It might surprise you to learn that not only can ice cream with artificial ingredients cause sinus infections, it can also cause migraines and flu-like symptoms! We first discovered the sinus infection migraine trigger 20 years ago after eating a cone of mint chocolate chip ice cream from a top brand ice cream store in Los Angeles.
While the ice cream was indeed delicious, the symptoms that followed were not; a debilitating sinus infection that lasted for 2 weeks. We posted it and since then, 160 Earth Clinic readers have confirmed the same thing happened to them.
Ice Cream’s Serious Side Effects
Within 24 hours of consuming the scoop of ice cream from brands that contain artificial flavors (e.g., Baskin Robbins, Wendy’s, Dairy Queen, and dozens more that you’ll find in the frozen food section of your local grocery store), flu-like virus symptoms first appear.
Symptoms include the following:
- Low fever
- Headache or migraine
- Thick mucus
- Congestion
- Extreme Fatigue
- Joint Aches and Pain
What happens next is interesting. Within 24 hours, the “virus” symptoms disappears. What’s left is a raging sinus infection, migraine, or both.
You will never have a runny nose, which would indicate a real virus or allergy. What you will have are two intensely clogged and infected sinus passages and extreme sinus pressure in your forehead and under your eyes.
Sinus Infection and Migraine Trigger Validation
After it happened to us a few times (yeah, took a while to figure out), we started asking friends who came down with sinus infections if they had eaten ice cream 2 days prior to the onset of the sinus infection. 4 out of 5 friends reported a yes.
We then took our theory to the internet and started asking trustworthy Earth Clinic readers if they too had the same reaction after eating ice cream. Yep, the same report came back time and time again: fake flu within 24 hours and a sinus infection within 48 hours.
If you take your kids to get ice cream over the weekend, this theory should be pretty easy to track since side effects will take place Monday or Tuesday following.
Ingredients that Trigger Migraines, Fever and Sinus Infections
It’s not the listed ingredients in ice cream, such as milk fat and nonfat milk, sugar, sweet whey, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, but the so called “natural” and artificial flavorings that causes the intense symptoms.
The Hidden Ingredients in Ice Cream
We ate lots and lots of ice cream as children back in the 1970s and 80s and never once experienced a sinus infection. The sinus infections started to occur in the late 1990s, never during a cold or flu, but always after eating a cone at a store like Baskin Robbins or Dairy Queen. We’re confident that if someone were to do a study on this subject, they would probably find a nationwide spike in sinus infections commencing when companies started to add chemically-complicated artificial flavors to ice cream.
Penny from Fresno, CA was kind enough to send us the following excerpt. You can find even more information on this subject at: https://www.rense.com/general7/whyy.htm
“In his book Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser looks at the typical ingredients in a Burger King strawberry milkshake: amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, ethyl acetate, ethyl amyl ketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate, ethyl methylphenyl-glycidate, ethyl nitrate, ethyl propionate, ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hydroxyphenyl-2-butanone, a-ionone, isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol, 4-methylacetophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl benzoate, methyl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbonate, methyl naphthyl ketone, methyl salicylate, mint essential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate, orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, rose, run ether, y-undercalctone, vanillin and solvent.
It would appear that underneath the natural and artificial flavours, an abundance of compounds lay. There is nothing illegal going on here. This is all within the law.
Likewise with food labels, they too can include all these ingredients and place them under the umbrella term of ‘flavourings’. It’s really rather frightening. The value of flavourings is of tremendous importance to the fast food industry, which require their foods be standardized, and flavourings can offer a standardized product. In order that artificial flavourings are made believable, the correct ‘mouth feel’ must be gained. This is achieved by the addition of starches, emulsfiers, stabilizers, sugars and fats (Marsili, 1993, Food Product Design). So next time you pop into your favourite fast food outlet for a milkshake, take a moment and think about what’s really in this stuff.”
And here’s a snippet from a May 6th, 2007 New York Times article by Jesse McKinley entitled: “Flavoring-Factory Illnesses Raise Inquiries.”
“Over the last several years, California health officials have been tracking a handful of workers in flavoring factories who have been incapacitated with a rare, life-threatening lung condition ‘bronchiolitis obliterans’ for which there is no cure or treatment. Usually found only in people who are poisoned by chemical fires or chemical warfare or in lung transplant patients, bronchiolitis obliterans renders its victims unable to exert even a little energy without becoming winded or faint.”
“The airways to the lung have been eaten up,” said Barbara Materna, the chief of the occupational health branch in the California Department of Health Services. “They can’t work anymore, and they can’t walk a short distance without severe shortness of breath.”
Seven flavoring-factory workers in California are known to have the disease or similarly serious lung damage, and 22 others have had lung tests come back with abnormal results…”
Continue reading below for over 160 reviews from Earth Clinic readers who got migraines, fever, flu and sinus infections after eating artificially flavored ice cream, exactly in the timeline detailed above.
Was ice cream your sinus infection and migraine trigger? Did you get any of the symptoms mentioned above after eating artificially flavored ice cream? Please share your story with us!
Side effect reported
I was ALWAYS having sinus infections after ice creams especially in the 80’s and 90’s… at some point, I read of sage helping with sinus infections… Worked great and I’ve not had as much of the sinus infections (of course, I rarely eat ice cream and the chemically enhanced soft serve type “frozen desserts” either…). Even the kitchen spice bottle like you use for cooking Thanksgiving dinner – just plopped a teaspoon in hot tea water and let it steep 3-5 minutes or longer. At first I wanted it with stevia or honey to deal with the sage astringency/flavor – but now I can just shoot it straight. Be prepared to spend some time in the restroom bringing all the phlegm up – doesn’t sound pretty, but the pain goes bye-bye with every glob that I spit up and out into the trash (I shouldn’t have to tell you all to not “recycle” it by swallowing whatever you cough. It only buys you a little time until it comes back up so you still need to clear it out of your sinus passages!!).
Side effect reported
We bought some ice cream. It was dairy substitute ice cream. Two days later, major sinus infection pain, major pain it hurt to open my eyes, could not sleep for two days.
I decided to mixed coconut oil with few drop eucalyptus oil and two drops of peppermint oil and one drop of tea tree oil and few drops of DMSO. I mixed it all together and rubbed in over my sinus every hour wore soft hat on head and went to bed. I felt much better.
Would of never guessed that ice cream is so toxic.
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I have just Googled about this issue. I am affected from dunkin donuts creamer they use. I don't need to drink much in the coffee and I instantly have this reaction everytime. I always drank it black now with creamer and get instant sinus reactions than goes away the next day. I am interested in learning more and helping anyway I can. This is the only information I found online that can link to my issue.
Side effect reported
We eat non GMO organic and perhaps ice cream maybe two times in ten years. One day at the supermarket they had big ice cream sale . Häagen-Dazs and Talenti, we bought both ate some . That night I noticed my eyes hurt so bad, hurt to move them. and I had insomnia my frontal sinuses were inflamed feeling . I did not link it to ice cream. My husband was sleeping he was not feeling so good. That night we ate more ice cream next day I felt like I had a mega sinus infection, I felt so weird I was forgetting things and I had migraine, we were going to go to the emergency dept, decided to wait to see my MD on Monday. I'm stunned that ice cream from my childhood days has turned into a dangerous poison with all sort of chemicals! No ice cream for us ever, unless I make it at home. end of story.
You want the connection, here it is: Balsam of Peru and Balsam of Tolu.
These two "ingredients" are basically tree saps from some South American trees and they are basically the same thing. They are commonly used to "naturally flavor" many foods and also widely used in perfumes. This probably explains it if you are allergic to perfumes and scents, and/or if ice cream bothers your sinuses. It contains compounds that are chemically the same or similar to cinnamon, clove, vanilla, citrus, etc and can be extracted and used much more cheaply than the real thing.
Looking over the chemical names listed above for the Burger King Strawberry Milkshake, I recognize many of those chemical compounds as easily derivable from Balsam of Peru and Balsam of Tolu. (https://www.rain-tree.com/balsam.htm)
They can put it in ANY food or beverage and label it simply as "natural flavor", so it can be in anything you eat that says "natural flavor" or even potentially "artificial flavor". It is also the number two contact dermatitis allergen at 15% of skin all tests showing "positive" results, just behind nickel. If 15% of people's skin is allergic to it, logic would dictate that the rest of their body probably would not like it either if ingested or inhaled, especially the delicate mucous membranes of sinuses and digestive tracts.
Research it yourself and see if avoiding "natural flavors" is worth it.
Also, petition your local government and tell them to make manufacturers label EVERYTHING that is in their foods and personal care products! If it is going in or on us, we have a right to know what is in it!
Side effect reported
I have had my suspicions for some time now about my reaction to chocolate chip mint ice cream. I seem to always get sick with bronchitis that lasts months. I have been a skeptic of this connection since I grew up eating ice cream ( this flavor always a favorite) with no problems. I did it again last Friday night and it started Saturday and I have been stick with bronchial asthma for a week. I also get sick eating cold cereals with bht that didn't bother me as a kid. This site puts it together for me. I'm done with ice cream. Is it the corn in cereals (the rare treat of Lucky Charms)? Or the BHT?
Side effect reported
Thank you so much, I am in the throws of a megga sinus attack with no other reason for it than a new brand of icecream which states its the Smooth icecream with the worlds finest vanilla flavour! Sourced from Madagascan vanilla……….Now I am informed and will go back to making my own with homegrown strawberries and NO artificial flavours.. Its such a relief to learn its not the icecream as such but once again its the Ad-ins…..
Cider vinegar massage and steaming are finally providing me relief thanks to sites like yours who care enough to help.
I am so happy to have been directed to your site. So much information. The ice cream/sinusitis connection is especially interesting, since I have several friends/family members that suffer terribly with sinus trouble.
Side effect reported
I knew it!!! I should have looked this up years ago! Thank you. I get horribly sick every single time after eating my favorite ice cream, Hagendaz vanilla Swiss almond. I am sick today, sinus and all. Had homemade papaya shake with carnation evaporated milk last night. So was it the milk? Was it the brown sugar? Was it that it was too cold? Or all of the above? I would really appreciate your feedback. thanks again to everyone.
Have you checked into fungal infection as reason for sinusitis. One quick remedy could be mixing 1% johnson’s baby shampoo (probably anything that has surfactant would do) with 99% water. put in nose with eye dropper. it clears away biofilm. I used it for sinusitis headache and it worked to some extent.
Some have used gut bacteria and put into nose. I’d consider also treating with antifungal.
Here is a treatment protocol someone wrote up. it’s very informative.
https://www.phytotechdr.com/blog/chronic-sinusitis-natural-treatment-protocols
let me clarify what I just said about 1% shampoo solution
to make nasal solution I used … 1 cup water, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp johnson baby shampoo … but this is 2% solution so one can use less than a tsp of shampoo … the baking soda and salt is needed … you can use eye dropper or nasal spray bottle to put into nose
Side effect reported
3 days ago I celebrated a birthday with a friend here in my home all my life I delt with sinusitis since I was 16. I picked up a DQ icecream cake for her to share with her family. I had decent sized piece. Next day had pressure on my ears and face seen that my face was swollen. I just assumed it was allgeries by the next day I was in so much pain my ears were closed up like being on an air plane running 102 fever and really bad virtago. Have a netti but the water not going through did natural healing search found this Page and went holey #*+". I have reflected back on past events and realized I had ice cream every time I got sick. This is just mind blowing.
Nikki P, Ontario Canada
If you have problems with Sinusitis it is very important to avoid cold foods like ice cream, freezes, and ice chip drinks of any kind. Snow cones is also a no no for sinusitis suffers. AND KEEP YOUR HEAD WARM WITH A HAT OR KNIT CAP. DON’T ALLOW YOUR HEAD TO BECOME COLD ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT. In fact it is probably best to keep your entire body warm.
