WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: Does Milk Really Make Mucus Worse?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff. I'm Lauren Wogelbaum, and this is another

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<v Speaker 1>classic episode of the podcast. In this one, we get

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<v Speaker 1>to the bottom of a much repeated but completely untrue

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<v Speaker 1>a myth that consuming dairy products increases your mucus production.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, medical myths are stubborn.

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<v Speaker 1>Going back to ancient China, texts associated the consumption of

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<v Speaker 1>milk with a thickening of phlegm, and twelfth century Jewish

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<v Speaker 1>physician Moses Maimonds wrote in his Treatise on Asthma that

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<v Speaker 1>milk could cause quote a stuffing in the head that

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<v Speaker 1>exacerbated symptoms of asthma. Eight hundred years later, Dr Spock,

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<v Speaker 1>a twentieth century American pediatrician who wrote a popular book

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<v Speaker 1>about baby care, directed parents to limit dairy while babies

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<v Speaker 1>were sick, especially with upper respiratory infections. For new only

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<v Speaker 1>a thousand years, medical professionals have been telling us to

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<v Speaker 1>lay off the dairy or face the mucus consequences. But

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<v Speaker 1>is it true. A review of the literature published in

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<v Speaker 1>September eighteen in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood

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<v Speaker 1>concludes that there is virtually no connection between dairy products

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<v Speaker 1>and upper respiratory mucus, and that the myth might actually

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<v Speaker 1>be preventing children with conditions like asthma, cystic fibrosis, or

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<v Speaker 1>even the common cold from getting enough nutrients like calcium.

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<v Speaker 1>According to the review, studies dating back to have indicated

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<v Speaker 1>that there's no link between milk and phlegm, but the

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<v Speaker 1>myth is pervasive. A two thousand three study in the

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<v Speaker 1>journal Appetite asked three hundred and forty five random Australian

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<v Speaker 1>shoppers whether they thought milk causes mucus. Of the hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and eleven shoppers who drank whole milk, almost half of

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<v Speaker 1>them were of the opinion that it did, but only

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<v Speaker 1>of the one reduced fat milk drinkers so that they

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<v Speaker 1>believed milk caused mucus. The difference in perception might have

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<v Speaker 1>something to do with how milk feels in the mouth.

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<v Speaker 1>It is, after all, just droplets of fat suspended in water,

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<v Speaker 1>the current researchers wrote in their review. This could well

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<v Speaker 1>affect the sensory perception of milk mixed with saliva, both

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<v Speaker 1>in terms of its thickness coating the mouth, and the

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<v Speaker 1>after feel when small amounts of emulsion remain in the

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<v Speaker 1>mouth after swallowing. This may explain why so many people

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<v Speaker 1>think that more mucus is produced, when in fact it's

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<v Speaker 1>the aggregates of milk emulsion that they are aware of

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<v Speaker 1>lingering in the mouth after swallowing, so it's really just

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<v Speaker 1>a feeling, not a fact. And Furthermore, the researchers suggest

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<v Speaker 1>that since milk is a good source of calories and

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<v Speaker 1>minerals like calcium, the long standing cultural belief that milk

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<v Speaker 1>is bad for children with respiratory problems could mean kids

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<v Speaker 1>aren't getting the nutrients they need. This could lead children

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<v Speaker 1>growing up with weaker bones and shorter stature. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>is based on the article The Milk and Mucus Mint

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<v Speaker 1>Busted on houstuffworks dot com, written by Jesslon Shields. Brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff is production of Our Heart Radio in partnership with

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<v Speaker 1>houstuffworks dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang. Four

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