.

So now I am wondering, is there any truth to this? Does milk produced by
cows that are fed gluten grains contain gluten? Is this another source of
the problem Celiacs have with dairy? Or is this bunk?

Stay GF,

Jerry