I am mostly well from my Sinusitis but I bought a Vanilla Bean Cappuccino at Starbucks and this cold drink with ice chip (that is so delicious) started a Sinusitis attack on me. I now have to avoid them. Benadryl will usually help an attack! Warmth is a must!
Side effect reported
Thank you for your article on ice cream and sinus infections, Saturday I went to my local market they had Klondike bars buy one get one free, I been waking up everyday since with a horrible headache and clogged nasal passages, like it says in the article I do not have a runny nose. I just wanted to share my experience so anyone reading this knows it is true, from now on I will be staying away from ice cream.
Side effect reported
I haven’t had a history of sickness, and I believe I have a fairly good immune system. A few weeks ago, ice-cream was on sale, so I bought two packs. After finishing the first (chocolate), I opened up the last pack last Saturday, this was some three flavour (I never really care what I buy, like I said I’ve never really had any major problems). The next morning I had what seemed like a cold. I ignored it, had some cold medications and went off to work, from there it was downhill. I thought it might just be the weather, I bought neo-citran to end the pain in my ears (sore throat). It helped me sleep, but my lungs were full of mucus the next morning. Its been a few days now (10 days). I haven’t fully recovered, it is getting better. But atleast now I know, whats wrong, its a great relief, having read this post. I just wanted to post my experience here so that people realize this is not a fluke, it does and is happening.
Side effect reported
Ice cream and sinus infection: Thanks for this info – interesting stuff. I had good quality ice cream from Waitrose last night and woke up with bad sore throat, and this morning my sinuses were blocked. Not sure its definitely the dairy connection though as I ate a whole baked camembert cheese the other day and nothing happened. Maybe it’s the particular way ice cream is made – as one post had suggested. Would never have made this connection myself. Thanks Earth Clinic.
Side effect reported
I just found your page while looking for home cures for sinus infection (which I have right now) and surprise! I did have ice cream just before I came down with this. I wanted to inform you that I do not eat any ice creams that contain any artificial additives. Most of what I buy I get from Wholefoods. I just thought that you might want to add this to your statistics for narrowing down the culprit.
Look into the benefits of using oil of oregano for similar symptoms.
Side effect reported
I got a ‘regular’ cold just before Christmas 2011. I did my sinus flush and all, and I was back in business by Monday evening. Of course there are the lingering affects, but I can deal with the symptoms individually. As long as I can sleep, I can recover. Then comes Jan 4. After a long day, I head home, and stop in at Wendy’s to get my favorite chocolate Frosty for the trip home. It was delicious as always. Thursday I started feeling the down hill crash and by 5pm, I was toast. I’m just today beginning to feel better (Monday, Jan 9). Head still has tons of gunk. I’m still sinus flushing. Started researching for sinusplasty or something to get rid of this when I came across this article. I think I will be avoiding Wendys et al for a while.
One thing I do plan on trying: Homemade Ice Cream. I want to see if I have a similar reaction. I don’t think I will, and I have an excuse for ice cream!
The same thing happened to me I had 2 scoops of 31 flvaors icecream and the next day woke up congested with phlem in my through and other flu symptoms.
I believe my 5 yr old is definitely feeling the correlation right now. He was on day 3 of his zpak for his sinus infection and feeling so much better. On day 4 he ate a child-size chocolate frosty from Wendy’s. Today, day 5, he became feverish and his sinuses are hurting him terribly. He is miserable and keeps waking up crying. I am definately going to keep my eye on his reaction to ice cream and the likes from now on. So glad to have found this thread. Thanks.
I am thrilled to find this thread about ice cream!!! I do not know where to post this so I wanted it as close to the top as I could get it… ACNE!!!!!! If anyone here suffers from ACNE look into the ice cream connection!!! Growing up I rarely had a pimple and I mean rarely. I have very fair skin with really no visible pores. It never occurred to me to care until I woke up one day and thought a bug had bitten me in the middle of the night because I had a giant hard knot-like thing on my chin… It took weeks for it to go away. Thus began the nightmare of CYSTIC ACNE!!! It took me years to pinpoint it down to ice cream because it was taking 3 months to even begin to heal from breakouts, I couldnt trace the cause. Nobody ever believes me if I tell them “no thanks it makes my skin break out really bad”. Not even my husband. I can have relatively clear skin and if I eat it within a couple of days my face is INFECTED!!!! Like no joke infected!!! Itchy scabby bleeding with pus coming out of huge pimples that are as big around as a quarters. (yeah sorry about the visual). I had some cysts that stayed on my face for years without ever coming up or going down or healing. Sometimes they would literally stick off my face like gigantic lumps… It was absolutely disfiguring!!! now my face is wrinkled and dry and oily at the same time after years of tying to get rid of it. It will probably never be nice per se again but at least it’s not like that anymore!!! Funny it wasn’t a food allergy just the ice cream.
What in the world could they be feeding us?! Nuclear waste!
This makes me so mad… Those poor employees. All I had was a horrendous case of cystic acne. They got a life sentence.
Funny, I had the same pus pimples and I too associated them with ice cream but they came out when my period was coming on. I had the scars for years and finally got rid of them with sulfur and vitamin E.
I too have scars from cystic acne. Can you please advise how you eradicated the scars with sulphur and vitamin e, where do you get the sulphur and how to apply. Thanks so much!
I also do not drink milk or eat ice cream anymore. I used to LIVE on it, and I had around the clock sinus infections. I have had two sinus surgeries that didn’t seem to help. But recently we started a very WHOLE FOODS diet, we are hardly eating anything that isn’t completely fresh. We were drinking raw milk until we couldn’t drive to get it anymore and it didn’t seem to cause any problems for us. I haven’t had any sinus infections.
Then recently I made potato soup with the main ingredient being heavy cream. I had it 3 times in two days because it was so good! It didn’t have too many artificials in it, I checked. I have a RAGING sinus infection, and both my kids are sick, and it happened the day after eating this cream based soup. I just looked up a similar heavy cream and here are contents: Heavy Cream, Contains Less than 1% of Each of the Following: Mono and Diglycerides, Polysorbate 80 and Carrageenan.
I eat Carageenan in my almond milk so I know that isn’t the culprit. I really believe it is the actual CREAM itself not the artificial flavors. Now organic yoghurt does not give me this problem, so I’m wondering it is something with the hormones they give cows? Or maybe its the way that cream is produced. I don’t know. I just know that the cream seems to have promoted this infection in all of us.
I could feel the sinus infection coming on, why oh why didnt’ I start the ACV protocol right away? I know that would have helped keep it from developing. Oh well. I’m sipping ACV now.
It’s interesting to find this. I noticed several years ago that if I had a MacDonalds milkshake on my way home (a 45 min. trip) I would cough and have to clear my throat constantly. I concluded (after a couple of instances of this) that I must be alergic to something in their milkshakes. I didn’t get the flu or anything, but I stopped drinking the milkshakes all the same. It was just too unpleasant, and I feel sure it was the shakes causing my problems.
Side effect reported
Your amazing. I have been looking this up for years! I am so glad I am not the only one who gets this. About 95% of the time after I eat ice cream I come down with flu-like symptoms, first it starts off as a light sore throat, then a feverish headache, then nausea, upset stomach etc etc. I never got a runny nose. I was convinced that the doctors that removed my tonsils nearly 14 years ago messed up in some way that spoiled my fun of eating ice cream whenever I feel like it, but I have never heard of anyone having that problem after getting their tonsils out. Should definitely look into this more!!!!! I am beyond interested in what’s causing this.
After my son had a soft cream ice cream from a well known multi national, his nose was blocked all night. He had “NEON green” discharge from his nose the next day. I googled “neon green discharge to see what was going on, and was amazed at how many people had flu like systems and neon coloured discharge after eating ice cream.
What on earth are they putting in the ice cream?
Some children are unknowingly allergic to milk products, and eating them at night affects them. My friend’s 5 and 3 year olds still wet the bed most nights, until her chiropractor told her to cut out the dairy products after supper. They used to have milk at supper and yogurt afterwards, now the don’t, and no more bedwetting. The chiro knew the dairy was causing it. And it’s not uncommon for milk products to cause sinus and cold problems, so I bet trying to minimize these products for your child might help. It’s not necessarily the ice cream’s fault, but an allergy.
If my husband eats ice cream before bed I can be sure he will snore for at least half the night.
I finally got him to realize this, and things are much quieter now. If he wants to eat dairy now, he eats it much earlier in the day.
In my opinion dairy products are generally not tolerated well be a lot of people who do not realize it is the dairy causing thier issues. It may be an allergy, or lactose intolerance, but the results are really icky. :-p
Hi Debbie, Because we don’t have truth in labeling in Australia we won’t ever know the full list of ingredients. It can be fun for your son to help you make ice cream. The cheap ice cream makers can work quite well providing you remember to have the bucket pre frozen. This way you can use the milk and sweetener that suits you. You can even add a little colour with a teaspoon of beetroot juice. I have not done it but I can’t see why you could not add a teaspoon of wheatgrass/barley powder to get a tinge of colour. All the best.
Side effect reported
Im very happy to find this article. I thought I was imagining things. 3 days ago on sunday I had a vanilla shake at in n out burgers in LA and immediately, while I was drinking it even, I started to have flu symptoms. Now its almost full blown: runny nose, cough, etc. I very rarely eat fast food, once a month usually. And I only eat in n out. But this time I went 2x in the last two weeks. This had never happened before, so I thought I was hallucinating or something. Thats when I turned to the internet for answers. I’m a pretty healthy person, been living in japan for the last decade, but came to america a year ago on a promotion tour for my book black passenger yellow cabs. Living in japan, one cant help but eat healthily, so my body is just not accustomed to artificial flavoring. thanks to you guys, the mystery is solved.
Side effect reported
I am rarely one to come down with a cold. And once a cold gets me I can’t remember too many times it lasting for more than one are two days. My girlfriend and I are really conscious about the food we buy and avoid fake food as much as possible. We like organic and real ingredients. But I admit I can slip from time to time. For instance working with my friend before Christmas. The 22nd and 23rd of December I ate at McDonald’s with him. Then Christmas eve I did it… Ate some Eddy’s Ice cream. What ensued were symptoms so much like described in your article. Its scary. ‘Cept the order may not be exact. Christmas day I got the stuffy nose and feeling awful after taking a afternoon nap. That night runny nose and I started taking notice – I may have a cold. I went to sleep that night and mucus dripping into my throat gave me a painfully sore throat. We practice Netty pot nasal washes – my girlfriend more than I. So I cleansed my nose. And went back to sleep to wake with symptoms worsening. By the second night, Dec 26, I am flu like. With constant blowing of much mucus, even though I am cleaning my nose with a Netty pot.
I came online to find a natural remedy for a sinus infection that I woke up with this morning (drinking apple cider vinegar as I type, thank you). Last night I ate a pint of ice cream (Ronnybrook Toasted Hazelnut Crunch), so I was very surprised to see a correlation between the two posted on your site. Pretty amazed actually. I wanted to list the ingredients of the ice cream that I ate because, from what I can tell, there are no chemicals in it.It’s from a local dairy farm here in NY, and although it’s not certified organic, it’s produced without hormones or antibiotics and is supposedly all natural. Maybe there’s a connection beyond the chemical additives, a correlation to dairy, sugar, and sinus infections, or something else. I’m certainly not discounting the ill effects of chemical additives. I just thought my experience could be of use in better understanding this connection between ice cream and sinus infections.
Side effect reported
I read some report done on the link between artificial flavors in Dairy Queen and Baskin Robins icecream and sinus infections. It must have been fate that I saw it because right now I am battling a severe sinus infection and I have been eating Dairy Queen blizzards like every day for the past two months. 3 weeks ago I had “flu like symptoms” like the article I read stated. I ran a fever of 101. 8-102. 0 and had a sore throat. Now, for the past two weeks, along with the sore throat, I have had this severe sinus infection. I have NEVER had one this bad before! I really wish someone would contact me via facebook reguarding this matter. On facebook do a search for Betsy Moody-Ervin. Thank you
We eat ice cream like once a year well we went over to Cold Stone for ice cream cones. Well when we arrived I drank my usual apple cider vinegar before bed. But my husband did not he woke up the next day with fever and chill he felt sick. NO more chemical laden fake ice cream for us!
