dear anne,

with all due respect, i would hesitate to say dairy "allergies" (let us more
correctly say, dairy intolerances) are overdiagnosed these days. all too often
i hear from a mother with a screaming baby who has been given a list of foods
to avoid that are literally dozens of items long, and dairy is not on that
list! i am of course happy that the particular mother you describe found her
problem solved mysteriously, but i have never found anyone who preferred a
colicky baby and dairy in the diet over a happy baby and a new relationship
with soy foods. i feel an important part of suggesting a dairy elimination is
offering ideas about how to substitute other foods. of course, not everyone
lives close to the sort of grocery store that offers them, but there are
solutions to be found.

if a baby with classic colic symptoms is otherwise healthy, and oversupply is
not a possible concern, i never hesitate to suggest eliminating dairy. unless,
of course, the unfortunate mom is taking prenatal  vitamins with iron AND an
iron supplement, as was one poor woman i spoke to recently. there are still a
lot of helpful people out there who tell women to drink milk, drink extra
milk, and to keep doing it throughout pregnancy and while breastfeeding. and
so often the baby screams!

of course, i also suggest eliminating dairy to cure everything else, like
baldness, insomnia, etc. (i don't use those little smiley faces, but one would
normally go here).

carol b.