Chronic Constipation? Hold the Milk!

Cow’s milk has been linked with chronic constipation in children in theory due to an immune response in the protein. In a trial conducted in Spain, researchers studied the effects of milk on children who presented to a gastroenterology clinic for complaints of chronic constipation. The trial involved removing cow’s milk from the children’s diet for a period of time, then reintroducing it into diet, and then removing the milk again from the diet. For many of the children, the constipation resolved within 1 to 5 days after removing cow’s milk from the diet and returned when milk was reintroduced back into the diet.

Not all children responded to the removal of milk from the diet. The study does not completely support an immune response mechanism as to the cause of the constipation in children, but does lead researches to believe milk may often be related to a delayed allergic response. While this was not a randomized blinded study, researchers find the results compelling and supports this simple intervention when working with children suffering from chronic constipation.

Dr. Kerry Ferguson