Side effect reported
For the last couple of years, I have taken ACV religiously, after reading here on EC how well it worked at preventing and even curing sinus infections. I had been sinus infection free after taking ACV regularly. I was thinking my sinus problems were over … then this week, to my surprise, I got a horrible, painful sinus infection. Then I recalled eating some ice cream a few days earlier … now, I’ve eaten ice cream occasionally off and on over the last couple of years too, but have only had the major brands that don’t contain corn syrup (usually the sucralose sweetened variety) with no major effects. This time however, I mistakenly had one with corn syrup. It burned my throat, but I didn’t think much of it … only when I was finishing off the box did I read the ingredients and saw corn syrup was listed. I took extra ACV, but to no avail … after 4 horrid near sleepless nights, painful, bleeding sinuses, etc, (felt like I was dinner, and my body didn’t care … immune system on strike?) and loath to seek antibiotics, I went looking for information. I knew about ACV, but what else was I missing? After reading Ted’s remedies, I thought that perhaps my pH had dropped, since I had not been eating as well as of late due to just moving (the day I started eating the ice cream) … so, I took about 1 tsp of baking soda sweetened with 2 tsp xylitol in a cup of water. WOW! With in 1/2 hour, my sinus pain was going away! Then my mucus color lightened … after getting a few more hours of much needed sleep, I am feeling almost normal. I still cough and have some stuffiness, pressure, and drainage, but the pain and bleeding are gone. THANK YOU EC and TED! (I like the fizzy ACV and baking soda: 1/2 C water, 1 tbsp ACV 1/4 tsp baking soda 4 drops of liquid stevia extract.)
Now, I read about the artificial flavors added to some ice creams, and I don’t eat any that have these listed … there may have been something not listed in the one I ate. However, as mentioned on EC about the history of this sinus problem and ice cream, it started in the late 1990s or so. This is when I stopped eating ANY corn, as it started to make me ill. At the time, I chalked it up to food sensitivities … well, guess what? Something changed in corn during the 1990s. GMO. Today, about 60% of all corn is genetically modified with Bt protein, a naturally occurring pesticide. I don’t know how much is in the seed, or how much makes it into the resulting corn syrup, but it could be that there is enough that some people are affected. So, the causative ingredient may very well be listed … we just don’t see if for what it is. (Or, I’m just sensitive to corn.)
Bottom line, keep the body’s pH up and stay away from things we find cause harm. Then the body can do its job and be well.
Regards,
Seth Taylor
Seth:
Great post, but there’s additional crucial information to add to your list of weeded out food ‘flavors’. It’s the sweetener you use, sucralose!
Here is the basic horror story about it:
https://www.wnho.net/splenda_chlorocarbon.htm
“Splenda/sucralose is simply chlorinated sugar; a chlorocarbon. Common chlorocarbons include carbon tetrachloride, trichlorethelene and methylene chloride, all deadly. Chlorine is nature’s Doberman attack dog, a highly excitable, ferocious atomic element employed as a biocide in bleach, disinfectants, insecticide, WWI poison gas and hydrochloric acid.
“Sucralose is a molecule of sugar chemically manipulated to surrender three hydroxyl groups (hydrogen oxygen) and replace them with three chlorine atoms. Natural sugar is a hydrocarbon built around 12 carbon atoms. When turned into Splenda it becomes a chlorocarbon, in the family of Chlorodane, Lindane and DDT.
“It is logical to ask why table salt, which also contains chlorine, is safe while Splenda/sucralose is toxic? Because salt isn’t a chlorocarbon. When molecular chemistry binds sodium to chlorine to make salt carbon isn’t included. Sucralose and salt are as different as oil and water.
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Dr. Bowen continues: “Just like aspartame, which achieved marketplace approval by the Food and Drug Administration when animal studies clearly demonstrated its toxicity, sucralose also failed in clinical trials with animals. Aspartame created brain tumors in rats. Sucralose has been found to shrink thymus glands (the biological seat of immunity) and produce liver inflammation in rats and mice.
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For more information on aspartame and Splenda click on the Aspartame Information List on https://www.wnho.net. Dr. Bowen can be seen in the movie “Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World.” For the movie call 1-818-349-8822 or email [email protected] See how aspartame was approved by clicking on https://www.soundandfury.tv/pages/Rumsfeld2.html and visit https://www.wnho.net/sweet_misery_movie.htm for more information on the movie
I have had this problem for a while. Not only ice-cream, but anything that is sweet. If I have cookies, candy/chocolate & etc. & that was the last thing I ate before going to bed, I develop sinus the next day. I have gotten into a habbit of eating something spicy (eg. Hot chips) & goto bed if I do so. It doesn’t happen to anyone I know, therefore I guess its very limited to few of us.
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Is this an allergy to artificial flavoring, artificial vanilla, or corn syrup? I read this information a couple of weeks ago and the ACV has been very helpful. I thought that perhaps my sinus flare up, which coincided with my period (sorry men), were somehow related but, could just be that I eat worse during this time. Anyway, I have put the ice cream to the test… One scoop of DQ cone with vanilla softserve ice cream caused my normal sinuses to violently react about 6 hours later. I had a completely stuffy nose but lots of mucous when I blow my nose, sinus pressure, and asthma. The same thing happened when I ate a Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwich, and also when I have had a McDonald’s Sundae. All symptoms came raging back 6 hours to 12 hours later. It would be nice to know the specific ingredient to avoid.
Avoid dairy. Dairy causes thick mucus to form in the body.
Stop eating dairy, a mucusless diet is the only way to rid yourself of sinus and many other issues….. Hope this helps
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sinus infection/ice cream connection
I found this site looking for natural sinus infection cures. Something definitely rings true with the ice cream connection. My family went to Baskin-Robbins for their .31 cent scoop night. We never go there, for lots of reasons but, decided it would be a rare treat. This was April 28th. I of course didn’t make the connection when I got really sick after. Sinus infection and bronchitis (likely caused by sinusitis)that was treated with antibiotics. The bronchitis seems to have gone, but sinuses not even touched by the drugs. I just tried the ACV treatment and an hour later…WOW! I want to cry. It’s been bad these past few years…if this works as good as it seems to, I feel hope! I am breathing through my nose. It’s almost shocking how much oxygen I feel like I’m finally getting. It’s interesting that the rest of the family didn’t get sick like me, but they were super tired for days after. Interesting stuff!
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This is feedback for the page regarding Ice Cream and flu.
I found this website when looking for a natural cure for sinus infections. I’m going to try to ACV and will post results.
However, we noticed that IMMEDIATELY after I had eaten a heavily flavoured ice cream from the store, I became suddenly ragingly ill. I developed an overnight sinus infection and seem to have the flu as well. I have eaten this brand of ice cream before, as they advertise 1/2 the fat and 1/2 the sugar in this type and it seemed safe in the past to have a little every once in a while. I can be lactose intolerant to a small degree, so ice cream is a rare treat. This time, it was on a giveaway type of sale that seemed odd to us, they were giving away 2 large containers if you bought one. I tried a mint chocolate chip where they make the ice cream green, I’ve never eaten that kind before, I bought it for someone else to enjoy and just sampled it for fun. I felt bad within 2 hours of eating it. I already have a serious illness to deal with, and now I am so sick I can hardly move, I’m wheezing, fever, sinuses are so infected, and my ears are totally blocked. I already had pain in my skull previously so not sure if that is a symptom also. Just wanted to add to this page, I’m a little concerned that children are eating this stuff and getting so sick, that’s very alarming, where’s Michael Moore on this one :).
I am allergic to Sulfates and Sulfites. I am guaranteed a migraine and/or sinus infection after eating either or. I just learned at the source below that the crystalization process for icecream includes Calcium Sulfate. It depends how bad with how much is ingested. I had Chicken Marsala, that had intense wine flavor, and coconut ice cream. I have had a rough time with a sinus, upper respiratory, and eyes tearing for 3 days now. Im starting to understand how many foods I need to avoid.
https://www.foodsci.uoguelph.ca/dairyedu/icingr.html
Citrate and phosphate ions decrease tendency for fat coalescence (Sodium citrate, Disodium Phosphate). They prevent churning in soft ice cream for example, producing a wetter product. These salts decrease the degree of protein aggregation. Calcium and magnesium ions have the opposite effect, promote partial coalescence. Calcium sulfate, for example, results in a drier ice cream. Calcium and Magnesium increase the degree of protein aggregation.
Salts may also influence electrostatic interactions. Fat globules carry a small net negative charge, these ions could increase or decrease that charge as they were attracted to or repelled from surface.
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There is definitely something to this! I haven’t had a sinus infection in years, since I started eating nothing but organic foods. I ordered a small milkshake from the golden arches for my daughter. When she was done, I had the last 1/8th of it. She didn’t get sick, but less than 24 hours later, I had a massive sinus infection. No more milkshakes!!
P.S. I love you guys at Earth Clinic! The ACV with water has almost kicked it.
Thank you so much
So my son in law loves Yogutland and loves to take me there when I go visit them. Will this on the same category of a Burger King? 🙁
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I have been a fan of this site for a while and last night was the first time I have seen this info on the connection between certain ice cream and sinus infections. Yesterday (Sunday) my 15 year old son started getting a sinus headache. He has been having some allergy issues for the last week or so because of all the heavy pollen. By evening time last night he was in a lot of pain with severe sinus pressure in his head and chest and throat pain from a frequent dry nonproductive cough. He was also having chills and running fever by late last night. I came here to look first (as I always do) for a home remedy for sinus infections. After reading this I immediately went to ask him if he had eaten any type of ice cream or milk shakes in the past few days. He said that Friday after school he had a milk shake from Wendy’s. Hmmm. Interesting (48 hours later he has a sinus infection). Thanks for the info. Great Job again Earth Clinic.
Having just finished an antibiotic for sinus infection, I was prompted to comment. I think I have had an infection for a long time, and it raises it’s ugly head when I eat ice cream, milk, cheese or food with dairy in it. When I get these responses, usually within two hours, I get a feverish face, pain in the sinuses, post nasal drip and an overall ill feeling. The doctor called it an allergy, but I think many of us, like me, have a low-grade infection all the time, but don’t notice it much until we eat dairy. I know that there are antibiotics given to cows that are a product of the genetically modified group of antibiotics. When we drink cows milk we are consuming these genetically modified products. These have been shown to cause allergic reactions in many people. I haven’t found a satisfactory substitute for milk and I’ve tried most products. Using half/half Horizons Organic Milk in my morning coffee (and no milk for the rest of the day) still has some reaction but again, I have an underlying infection. I am taking grapefruit seed extract tabs for it since the antibiotic didn’t work well. Willard Water (diluted) also helps in a spray bottle to dissolve the mucus. But our sinuses are complicated, and it takes awhile I think to clear all the infection out once we do have one. So, my point is that many of us are over-reactive due to the underlying infection and the GMO is not helping, for sure. I wish they would ban GMO’s. Also, the cheaper ice creams have derivatives of seaweed in them, the guar gum, the carageenan and some others for thickeners and I never can eat that stuff. Plus stuff no one heard of. Just my few cents worth of opinion here.
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I have been a fan of this site for a long time, but this is the first time I have looked up “sinus infection”. I will have to concur on the ice cream connection. I got a cold 6 days ago and it was beginning to subside UNTIL I had a Dairy Queen Mocha Moolata on day 5. I now have took a turn for the worse and have a sinus infection.
Despite what the American Dairy Council says, milk products absolutely cause the production of mucus and should be avoided if you have a cold, sinus infection asthma etc. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, cow’s milk is the number one-cause of food allergies in children. In addition, milk allergies can develop in adults. In a study conducted at the New York University School of Medicine, people with asthma experienced a decrease in lung function after drinking whole milk.
