British women are putting their health at risk by ignoring seemingly ‘unimportant’ digestive complaints, according to a new survey by a2 Milk UK.
Health on Female First
Despite an overwhelming majority of British women experiencing some form of digestive discomfort after consuming certain foods, including milk, a large proportion took no action at all to address their problem or self medicated to resolve the issue in the short term. In more than one in four of these cases, sufferers believed that their discomfort was related to dairy products.
These figures suggest that more than eight million women in the UK are risking serious illness in later life - including anaemia and osteoporosis - by not addressing digestive complaints such as bloating, trapped wind and diarrhoea.
Dr Hilary Jones, breakfast television doctor and an advocate of a2 Milk, said: “As a GP, these findings are a cause for concern. When people’s bodies are not digesting crucial nutrients found in many foods – as is the case with symptoms such as diarrhoea and bloating - the risk of certain illnesses dramatically increases. While it may be tempting to self medicate or hope the problem will go away, sufferers are not getting to the root of the problem.
“This issue is particularly key with dairy and milk intolerance as there are a range of reactions that people can have to milk. It’s not as simple as lactose intolerant or not. All too often people soldier on or cut milk out entirely when there are alternative options available. New a2 Milk may provide one of these natural options, but if in any doubt, talk to your GP – we aren’t scary I promise!”
In a poll of 2,000 women, of the four in five who have experienced digestive ‘issues’ in the past six months, many left their symptoms untreated because they didn’t feel that their symptoms were ‘serious’ enough, whilst one in ten said that they were too embarrassed to discuss the issue with their GP.
When quizzed about their relationship with dairy, out of the respondents who claimed they had issues after consuming milk, two thirds had not been medically diagnosed with an intolerance or allergy. The best known form of milk intolerance in the UK is arguably lactose intolerance, but academic research shows that less than a third of cases can be attributed to this. Instead, people who struggle to digest milk could instead be intolerant to the A1 beta-casein protein found in regular cows’ milk.
a2 Milk comes from specially selected British dairy cows that produce milk with only ‘A2’ proteins – and no ‘A1’. a2 Milk is therefore a completely natural, and highly effective, answer to an A1 milk protein intolerance, but still with all the health benefits of regular milk.
Sean Uprichard, CEO of a2 Milk UK said: “Too many people assume that bloating or stomach cramps are just a part of daily life but in so many cases there is a deeper problem to be addressed. If you look at milk intolerance there is a whole category that people just aren’t aware of. People who experience some form of digestive discomfort after consuming milk may well be reacting to the A1 protein, rather than being lactose intolerant as is often assumed.”
a2 Milk recently launched in the UK, following huge success in Australia, and is now available to buy at Tesco, Morrisons and Budgens stores across the country.
Tagged in Women's Health