Why does does eating dairy too soon before/after shellfish make me sick?

[RangerM]

This is a total personal (vanity?) thread, but I have searched Google, and can't find the exact answer I'm looking for.

For many years I have learned to never eat dairy and shellfish within a certain timeframe, because it will make me very sick (nausea and all the other unpleasant things that go with it).

I ate shrimp for lunch yesterday, and after many hours (4-5 is my usual minimum) I ate ice cream. I still got ill, although not as severely as I would have, had I not heeded my usual rule. I now know I will have to wait longer.

Does anyone else suffer this and does anyone know why it is this particular combination (shellfish/dairy) that does it?

Thanks in advance.

[vetvetdoug]

I am allergic to shellfish and when it first surfaced I had the same reactions as you have. I am always consuming dairy products and do not rule out the coincidental effect. One day, I was inspecting shrimp at Bayou La Batre and I had a severe reaction and almost died before I got to the hospital. That ended my stint as a shrimp/shellfish inspector...ironically I was there when Forrest Gump was supposed to have been there...never saw him (September 2, 1974, Hurricane Carmen)

[vetvetdoug]

Oh yes, anaphalyxis does not read a book. One can have a myriad of reactions called Type I-IV or any combination thereof.

[RangerM]

OK, I got it.

The combination isn't Kosher.

[Non-Sequitur]

Why does eating dairy too soon before/after shellfish make me sick?

In my considered medical opinion, if you know it makes you sick then don't do it.

[raybbr]

Gas by product of digesting the food would pass through quicker than the actual food I would think. At least that is how I remember reading it in school.

It has to do with peristalsis. When you eat something the whole digestive system kicks in. Whatever is in your large intestine starts moving and the gases associated with it are where the flatulence comes from.

On another note:

The conclusion: "Women had more sulphur gas and were judged to have more potent odour.''

[SeafoodGumbo]

Remember: 14 hours from mouth to rectum!!!

I think Taco Bell is 14 minutes.

[xjcsa]

Shellfish on their own are also not kosher; combinations of meat and dairy are not kosher either...although fish (other than shellfish) can be combined with dairy. At least that’s my understanding...but I’m not Jewish.

[TexasCajun]

I know some people are allergic to the idodine in shellfish.

Google "Shellfish allergy" and take your pick.

[aristotleman]

I don’t know whether this helps:

In my culture (a fish eating culture) it is considered poisonous to mix dairy and fish in any way. Especially milk or yogurt after eating shellfish.

It’s something that our Mother’s teach us at a young age.

There’s something to it, we’ve been around for 8,000 years ;_^)

[wildbill]

Because you’re Jewish and God has dietary laws?

[muggs]

It is probably a syrigenic(SP?) effect.I can take aspirin and I can exercise but I can't take aspirin and exercise at the same time or I turn very red and get hives.Some people have an allergy to a combination of celery/exercise but are fine as long as they don't combine them.

[aft_lizard]

This is my guess, but your digestion of the shellfish may also be lowering your normal levels of lactase for some reason. If you want to eat more dairy then you either have to take a supplement like lactaid or simply wait a day to be safe and eat your dairy.

[SkyDancer]

I think it also goes with not drinking milk and eating meat (also Kosher dietary law) - my understanding is that milk crystallizes the acid in the stomach thereby preventing digestion. It may not be an allergic reaction but the simple reaction of the milk in the stomach. (IMHO) and yes, shrimp, lobster and shellfish are not Kosher.

[Squantos]

FYI Ping......

[Southerngl]

It’s not Kosher to eat shellfish. It’s also not Kosher to eat dairy with meat.

[aft_lizard]

If you are lactose intolerant or simply ate an extremely irritating food your stomach and intestines will react and cause gas and diarrhea as a normal defensive mechanism to get the irritants out as fast as possible, even in as little time as 15 minutes.

[aft_lizard]

My dad had a boxer who took aspirin before he worked out one time and sparred, the guy almost died from it. He will never be a normal human being again.

[Bon mots]

I'm not a doctor but I've got that lactose intolerance crap, so I just avoid dairy and everything is coupersètique.

First time I had seen that spelling.

[pabianice]

*psst* It’s the shellfish, not the dairy. Anyone who willingly eats a huge bug deserves to get sick. /s

[stlnative]

I don’t think it is an allergy. (this is from someone who just went through a big series of allergy tests both scratch tests and blood allergy tests)

But I do think your gallbladder is acting up. (I had mine taken out about 1 year ago)

Get the gallbladder checked out.