To many people with lactose intolerance, a couple of glasses of milk will wreak havoc on their digestive systems. Milk may alter the effects of some drugs by interfering with their absorption and elimination. Milk decreases the absorption of iron into the body.
Think Soy milk and calcium supplements!
I agree with most that you said about dairy, but definitely not about soy milk and calcium suppliments. I have read that gluten sensitivity is #1 and casein (another milk protein other than whey) is molecularly similar to gluten, and may have a cross-reactive response in some individuals due to its similar structure. Soy has many problems even if not organic/non-GM. Most people do not need additional calcium, but they are lacking other minerals that help with its absorbtion. Soft tissue calcification may be exacerbated with excessive supplementation of calcium for someone who is prone to it.
I was babysitting my niece and had a craving for some strawberry ice cream. We went to the store and bought some generic ice cream with the Neopolitan flavor. About 4 hours later I am having trouble with my sinuses & throat and keep clearing them. I am getting the feeling like I am coming down with a sinus infection. Is this connected to the discussions regarding this topic? I’m not sure, but this is very weird. I’m going to do a sinus rinse to see if this clears up. Thanks for the help Earthclinic!
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I am so happy to have reached this site. I am a longtime sinus sufferer and because I suffer so often and it has caused me to be so sleepy that its disrupting my life. I sleep too much. So I decided to check the web for anykind of relief. I stumbled upon this site and immediately realized one of the culprits. The other day, I had an icecream cone from Baskin Robbins. No sinus trouble that day before the icecream cone. Literally the next day my nose was so stopped up I couldnt breathe out of no where I had sinus trouble stopped up nose and acheness. I drank apple cider vinegar and used steam, almost immediately or within hours everything subsided. So while I was surfing the web today I was eating a bowl of icecream when I came upon this site. I am definately going to see if my symptons come back tomorrow night. and will be glad to tell you. – but thank you for this information. If I find the icecream is linked to my symptoms I am going to cut it completely from my diet. unless it is organic if such a thing. thanks again. your information is valuable for those of us suffering constantly.
This is interesting that so many people are reporting sinus issues,that are associated with ice cream. My father insist on eating ice cream anytime he has a flare up of hay fever, sinuses or the common cold. He says it really helps him and makes him feel better.
So, I DO NOT say all these people are wrong, But I only report what my father has told me.
I had told him one night, that I had read that ice cream makes these condition worse ( I can not remember what he had that night ) But he said OH NO! Ice cream has always helped ease his symptoms.
I guess one thing in the NATURAL REMEDY world is that we can agree that everybody is different, MEDICAL DOCTORS on the other hand say NON-SENSE every human body is the same.
Just a SIDE NOTE… My grand father lived to be 80 something years old and he ate baking soda by the palmful…Yea, I know the box says always mix with water, but he just poured in his palm and then into his mouth. It wasn’t until he was put in a nursing home and had NO ACCESS to baking soda, one year later he was sick and died.
My wife’s grandfather, I have been told TOOK A DAILY DOSE of EPSON SALT, and Lived to be I believe 93 years old, He was 90 something anyway. Again, because of a FALL, in the nursing home he went and soon passed away.
I just though that was interesting and I would report it.
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i had a cold for about a week and felt like i was beating it up until about two days ago my sinuses felt all swollen. i thought it was maybe because of the super windy day we just had. until i stumbled across this theory…i bought dreyers icecream 3 days ago and have been eating it everday. i started to feel run down again, and the sinuses bugging me again (pressure, itchy, tingling) flushed my nose with salt water this morn and noticed it was almost neon yellow! sorry..kinda gross i know…but that struck me as odd so on-line i go to do some research and well how bizzare! i’m chucking that dreyers and never buying it again! if we buy icecream its usually haggen daas or ben jerry’s and never had a problem. guess ill keep flushing with salt water and drinking apple cider vinegar. ok…strong reminder of all the chemis and crap in convience food and why i should avoid at all costs.
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ICE CREAM and Flu and Sinus Symptoms
I cannot believe this. My 5 yr old daughter had a LARGE pink ice cream treat during a long car ride home. Well, a few hours later, at about 3:00am, she was throwing up all pink from the ice cream. She was fevered and ended up throwing up once more that night. Her fever remained for more than a day. Now, she has been fighting this lingering bullcrap sinus/upper respiratory thing that just doesn’t want to go away. She is now on antibiotics (of course-what else is new?) and she still has the sinus problems. I came onto the web to search for natural remedies for her and I stumbled upon this UNBELIEVABLE info on your site regarding ice cream and flu symptoms. I would NEVER, EVER have thought it would cause flu symptoms- I always knew it causes mucous- but had no clue about the fever, etc. Unbelievable to me. This site is amazing and I thank you soooo much for bringing this ice cream problem to my attention. Unreal.
Hi Heather, Thanks to this wonderful site, I found another. Go to knowthecause.com, and you’ll get a lot of info on what causes various diseases, including respiratory ones. Between earthclinic and know the cause, I have solved a lot of my family issues. Still working on them.
Hi again! I’ve been thinking about fibromyalgia and fluoride and I’m wondering if the ice cream/sinus infection thing is related.
Could both problems be caused by the known chemical reaction between fluoride and dairy? Some ice cream must be processed with fluoridated water problems. And the best selling brands are probably processed at more than one plant. Perhaps some are on fluoridated waterlines and some aren’t…
This might explain the hit and miss aspect of both problems i.e. why some get fibromyalgia and/or sinus infections and some don’t.
Calcium reduces the amount of fluoride that is absorbed by the body but dairy products are contra-indicated for fibromyalgia sufferers. So, where are they getting their calcium? What about blackstrap molasses? Non-dairy PLUS lots of calcium.
I also found that activated charcoal won’t bind fluoride but DE (diatomaceous earth) does.
This all seems garbled but I’m going to send it anyway. Could be important.
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I also noticed the last two years I started getting sick right after eating ice cream. I never used to get them before when I ate ice cream, so what in this ice cream is causing this? Why isn’t the ice cream companies doing anything about it? They are going to loose a lot of customers if something isn’t done. Anyone have any remedies, or ice cream that does not cause this?
Could this possibly happen with pizza? I had a pizza two days ago. Hours later I felt like I had the flu. Blocked sinuses, feverish and feeling rotten. Today I (56 y/o) didn’t link it to the pizza because I try to eat healthy as much as I can until my son (36 y/o) called today I told him how I was feeling. He immediately told me that he has been fighting off this sinus infection ever since a Pizza, from a totally different place, same symptoms as mine. Could this be happening with other types of fast foods?
By the way I got some relief washing out my sinuses with a plastic bottle (a la neti pot) with some bicarb and sea salt, which I learned from this wonderful site.
My household just had this same problem, we had pizza and ice cream as a special ‘blue moon’ night of indulgence as we’re moving and the kitchen is packed.
I have asked my doctor, and the nurse said everyone is catching a flu, that something is going around the city right now. We got pizza out, and often workers in restaurants won’t call in sick and don’t wash their hands or cover their faces properly. So when something is making the rounds, eating out can increase your risk of catching something. We usually don’t order take out when this is the case, we just had no idea that a flu or cold was making its way round town!
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I had discovered in my adult years that food allergies can trigger sinus infections. for me at one point it was citrus, but in my later years was still plagued with sinus infections 3 to 5 times a year. A year ago, I read a similar article on ice cream and sinus infections, and decided to stop eating ice cream. I have only had 1 sinus infection this past year. I do believe this theory is true.
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My husband and I were craving ice cream and decided to go to the Dairy Queen. I had already read about this sinus infection connection with ice cream. As we were going through the drive -thru I decided to test this theory. It had been a really long time since having ice cream so I thought I’d see if it was a contributor to my chronic sinus troubles.
I had a Mocha Moolatte. About 2 hours later I began having pain in my frontal sinuses and the back of my neck. I started to feel a sensation of fatigue.
About 6 hours later my sinus passages felt swollen and the mucus had turned into thick sludge.
About an hour after the congestion started, body aches and pains began. In my arms, legs, feet, etc. Then came chills. I was certain I had a fever going, so I took my temp and it was 98.1 degrees, normal. I began having sensations of feeling cold, then warm, and back to cold again, while the aches in my body continued to worsen.
I no longer have my doubts about this theory now, as I can sincerely vouch for the fact that I’m ill and cold as I type this.
Here’s what I’ve done to try and counter my trouble: 1/4 cup diluted in 8oz of water. 1 (concentrated) cranberry tablet to offset any possible UTI from the sugary dairy. 3 Advil for the pain. 1 Maximum strength Mucinex to thin down this congestion. 1 drop tea tree oil in pure water in a spray bottle, 1 spray up each nostril to open the nasal passages quickly.
It took about an hour for the Mucinex and Tea Tree nasal spray to make a difference. My head hurts less, but the chills and flu feelings are hanging on.
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Amazing article re ice-cream & sinus infection – I love ice cream, and have just had a bad cold followed by bad sinus infection!! No more ice cream!!! Many Thanks, Keith McCormick
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I don’t eat much ice cream but had a chocolate malt about a month ago and have had a sinus infection AND a craving for more ice cream ever since. This is just plain despicable.
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True, true… I am sitting here trying to get well from yet another sinus attack.. 2 days of work missed… And still trying to get better… But I have to read about 20 of your stories here on this site to finally remember that I did have a cone of chapman the nite before I got sick with the flu-like symptoms! I have a very bad memory but I remember now putting the cones away. I am the kind of person who stuffs her face without thinking and go right back to my creative work or thinking. But now I am convinced that this is true! In fact after feeling better from packing heated facmasks on my face, I found the enrgy to cook up a meal and then an apple crisp, U see I think I had a craving for more icecream! And becuz I felt better I slapped on a spoonful of icecream on top of the dessert and felt great from satisfying my craving. Yet a few hrs later I was packiing on those heat pads on my face again, and another day of missed work. I will keep away from those artificial icecreams from now on and see what happens.
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I am convinced that ice creams with artifical ingredients are the cause of my sinus infections. For me it only took 1 taste (teaspoon) of a Jack-In-The Box milk shake and 48 hrs. later I started to feel the flu-like symptons and sinus infection. This was confirmation for me. A few months prior I had the same think happen when I ate an over the counter ice cream… 48 hrs. later, same symptons. I’m convinced!!
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May 12, 2008, I fell ill at church once again with nausia, fever and back aches and shortness of breath. I had just taken my 2 1/2 year old to Wendys for a lite snack before church about 30 minutes prior to attending. My son & I went for a short walk just when service was starting, it was nice and warm out, but I began noticing I started feeling really hot and it was hard to breathe. I have had sinus problems before – especially when the weather changes from hot to cold. Mostly when it is cold, I get congested. But I knew something was wrong. That night, I was sicker than a sick dog. I was in literal pain and the cold hurt if it touched my skin. I called in to work. That Monday, 12th of May, my mother rushed me to the Hospital -Long Beach Memorial ER. They did blood work, cat-scan of my blood, pumped me with fluids, including liquid motrin. I was still in pain. I couldnt figure out what happened. I thought about what I ate, until it hit me, slowly, as I recalled earlier in the week, I craved the enfamous, Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia (vanilla, black cherry, chocolate chunk mix) & I had Haagan Daz vanilla ice cream, both in single mini cup serving sizes.
I noticed that the Haagan Daz made my throat tingle a bit, then when I ate the Cherry Garcia, I noticed a stinging when I chewed a chunk of chocolate. A note to the wise, I am an avid lover of eating ice cream, but this is just mean! I purposly stopped eating Breyers & Dreyers Vanilla Bean ice creams because I noticed the actual vanilla bean specks occassoinally got caught in my throat giving me an allergic reaction and the sinus issues started then a rash. My eldest son, 16, noticed the same thing and will not touch any ice cream with the vanilla bean specks.
