|
Some Common Myths Thought to be True - Myth 84
Myth 84: Drinking Milk Increases Mucus Production
Mucus is something everyone has, and some people wish they had a lot less of
the stringy, gooey stuff. Sure, it can be gross to blow globs of snot into
tissue after tissue when you have a cold or sinus infection, but mucus actually
serves a very important purpose.
"Mucus is incredibly important for our bodies," explains Michael M. Johns, III,
MD. "It is the oil in the engine. Without mucus, the engine seizes."
How much mucus is normal, and how much is too much? What does its color tell
you about your health? Can you just get rid of it, or at least cut down on it,
and how should you do that?
|
Mucus-producing tissue lines the mouth, nose, sinuses, throat, lungs, and
gastrointestinal tract. Mucus acts as a protective blanket over these surfaces,
preventing the tissue underneath from drying out. "You have to keep them moist,
otherwise they'll get dry and crack, and you'll have a chink in the armor"
Mucus also acts as a sort of flypaper, trapping unwanted substances like
bacteria and dust before they can get into the body -- particularly the
sensitive airways. "You want to keep that environment, which is a sterile
environment, free of gook," says Johns. "Mucus is kind of sticky and thick.
It's got viscosity to it that will trap things." But mucus is more than just
sticky goo. It also contains antibodies that help the body recognize invaders
like bacteria and viruses, enzymes that kill the invaders it traps, protein to
make the mucus gooey and stringy and very inhospitable, and a variety of cells,
among other things.
Drinking milk may also make some people produce more mucus. Kao says that's due
to gustatory rhinitis, a reflex reaction that's triggered by eating. Gustatory
rhinitis is also why your nose runs when you eat hot peppers. Milk proteins
cause the same type of response in some people. But although you may feel like
you have more phlegm, you're not going to worsen a cold by drinking a glass of
milk, Johns says.
|