QuestionHello I have a left vocal cord paralysis and up until a month ago I was being fed with a feeding tube. I have a lot of phlegm and saliva for being on the feeding tube for 2-3 weeks and I was told by my speech therapist that I need to avoid dairy products because it increases the saliva and phlegm. Is there a diet or information that can help me have a dairy free diet?
AnswerTo follow a diary-free diet, you should exclude milk, cheese, butter, cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, ice cream, whey, casein, or foods that contain any of these ingredients. However, I would ask your therapist whether fermented diary (yogurt, etc.) is OK. Yogurt is different from milk because most of its lactose is removed from it in the process of fermentation when the friendly bacteria use it for their metabolism supplying your body with many healthy substances.
Products containing live cultures of these bacteria are officially recognized as "functional foods" meaning that they provide health benefits beyond general nutrition.
Reading:
Functional Foods
http://dietandbody.com/alternativemedicine/article1047.html
Yogurt and probiotics
http://dietandbody.com/plan/yogurts.html
How Prebiotics Work
http://dietandbody.com/article1190.html