So getting to my point of illness, which kept me laid up for 7 days, my doctor kept me out from work till the 19th of May, I still have symptoms that flaired up w/ sinus congestion. Also note that during the 7 days of agony and viral symptoms – I had not one problem with my sinuses until after I started feeling better.
I have tried the Apple Cider Vinegar for my scalp – contact dermatitus/psoriasis per doctor diagnosis. And it seemed to have worked the first time I tried it. But will try again tonite. Also I had tried drinking the solution before But I think I used too much ACV with water. I have heard many times in the past that this remedy has worked for numerous ailments and plan to continue using it to heal both of my conditions, skin and nasal.
Also, I have tried the water, cayenne pepper and lemon remedy – cleansing. I stopped because my throat felt raw, which I found is one of the signs of healing part of the remedy. (Yellow Book – Master Cleanser).
Anyway, I know this is long but I hope to find out more info from my next Dr visit on June 4, 2008. The ER said my test showed that I was healthy. If so, then why couldnt they tell me what was wrong with me other than a viral infection? There has to be some other tests, other than just general ones that can be taken to rule out hidden ailments and diseases and allergies.
Thank you again for this wonderful website.
Yours Truely,
Peijay in Long Beach.
Perhaps it is psychological, but i am suffering wih the flu as we speak, and i love to eat ice cream regardless. I didn’t have ice cream before i got sick there fore i can’t blame my sinus problem…. but i still have my ice cream and for some reason i can get more mucous out of my system after eating ice cream and feel a lot better for a few moment of the day. I had some some tea last nite before hitting the sack and i was coughing and miserable for the whole night. i know we should have any colds in our system but i feel the heat also traps the immune system to just feel at ease. please let me know what u think! liz
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WOW…I stumbled on your site because I had come down with a cold 5 days ago and it turned into a very painful sinus infection. I hadn’t eaten ice cream for 2 or 3 years. I also haven’t had sinus problems for a few years but…I too had ice cream 3 nights in a row before this sinus pressure and thick mucus showed up. I have always believed dairy wasn’t designed for human consumption. The brand was chocolate blue bunny. The hydrogen peroxide and ACV did wonders for me within 6 hours…mucus is returning to clear and I have much less pressure around my eyes. Thank you so much for this info. I know a 3 year old who is struggling with asthma…could dairy be the culprit??
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Yes. I think dairy could be the culprit. I am 36 years old and have had allergies and asthma from about 4 years old to almost recently. Now, I do not need my inhaler.
All this helped me so I thought I would share:
My son had anger tantrums and ADHD pretty bad. The dairy (or rather the way most companies process it and what the add to it) was wreaking havoc on his little body. He was hitting and punching me and his dad. We did not punish him like some relatives and friends were encouraging us to do. And I’m glad we did not. Because we found the root to his behavior (dairy and sugar).
Just took it out of his diet and he still has some lingering behaviors but no where near the stress we were having.
A little dairy or sugar for my 3 year old would make him lose his mind.
Hmmmm… makes me think about the mainstream media and their advertisements about what’s healthy for us…..
Body’s need calcium, even for ADHD and for asthmatics. And magnesium…
I am looking for some farm fresh yogurt becasue Erivan is about $2 per cup.
Good luck and keep reading. You’ll find the answers you need. Be well.
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I have had a sinus infection for the past 6 months. I have gotten breaks by taking antibiotics. No doctor said not to eat ice cream or cut dairy or anything like that!! I am surprised at the number of people using faulty logic and saying that because they don’t eat ice cream that no one could get a sinus infection because of eating ice cream. I’m going to give this a try and see what happens. We don’t have a Baskin Robbins in town & I hate DQ, but I often have a shake at McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s & Arby’s. I know Red 40 gives my daughter headaches, maybe it (or one of the MANY other chemicals) gives me sinus infections.
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I’m so glad I found this site, and that I’m not the only one who suffers sinus infections seemingly out of the blue. Dairy is the culprit for me! I developed a sinus infection a few days ago after eating homemade ice cream (I made it, no artificial ingredients in it at ALL), and I started wondering about dairy being the cause. I’ll try the apple cider treatment and swear off dairy! Thank you for your informative site, too.
I think there is a correlation dairy as well, Not just Ice Cream. Ever since I was a little kid I have had issues drinking milk, & eating ice cream due to bloating in stomach as well as sinus issues. Now as an adult I try to cut out both. I drink silk and keep ice cream out of the house. But I realize that even drinking a small amount of creamer in my coffee, makes my sinuses act up. I am on my way to the store rt now for ACV.
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I have also gotten a chronic sinus infection as a result of eating ice cream at Baskin Robbins. I felt something was wrong on the next day, and within 2 weeks had a horrible sinus infection, which at first I thought was a toothache. Now it never completely left me even after almost a year.
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I had eaten ice cream for yrs. now at 40,I was getting raspy feeling in throat,coughing,sour burping and stuffed nose,yup!ice cream…it now has so many chemicals in it,why??I stay with all natural,no problem APPLE CIDER VINEGAR,YUCK,I and many have vomited because of that crap that has been soooo natural.
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For several years now, I’ve noticed that when I eat ice cream, I get terrible flu-like symptoms and eventually end up with a sinus infection. About 2 years ago, I started linking it with milk products, namely ice cream. My husband, co-workers, friends, etc. all thought I was crazy when I told them that I thought it was ice cream causing my sinus infections. Imagine my surprise and relief when I stumbled on your website and read about this link. Thank you so much for validating my concerns. I broke down Friday afternoon and purchased a small chocolate milkshake from McD’s. Of course I know better, but I hadn’t had ice cream in a while and felt it was warranted and deserved. Boy, have I been paying thr price for that! On-set of the flu-like symptoms began within 4 hours. The next day, it felt like i had the flu — and one of the worst headaches I’ve ever had — the pain was right behind my eyes and in and around my teeth and gums. Ouch! This morning (2 days later since having the shake), I woke up with extreme fatigue and clogged sinuses. I’m about to drink my ACV and hope that will take care of the problem. ACV usually does the trick. But thank you again for bringing attention to this issue!!
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Just read what Darlene wrote on 2/18/07. This Saturday I had a few bites of my friend’s Hot Fudge Sundae from MCDevil’s (mcdonalds) and woke up Sunday am with horrible sinus pain/headache. I rarely suffer from sinus issues and after reviewing my diet for the day, it has to be the icecream. I felt fine by Monday. I have to agree that the chemical additives in cheaper icecream are evil!!!
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SINUS INFECTION: I HAVE SINUS INFECTION RIGHT NOW. MY HEAD FEELS HAEAVY, FEELS LIKE I HAVE A FEVER, SOAR THROAT, RUNNY NOSE ECT… I HAD BASKIN ROBBINS ICE CREAM 2 DAYS PRIOR TO THAT…LAST MONTH SAME THING ALSO HAPPENED, AFTER I HAD ICE CREAM FROM B/R GOT SICK TWO DAYS LATER… YOUR THEORY IS ON POINT…I JUST GOT BACK FROM SEEING MY DOCTOR AND HE CONFIRMED THAT IT IS SINUS INFECTION
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First of all thank you so very much for a great site. Secondly I want to say that I am amazed to have stumbled across this ice cream/fake flu/sinus thing. I eat fairly healthy, mostly avoiding dairy. On Monday I decided to treat myself to an In N Out burger and a chocolate milkshake. Probably my first fast food chocolate milkshake in about 2 years. Within 4 hours I was struck down with terrible flu like symptoms including a high fever, mucus-Y painful cough, terrible aching. This lasted for around 48 hours and has now morphed into a sinus infection – something I have never had before. While searching for a cure for this (now on the ACV) I came across the site. What’s weird is that all week I have been telling people this was a terrible flu but in the back of my mind I had a strange feeling it was food allergy related. I drank a beer Monday night and had wondered if it was that but the ice cream theory now brings it all together. Wow. Thank you so much for collating this information and for offering such helpful natural remedies.
i too just had a similar experience at in n out in LA. 3 days ago, I had a vanilla shake and started having flu symptoms while drinking it. I thought it was impossible and that I was nuts. Til I started to search on the internet and found this article. By the way, what is ACV? I have to get on a plane to ny in 3days and this is just gonna make life very very difficult.
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i have been fighting a sinus infection pretty seriously off and on for 2 years now i have had an open rhinoplasty on 01/2007 i had the infection before and since but now that i have read the site i have noticed that i do eat a lot of ice cream and especially the last week or so have had a serious sinus problem i will monitor the intake and severity of sinus problems breyers cookies and cream is the last brand eaten
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I agree with you theory about artificial ingredients in ice cream causing sinus problems. My eating habits are similar to vegan and I consume milk free Soy based ice-cream. However I that when I consume heavily flavored types my sinus affects me badly unlike when I consume simpler flavors like rum and raisin or fruit and nut. I proved this by staying off soyscream for a few months and the instant I tried it, the nasal congestion returned. My advice too is to avoid heavily flavoured ice creams.
Kirk, is devon house ice cream artificially flavoured?
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I do not suffer from sinus infections but my 11 yr son does. He was doing okay until today. His head hurts so bad he can’t even bend over. I was looking for a homeopathic remedy because the OTC and prescribed meds seem to be ineffective at best and sometimes seem to make things worse. When I read the ice cream thing a light bulb went on. Grandma took him for burgers on Saturday and yesterday he started complaining of headache and congestion. I’m thinking your idea is not so far fetched.
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I ate Baskin Robbins mint ice cream cake on Friday. On Saturday night I had major sinus pain and pressure behind my right eye and upper teeth area. I suffered through the night even though I took a nasal decongestant which did nothing for it. The next morning I drank 2 TBL ACV in 1/2 glass of water. It didn’t seem to help much. Then I tried boiling 50/50 ACV/water mix and breathing in the steam vapors(keeping mouth and eyes closed) which helped take the sinus pain/pressure away within 1/2 hr.
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I suffered from horrible sinus headaches over the past three months. After much researching, I finally found the culprit–ICE CREAM. I have craved Ice cream every day for the past 3 1/2 months. I always use Oragnic ACV so I knew that was not helping. I tried grapefruit seed extract in water and was very pleased with the results. No more sinus headaches since I’ve been on it. I used about 5 drops in an 8oz glass of water.
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I was surfing around looking for a remedy for my sinus infection and came across your article “Ice-cream related to sinus infection” and I can totally see the connection because I’ve also suffered the exact same symptoms! I had always thought it was sort of a “brain-freeze” situation, that I literally got a cold from the cold food consumed (I’m extremely sensitive to cold in my head, the least cold breeze will send me to my bed for the day). Well I must be sensitive to the chemicals as well, because what you described happened in exactly the same order. I woke up the next morning with a raging sinus infection, fever and all. I didn’t make the connection the first time, so about 10 days later, I repeated the offense (i.e. consumed the ice-cream) and Viola! next morning super intense sinus infection!! I think that somehow it is intensified by eating ice cream at night and then sleeping on that mucous in the system. Just my 2 cents worth. Sumiyeh in rockville, MD
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I just found this website and read about the ice cream cold…I must say I am wondering if that is why I have this cold, mainly a sore throat and mucas. I ate it and got a cold then I was fine for 4 days and last night I ate it my husband ate it and we both have a sore throat again this morning. Could it be the ice cream??? Seems like.
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I would have never thought Ice Cream could cause a Sinus Infection. Yet, I came down with a nasty Sinus Infection last Monday. I spent all day Saturday at Austin City Limits Music Festival, had sort of exausted myself, and on the way back, we stopped by a local burger joint and ordered ice cream cones, the dairy queen kind, messy, sugary and wonderful. On Sunday I felt exausted, but the day before I had drank beer and danced for hours. Monday morning I overslepts, was late to work and could barely keep my eyes open. By end of the day Monday, I had a full blown Sinus Infection. I should note that its a bad allergy season right now. Yet, I already had my cold of the season, and did get a lot of sleep that weekend, and took vitamins. And, I never usually eat ice cream, even when I do, its normally a fancy pure kind. Now, its been 7 days and I’m finally just starting to breathe out of my nose. YUCK!
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So glad I found these posts, and to know that I’m not the only one who has “Ice Cream Hangovers.” I’ll go for months without touching ice cream, then experience temporary insanity. I find that Sonic milkshakes produce the hardest blows to my sinuses. I then think that I’ve learned my lesson, take a benadryl, and drink lots of water. Normally, if I do that right away, I won’t have to go for the antibiotics. I keep saying that I’ll break down & get an ice cream maker & make our own ice cream with goat milk. Someday .
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This past Sat eve the family went to Bruster’s Ice Cream and I chowed down a yummy mint chocolate chip scoop. My husband felt ill the rest of the day, but I was fine. Then Sunday morning I awoke feeling the worst sinus pressure in my head ever. My equilibrium was so off I literally weaved to the bathroom like a drunk where I promptly threw up from nausea. It was the worst feeling ever! I went downstairs afterwards and made a tall mug of hot water and added at least 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar to it and spent the next half hour sipping it slowly. It definitely helped but what finally kicked the sinus reaction later in the day was 5 low dosage chewable baby aspirins. Once those got in my system I was fine. My husband did not have a reaction to the ice cream on Sunday, only Saturday.
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Thanks for assembling this info — I am totally intrigued. I have been dreaming of a Good Times Raspberry Torte Spoonbender (it’s ice cream) for months and finally on Friday allowed myself to get one. Over the weekend I was annoyed that my Nasonex which I take for hay fever and (which is working great) seemed to stop working and full on sinus issues!!! I have allergies and can get sinus infections 2-3 x a year… I am soo going to elminate these artificially-flavored ice creams (OK, I’ll ban all ice creams!) 🙂 I’m also going to try the ACV. Thanks guys.
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so true… i went to baskin robbins on a tues wed & thurs i had a headache that i couldnt get rid of… saturday i had the sinus infection, i will def try the acv and the oil flushing but i hope i feel better im going to disney land this weekend! i didnt even know about the ice cream but i searched the web for a home cure and i found the cause as well..
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I’ve had this horrible sinus infection for weeks now. I have a long history of them but have been able to keep it under control for the past few years… though I still have difficulty with my sinuses, I am generally able to keep them draining enough that an infection doesn’t fester. Anyway, for the past month or so, I’ve felt awful and haven’t understood the flare up. So, here I come, looking for some kind of hope and find the info about apple cider vinegar. Now, I know that ACV is great stuff, but hadn’t realized that it helped sinuses. So, as soon as I read about it, I went to the kitchen and gulped down 2T of it with 8oz of water. I am sooo pleased to say that my sinuses immediately began to drain – yucky thick mucous down my throat – but, hey, that is a relief with what I’ve been feeling! The pressure is somewhat relieved already!!! I’m so excited! What’s more, I then read on and found the ice cream theory… And, without much surprise, I am sure enough able to link my recent sinus troubles to two rounds of ice cream! I had not eaten ice cream with “flavors” such as these in a long time prior to this, so it really fits for me! My troubles all started with a trip to COLDSTONE Creamery and shortly thereafter worsened upon consumption of some CARVEL brand ice cream cake!!!
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Thanks for helping me make the connection! The bad news is that my “sinus infection”/ cold didn’t come from ice cream, it came from a Starbucks Green Tea latte made with two big squirts of melon-flavored syrup. You can bet that there was no real melon in that sugary syrup so the offending artificial flavors are now permeating all kinds of food besides ice cream. It made me feel AWFUL and I haven’t had a “cold” for years (I also usually abstain from all kinds of refined sugar, etc.). ACV helped get me back on my feet after experiencing 1.5 days of fluey, eye-watering (one side only) sinus pressure with sneezing. And then it was gone. Not a typical cold. Thanks for the heads up. Artificial flavorings are off my list forever!
Lisa, thank you for posting about Starbucks. My Friday ritual is usually a Starbucks latte, but yesterday I had a Starbucks coffee frappuccino, and I haven’t had a frozen Starbucks drink in maybe 3 years. Well, I woke up feeling so sick today, and the coughing started last night. My sinuses hurt so bad, that even my ear canals hurt, and my stomach is upset. I feel so bad, I can barely write this–must go back to bed. I am going to try oil pulling, as I am one of the very few people who has bad effects from ACV. Incidentally, the frappuccino was kinda yucky–did not taste like real food.
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I came across your site and was totally skeptical, but after reading the info on ice cream, I realized I had eaten ice cream the night before I woke up with a terrible sore throat, congestion, migraine and nausea/vomiting. After reading your article, I just can’t convince myself it’s a coincidence. I have no idea what brand of ice cream I had, as it was just served as part of a blueberry cobbler dessert, but I’m going to try cutting out all ice cream for a while to see if there’s a difference. And as I sit here typing this, I’m drinking a tall hot mug of ACV (1/4 cup) in 8 oz. hot water. We’ll see if this does the trick…at any rate, I’m hopeful that it will so I don’t have to keep taking OTC meds and/or antibiotics. I suffer from chronic sinusitis, so the potential for something natural like ACV to help me is a serious godsend…thanks!”
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Funny as i sit here reading this piece about ice cream and sinus infections, I had soft serve “ice cream” from Sonic 2 days ago and i have been very sick today, way worse than how dairy alone affects me-ever. My lymph-nodes are hugely swollen. No symptoms yesterday. Looking at your list McDonalds, etc. Isn’t it true that many of those that serve the soft-serve type of ic actually have little if any dairy in them? Mostly chemicals. So i should know not to eat them (rarely do). Never again after reading this. We (I) have got to get back to whole foods with simpler ingredients, not a list of long chemical names. If you eat at McD ask for the ingredient list and look up their “ice cream”
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After eating ice cream for several days for dessert, my head felt like it would explode with pain. I soaked a cloth with apple cider vinegar & applied it to my forehead & across the bridge of my nose. Also took pain medication. It helped immensely. I also get sinus headaches from most shampoos. Your article helped confirm how valuable vinegar is & that the ice cream thing is not my imagination. Thanks!
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Amazing!! I’ve suffered with sinus infections mostly during the last 5 years, but my issues date back to 1991-92. Guess what? During those two years I lived on Baskin Robins as I was pregnant back to back and couldn’t get enough of it. Back then, taking Sudafed helped the problem so it was no biggie.
More recently though, my sinuses are out of control. The right side of my nose and sinuses is completely blocked 90% of the time. I have seen ENT’s and Allergists to no avail. I will be seeing my allergist again tomorrow and will make mention of this possible cause.
Even more surprisingly, last week was my daughter’s 9th birthday. I bought her a BR ice cream cake. We enjoyed it very much, as we always do. Friday (2 days after eating the BR cake) I developed the worst congestion and allergies I have had in the last month or so. I became sick to my stomach, felt achy as if the flu was coming and spent the afternoon in bed. My head was hurting beyond hurting…800 mg x 2 of ibuprofen did nothing for it. I was nauseous all evening and through Saturday. I was miserable!
In the last year, I’ve had the most infections/problems with my sinuses. Aside from my job location change, I have definitely kicked up the ice cream/shake habit because of easy access and now I’m wondering if I’ve been causing my own problems. I will do my best to eliminate them and all dairy completely. I do know that dairy is a cause for me, and I knew for a fact that ice cream always did me in, but I never thought that the flu-like symptoms could be attributed to the same.
Thanks for the info..
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Re: Ice Cream and Sinus Infections — This is TRUE! I’ve experienced it. Several times. Its so wonderful to eat ice cream but is it WORTH the aftereffect??
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I put drops pf peroxide in my ear after having a’ ruptured eardrum due to a serious sinus infection. I figured that since peroxide was a cure all I would try it (needed the relief), without researching the pros or cons.I came across your site and was amazed to find that some people experienced sinus infections after eating ice cream. I journeyed back in time and recalled that I had eaten Breyers Swiss Almond Ice Cream on Saturday, Sunday and then again on Tuesday. By Tuesday night I experienced a sever sinus headache and was completely stuffed up. By Wednesday night I was in the emergency room with sever pain in my right ear from a sinus infection. Thursday I returned to the doctor’s office after noticing blood in my ear and continued pain. The result, a ruptured eardrum! I tried the peroxide this morning, felt a little burning and got fearful, but by this afternoon NO PAIN! I put a couple more drops of peroxide in this evening with no burning sensation and no drainage. Not sure if its clearing up the infection but the pain sure disappeared and that hurt more than anything. I think you guys may be on to something.
Dee: The pain is caused by the bacteria in the ear canal which the hydrogen peroxide apparently killed it.The single most dangerous food I have encountered is actually eating ice cream or even sundae ice cream. Most major sickness I encountered is from eating them,especially before a major colds, major boils (hugeones almost fist sized – I ate an entire pound of ice
cream decades ago), and terrible weight gain.It contains both fats and sugar, the two worse component in a food. The temperature of the food lowers the body’s immune system, making it even worse.
Not only do they cause ear infections, allergies, acne, and a major pneumonia, the owners of several ice cream franchise, die early of a heart attack of obesity and diabetes (Burt Baskin), a double bypass surgery (Ben and Jerry’s), diabetes just from eating and selling ice cream.
I can go through the biochemical details why those happened, but just stop eating ice cream and sundae is about the best thing I can do to myself. In fact I always get fat from eating ice cream and sundae. There was an interesting interview of the son of the owner of Baskin Robbins in the movie, Super-Sized Me that adequately explained the health problems of eating ice
cream!
Fats are not the worst components of food. Some good fats are important and necessary for the body.
Ka
Most people had probably eaten bread and had water to drink in the past few days. Association does not imply causation.
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For the past few years I have noticed I felt really bad after eating Mc Donalds,Wendy’s & Dairy Queen ice cream products. The family travels a lot, so during car trips, we stop for a treat of ice cream. After eating the product, I would get a very intense headache, then a crappy feeling with mucus starting in my throat and nose. I knew it was the ice cream because that’s all I had eaten. I always travel with garlic and vitamin c , so I would take them and I would feel better by morning.This is sad because as a child (30 yrs ago ) my father would treat the family to a Wendy’s Frosty and I never got sick from it. It is scary what companies are doing to our food!!!
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YES! I DID EAT AN ICECREAM 24 HOURS BEFORE I CONTRACTED THE SINUS INFECTION!!! Wow. That is amazing. I feel terrible. I will try and cure it with the ACV. Thanks.
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For the past couple weeks I have had reoccuring earaches, scratchy throat, watering eyes and feeling icky in the evening. I had no idea why it kept happening and went away mysteriously. I have been trying to eat up some Breyers ice cream in our freezer so we could buy new flavors. It makes perfect sense since any nite that I ate it I ended up going to bed early from fatigue and feeling bad. The next day my ears hurt and eyes water. I will try a remedy to see if it will clear it up and NOT eat anymore ice cream to test your theory! Thanks for the info!
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I was glad and felt blessed when I came these comments. I was confused and don’t know what was going on then I hop in the computer looking for an answer and there I found it. Me and my husband went to Dairy Queen in Seattle for an estimate, while waiting, the owner ordered us two large blizzards a Banana split and strawberry cheese cakes blizzard. I don’t eat ice cream all the time, it taste good but I dont go along with sugar. I ended ate the whole banana split then husband ate the other. It was a hot day, but when we got home I felt a little tingling in my throat that make me choke and I have watery eyes. Not very long, I felt very weak and fatigue but kept on coughing and felt there is something stuck on my throat. I couldn’t sleep on that night and get very restless and coming down with coughing and when spit out blood was on my saliva. I know there was something wrong and I suspected that was icecream but not so sure. I did a lot of home treatment pouring oil on a cup of hotwater and lemon juice and drank 13cups it felt better but then it started again. It’s getting better, but I was glad to read the other commentators and we should let the health dept know, I was very very sick. Thanks for your information again and will let others know about Dairy Queen icecream.
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On Sunday I had a small swirl cone from Dairy Queen. On Monday my entire body ached, my head felt like it was going to explode, I was congested with a sore throat. I had cold chills and hot flashes and I was extremely weak. I came home from work and went to bed. I called off today and just now pulled myself out of bed to do some research on what was wrong with me. I had assumed I had a sinus infection but never thought it could be from eating an ice cream cone from Dairy Queen. When I entered my symptoms in google and your site came up I was taken aback especially since within 24 hours I thought I was dying and within 48 hours still had syptoms but they were not as bad. Thanks for the insight.
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Hi there, I’d love to say that this is concept isn’t true for me, but I’ve been suffering from a sinus infection that started 2 days after eating a frozen yoghurt at Pinkberry. Thanks for this research, I’m adding it to my arsenal for my clients.
i would like to reply to all the “nays” that people have against the idea that earth clinic is saying that ice cream may be causing sinus infections. i would have to agree with earth clinic on this one, but people, we have to look at this level headed. i dont think that Earth clinic is saying this is the ONLY reason and source of all our sinus infections. But that it may be a great cause. taking into consideration that we all get sinus infections due to different reasons, we are imperfect, we live in an atmosphere of pollutants including those that are in our foods. So no, this theory doesnt sound as ridiculous as our “car keys” causing sinus infections but is very probable that the things we eat that are artifical, such as the ice cream theory, aggravate our health. and if we don’t eat ice cream and still get sinus infections, then we are getting them from other sources. that’s like people who smoke may get lung cancer, but you can get it if you don’t smoke. i would also like to say that i came upon this page because i have a sinus infection brought on by allergies, and the acv and cayenne pepper have been helping.
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I read your article on how the ingredients of certain kinds of ice cream can affect your sinus infection. I was amazed, cause I have been suffering with this for around two weeks. I retraced my steps, and to my amazement, it was a day or so, after eating ice cream, that my sinus infection occurred. Now I am in the process of dring Apple Cider Vinigar. Thansk for the insight.
I get sinus infects no matter what and the seem to get worse when I do drink milk.. if what you say is true then why does this happen?
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This is amazing. A couple of years ago I would experience exactly the same thing after eating Ben & Jerry’s New York Super Chunk Fudge. I would joke it gave me sinus infections. But, if I avoided it and other chocolate ice creams, I significantly reduced the frequency and severity of sinus infections.
I haven’t been to a Baskin Robbins for about 15 years. I’m moderate in my dairy consumption. I’m strict about eating only foods that I recognize as being plant or animal matter (with the exception of salt). I buy organic whenever possible. I still get sinus infections all the time. I am IgG deficient, which means my body does not produce enough of the substances it needs to fight off bacteria. When I’m ill with a VIRUS, the bacteria take advantage of the situation and party hardy. Baskin Robbins has nothing to do with my illnesses.
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YES- sinus infection following McDonalds! I had not had a sinus infection in over a year and it may have been that long since I had ice cream. Last saturday- soft serve McDonalds. next day and for five days after- sinus infection. I found this site looking for cures (ACV) and then came across this!!!!
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I must say that this is THE most ridiculous thing that I have ever read. But I find it even more ridiculous that it’s actually true! Last night I went with a bunch of friends to Dairy Queen and I got a strawberry shake. 3 hours later, when I was back at home, I started to feel rather crappy so I just went to bed. I am now still in bed with flu like symptoms. This has NEVER happened to me before. Why does it happen to some people and not others? Why am I experiencing this now where I have not before?
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My wife and I consumed banana splits at the Dairy Queen restaurant located here. It is both ironic and weird that I came down with fake flu/sinus infections after eating banana splits. I only get sinus infections after 48-60 hours after eating banana splits there…Nowhere else. I only go there about 5-6x a year and…well there you have it! Right on schedule. I took the normal cold/flu capsules from Costco Wholesale (I stock up) and it subsides rather quickly.
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Like many others, I believe that milk causes many problems and creates more mucus in the body. It never really stopped me from eating it – I just “knew” it. But I’m not a big milk product consumer anyway. A slice of cheese here and there. A little cream in my coffee. But my weakness is ice cream. Generally – I prefer a single brand “Breyers” that I can’t recall having problems with, but occassionally – I’ll take my daughter out for a treat somewhere. One day we were out and stopped for lunch – on a whim, I got a milk-shake. A rare treat for me. Inside of 24 hours – I started to feel sick. My husband – an EMT (a PURE organic eater and non-milk drinker), swore I had the flu. But it never *felt* like the flu to me. About 24 hours into the “flu” I started looking up info about ACV – something I’d researched before after suffereing a horrible bout of food poisoning a year earlier. I found this site and originally discounted what it had to say. *I* hadn’t eaten any ice cream! Then I REALLY thought about what I’d been eating – and yep, I remembered the milk shake. AH… I started right in on the ACV and within 24 hours felt better. Yep – it was truly an allergic reation I was having. I’ve gotten several friends (who were suffereing with sinus problems for weeks) to try the ACV as well and they ALL report great improvement. I’ve stayed away from commercial ice cream since then (but I still get my milk in my coffee) and I can report a clear sinus passage with nary an infection again. I learned my lesson! And I keep a supply of ACV at ALL times.
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I find it hilarious how all these people mock you, yet they don’t seem to have read at all. We’re talking about artificial flavors here.. not lactase. I think you guys should look around at other things such as drinks. There are more artificial flavors in drinks now than there ever were. Personally, i can taste the difference between the real and artificial/so called natural. The drinks that really seem to bother me are these flavored waters. I always feel sick after having one and usually refuse them when offered. I like your style and wow am I glad to find out that I’m not the only one who’s a bit cynical about the crap they’re putting in food these days.
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Whoa, I was reading the many comments about BR ice cream when I realized that I too have had a bad reaction. I love their Mocha Blasts (containing a scoop of ice cream) but have had to give them up due to the terrific headache that I get 2 days later. I was thinking the headache was due to the caffeine
It all started with a runny nose and led into a horrible sinus infection, which i then gave to my girlfriend while i still harbor the cold. My ears have felt like i have been on an airplane in flight for the past 5 days. No matter how much mucous with blood i cough up or blow in a tissue it doesn’t make a difference. i did not have ice cream or anything of the sort. It is called a virus for a reason. I think car keys caused the infection. That is how silly the theory sounds! Let’s take something us humans have a soft spot for and start blaming as the source of the colds. The source is the wicked winter lowering our immune systems, coupled with stress and whatever other b.s. we deal with on a daily basis.
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I too have a sinus problem now. I ate Dreyers over three weeks ago, came down with the same problem and within a day I started feeling week. The next day after that I developed sinus problems that I have been battling for two weeks. This morning I coughed up a huge chunk of mucus with blood in it. After that, I started feeling fine. I still have a slight cough but I really think it’s over now. I happen to have some penicillin from awhile back. I just couldn’t stand it anymore. It worked. But I let my system get rid of the penicillin naturally and then I just drink a lot of water, lemon with honey in it and I have a juice I get here in California called Lemon Ginger Echinacea. It really boosts the immune system. I also found saline solution works.
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Cayenne is a cureall. I thought I was the only one who knew the connection between dairy and sinusitis and the flu, every time I drink milk or eat ice cream, I get sick with sinus problems and then came down with the flu. Cayenne with distilled water, lemon juice and acv, was the only cure which helped me flush out the fever. This may sound crazy, but dairy products make me moody and emotional, like I can feel how “SAD” the cows are, I try to only do organic dairy now.
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Ice Cream Theory: I believe your ice cream theory is correct. Last Wed, I ate a oreo ice cream at Dairy Queen, within 2 hours I felt weak..flu like symptoms. I had a throbbing head ache, fever, sore body (basically could not move). Which lasted about 24 hours. It is Friday and I feel a little better after taking OTC medicine. I am going to take apple vinegar. But where do I buy it?
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It’s kinda like navigating a maze. Yes, I’ve found a connection between ice cream and currently still take milk with my coffee. Am finally making the break to Almond Milk. Likewise, I have found the yellow-brown mucous. ALthough I’ve been told yellow/ green is going to be infection more often. Also, find when I take most cold care products they often seem to start causing me lung funk. At first I thought your sinuses can drain to your lungs. I’m told that isn’t possible, and when I take Robitussin it clogs my sinuses. Not sure what the deal is there. I have tried ACV in a shot glass but didn’t do every day, and only once a day with water. No luck. Tried eating a raw onion. Nothing. I also did shots of lemon juice, cayenne, and honey. Nothing. Antibiotics actually got it to start going, but didn’t get it gone… my current doc gave me a months worth of antibiotics and said if that doesn’t work… CT scan. EEK. I’ll up the dosage of ACV, and see if it helps. Thanks
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Well Boy did I come down with a doozy this year.It recently got cold and started to snow so I figured that was the reason until I came across your site.The connection between ice cream and sinus problems came up. And what do you know just the night before and a few nights before actually I had been eating ice cream,Which I never eat but my roommate brought it home. I went and got ACV. I boiled it and inhaled it. I was so stuffed up I didn’t even noticed or could tell the fumes were strong.Well after about 5 min after the inhaling was complete…The only word I can use to describe this action is Hocked….I hocked up a good amount of phlegm through my throat.It was yellow and very thick .I can breath better but will still continue the treatment for the rest of the evening. Thanks for the tip.
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Oh my gosh! I am glad I came across this site. My husband thought I was crazy, but I get a sinus infection about two to three day’s after eating ice cream at Dairy Queen. We have a dairy queen right by our house, and my husband eats their a lot, and doesn’t seem to have any problems. For some reason I do, and I have stopped eating Dairy Queen and most ice creams because I was tired of getting sinus infections. Thank you for sharing this with the world. I don’t get many sinus infections anymore because I don’t eat ice cream.
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OMG the ice cream REALLY was true. i ate ice cream a few says ago and now i have a wicked sinus infection!!! BTW Cloves help with sore throats! thanks i LOVE this site!!!
As much as I don’t believe in eating foods that are processed with additives and preservatives I don’t really think it’s what is causing peoples reactions to eating ice cream. If you ask any Chinese medicine practitioner they will tell you that ice cream is very cold in nature and dairy is considered damp in nature. When you put the two together it’s causing a cold/damp condition in the body. An acupuncturist could probably explain this much better but I’ve know n for years that when I eat ice cream I’m taking a huge risk that I might get sick the next day.
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I have been battling a sinus infection all week that is also accompanied by a sort of flu which has mostly receded. I found it interesting to note that, the day before i was taken ill i had indulged in a very sugary frozen yogurt, something i never usually eat. if i find a remedy(I’m allergic to antibiotics) ill let you know. thanks.
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Ice Cream/Sinus Connection: I have been in utter pain for the past couple of days & after just reading the ice cream/sinus theory I recalled that Sunday evening before I had the headache I had a Frostee @ Wendy’s. I don’t eat them very often, as I don’t like chocolate ice cream, but they have vanilla now. If I hadn’t been so miserable, I would might think this theory is ridiculous, but it isn’t. I eat lots of dairy, but never milk, just soy milk.. keep up the good work!
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I wanted to tell you that I thought my family was having a mass attack of sinuses! I believe it started last weekend with the purchase of 1/2 gallon of Blue Belle ice cream We don’t eat it all the time but maybe with the onset of fall it seems to have brought about a horrible round of infections for all of us! To make it worse, I bought a pint of Marsha Marsha Marshmallow by Ben & Jerry’s on Monday, November 6. I ate a little bit but not much and put it in the freezer at work. On Tuesday, November 7, I ate the rest of it by late afternoon.
Now my son and I have been having chronic stuffiness for several weeks. The clogging was stuck behind my nose and would not budge and I got no relief from over the counter decongestants.
On Wednesday I started getting a headache which continued into the Thursday when I started getting a sore throat and even more stuffiness with no way to get it out. Saline spray wasn’t working and still got no relief from any over the counter medications.
Friday I woke up with the worst feeling ever – I couldn’t even move or function. I was literally glued to the bed with flu-like symptoms, a raging sore throat with no was to get rid of the mucous clogged up in the back of my nose. It was horrible.By Saturday I had to go to the doctor for a shot of cortisone, a prescription for antibiotics and a prescription decongestant.
So now today, Sunday, I have to take my daughter in because her throat is sore, her ear hurts and she is stuffy too. Poor thing! I was reading online about natural remedies for sinusitis and stumbled on the ice cream connection.
It totally makes sense! I will be more valiant in avoiding ice cream and switch to italian ice or some other milk-free product. Tofutti makes great soy products (and I now drink only soy milk which I think is the next step for my kids.) It seems we need to get back to more natural products and stay away from processed foods. I’m definitely putting apple cider vinegar on my shopping list today to give it a try.
Please!!! Do NOT start your children on soy products! You will be trading one problem for another one. As one who suffers from hypothyroidism, soy products deplete thyroid hormones. Many children who were given soy based infant formulas as babies started suffering from hypothyroidism by the time they were about 12 years old. Do NOT do this to your children. Almond or rice milk is better and tastes pretty good–but watch the sugar content–some have no sugar added.
Concerning sinus infections and their relationship to ice cream, I would like to comment on the pasteurization of milk and its products there of. The pasteurization of milk kills the enzymes that enables the body to process and assimilates its benefits. When products of pasteurized milk are consumed, it basically sits rotting in the small intestine, which resides in the same meridian as the sinuses, thus, causing inflammation and quite often sinus infection. Raw milk products from cows raised in mineral rich pastures, fed only grasses and no grain, produce a milk highly beneficial and easily assimilated by our human bodies. It is loaded with fat soluble vitamins, A , D, and E, minerals and enzymes. So don’t knock out ice cream all together, it can still be enjoyed by making your own with fresh raw milk.
There is a definite link between milk and sinus/throat infection. For years I have been pestered with ‘quinsy’ or infection, swelling, nausea, congestion of back of the sinuses, which spreads up and down and sometimes into chest. Anyway, twice a year (in sync with the AC/heat turning on and drying out the air) I would wake up with my nose passages bone dry right to the back of my skull. Then the mucus built up in the back up of my nose and things swelled up, got nauseous, and generally nasty. After my last case I realized that it had come directly after a warm milk craze in which I would drink a big cup of warm milk with honey every night for several days. This was no ordinary milk either, this was all natural organic milk (but pasteurized). I gave up milk and no problems since. Pasteurized milk links directly to your sinuses.
I really like spicy chili and herbs for clearing the sinuses. However, dairy is not the problem. Homogenized, pasteurized dairy is. It is too bad that raw milk, butter, and cheese are not allowed in most states.
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AFTER THREE STRAIGHT WEEKS OF THE WORST SINUS ISSUES I HAD EVER HAD TO DEAL WITH, I FINALLY REALIZED THAT DAIRY WAS THE CAUSE OF ALL MY PAIN. NOT JUST ICE CREAM BUT ALL DAIRY PRODUCTS CAUSE MINE. I HAD PIZZA FOR DINNER LAST NIGHT AND WAS UP ALL NIGHT WITH A SWOLLEN THROAT, COUGHING, AND BLOWING MY NOSE. I HOPE THIS HELPS SAVE PEOPLE THE PAIN OF FINDING OUT ON THEIR OWN. GIVE THE COW PRODUCTS UP!
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A week ago Monday I had a large Frosty at Wendys, by Wednesday pm I felt like I had the flu and a day or two later my head was pounding and I invested in tissue stocks. I’m trying Advil and Nyquil, no luck.
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I normally do not suffer from Sinusitis or eat ice cream, but since I gave up smoking 4 years ago, I love eating the stuff and cannot believe how ill I have been. Sinusitis is one of my problems. I will definitely stop eating the stuff till I can prove otherwise.
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I couldn’t believe what i was reading. i had flu like symptoms, took my temperature and everything and two days later i had a full blown sinus infection. the ice cream that i ate was Breyers ice cream. unfortunately i didn’t find your web site in time for a home cure. i got a prescript for an antibiotic today. ten days was long enough with the sinus and headaches.
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I was looking for an at-home remedy and seen that ice cream is linked to sinus infections. Believe it or not I had eaten ice cream at Dairy Queen and went home, hours later I felt like I was coming down with something. It started just with a running nose. While sleeping off and on the symptoms worsened. It’s the next morning were I have a sinus infection. It hit hard and fast, with no warning. No cold, not anything. I believe that the ice cream sent me into overdrive.
I do not think it is the ice cream or dairy products that are causing the infection or more likely inflammation. There is a link though. The calcium in dairy products is probably triggering the release of gastrin that results in increased stomach acid. Gastric reflux of this acid can cause both sinusitis and asthma like symptoms. I would say this is GERD causing your problems.
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Wanted to correct an earlier posting by an individual claiming that Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream contains sorbitol. Only the sugar-free varieties contain sorbitol, not the regular stuff.
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I read your article on ice cream being the cause of sinus infection. I have a severe case right now and just as you stated 48 hours ago I had some ice cream, which I normally don’t eat. Thanks for the info.
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i just wanted to comment on the ice cream issue. it definitely causes sinus infections. i have suffered for years with my sinuses. as much as i love it i have vowed never to take another spoonful of the stuff. i can be ok and somewhat clear outside of my allergies and the moment i get weak and eat that vanilla i develop so much mucus as a result that i can hardly breath. take my advice don’t touch it.
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That is so strange. I ate an ice cream drumstick and the next day I had a full blown cold. Then the following day I ate Bryers Carb Smart Rocky Road and when I woke up the following day my sinuses were killing me and my cold was even worse..
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I think there is a true link between dairy products and sinus infections. If I consume dairy products, I get congested for nearly 3 days. If my daughter (who is 4) consumes dairy then about 2 days later she does develop a sinus infection. We now use Rice cheese, rice milk, and soy or rice ice cream in place of dairy products.
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Just wanted to let you know that when i read this about Baskin Robin Ice i was in awe. My 3 year old daughter and I both got a very very bad sinus infection about 48hr after eating some Baskin Robin in Kennesaw,GA. It so happens that I ate Ice Cream at Baskins Robins a week ago and I have had a major sinus infection that I cant get rid off, I am on medication. I have never had a infection so severe in my life. I just so happen to eat a three scoop sundae. I never had such bad sinus infection ever. After going to my doctor and taking some medication for a few days and not doing better i decided to Google sinus infection and that’s how I found your web site. If there ever any action taken against Baskin Robin I sure want to be part of it. Thank you for your research as I surely will stay away from those stores
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I had a really bad cold for a few days, but it didn’t feel like a sinus infection, it was just a really bad cold. My cold started to go away, and I had a pushup ice cream thing. and like you said the next day my eyes were hurting, my nose was congested, and now I’m coughing up mucous every min. So you might be on to something about the ice cream.
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I had a terrible sinus infection that I was taking over the counter medicines for- with no luck. I stumbled onto this site and decided the ACV was worth a try. Also, I had eaten ice cream two days before my infection came on full blown- never knew about the ice cream link until this site. I took the mixture 3 times the first day, coupled with a saline spray, and saw immediate improvement. The next day was even better. I will continue this daily for my allergies. Thanks!
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For 5 days straight I had ice cream for a snack. then after the 5th day is when my sinus infection came on. Then I realized it was the ice cream. It was the Breyers brand that I had. I think that it is the milk product in the ice cream that is causing the sinus infection.
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I went downtown on like a 2l of ice cream and 24 hours later i’m sitting here with a freakin’ terrible sinus infection… So, I don’t understand why i’m having this big attack in May! I go to look up why you get them and there this big link with ice cream… freaky! It’s true!
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The ice cream sore throat theory — I believe it may be true! This morning I woke up with a sore throat, swollen glands, and flu like symptoms then I read on and see a link with ice cream. Guess what I had for dessert last night….Yes ice cream! I have tried the ACV for my throat and it has definitely helped. Thank You to this site!
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I had a blizzard from dairy queen on saturday april 29. Yesterday I started having sinus problems and by today I have a full blown sinus infection. I haven’t had sinus problems in a good while. That’s odd.
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I’ve had chronic sinus problems my entire life. I stopped eating ice cream in 1997. (It’s now 2006) So, there obviously are other causes of sinus problems besides ice cream. I also stopped all dairy for a long period of time to no avail. I think antibiotics are the cause of many sinus problems, ensuing candida/yeast infections. Ice cream does constrict the blood vessels to the sinus area, so it may simply be that regarding ice cream sinus problems.
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Sugar in Ice Cream depresses the immune system, the infection fighting white blood cells. Milk also causes a mucous build. I always got a sinus infection after this combo!
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I have to agree about the link between dairy product and sinus infections. I normally stay away from milk products, but I do eat cheese and do not have any problems at all. For me it’s when I have ice cream or milk. I am now suffering from an all out sinus infection that started 3 days ago, and yes, I had some ice cream from Culver’s 4 nights ago. I know better than to eat ice cream and now all paths point to; if you eat it you will soon pay for it!
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I also experienced the same thing after eating ice cream however; I had ice cream from our local Rite-Aid. So I can definitely relate to others who have consumed ice cream or milk based products and later develop a sinus infection or flu like symptoms.
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I’ve had reoccurring sinus infection for 1 1/2 years. After pigging out on two “organic” choc./vanilla ice cream bars, I got another, big-time infection the very next day. Milk and dairy have always been tied to more mucus production. Add the immune-lowering sugars and the cilia-slowing coldness, and you got problems!
Dairy is the cause of sinus infections and allergies- we humans are not supposed to be drinking cow’s milk- its for baby cows. I drink 8th continent soy milk now. Sometimes I do cheat and eat ice cream and am very miserable-like today. I won’t do it again-its not worth the pain. Also, for the record, lots of illness started happening when folks started bleaching flour and using white sugar-which lowers the immune system. A good book to read is Ellen G. White’s book.
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I find this very weird, but after reading this I have to admit it must be true. I’ve had extreme sinus pressure for 4 days now and I did finish of some Haggen Dazs Ice cream the night before this all started. Too weird.
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I didn’t realise this until just a few hours ago, but 3 days ago i went to Cold Stone Creamery and brought home ice cream for myself, my little sister & brother, and my dad. My mom was the only one who didn’t want any ice cream. That was last friday night. On Sunday, my brother, sister, dad, and myself all got sick & we’ve been sick since (today is tuesday). My mom is doing just fine. Coincidence?
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When i read about the link between ice cream and throat infections i was not surprised because i currently have a PAINFUL throat infection that i’ve had on and off since last summer. whenever i started having symptoms my mom would buy me a frosty from wendy’s and this time a shake from steak n’ shake. every time the infections have gotten so much worse after consumption of the ice cream. i’ve come to the conclusion that milk is horrible for the sore throat too.
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Just ran across this site trying to understand some painful sinus and tooth pain I experience infrequently. Very sudden onset lasting about 45 minutes – – has occurred twice after long bike rides at the beach followed by a large serving of Dreyer’s ice cream! I wasn’t sure if it was the physical activity, the beach weather, or what. Now I am wondering if the ice cream has anything to do with it. Next time – – NO ICE CREAM.
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This is so weird… after logging on and looking for a home remedy for sinus infections, I stumbled onto the Dairy Queen area theory! I had a Heath Blizzard on Sunday and on Monday evening had a sore throat, cough, and congestion that is still with me 4 days later. I can live without ice cream if that’s all it takes to avoid sinus infections! Thanks!!
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I just started taking Airborne effervescent as a cold preventative yesterday. Had no congestion before I took the first one, but within an hour, I was congested! One of the ingredients – yep, sorbitol. I took it once more and then stopped and the congestion went away after about 6 hours. I bet that’s the ingredient causing the infections. Suppose some people are sensitive to it.
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Many bacteria thrive in a temperature just under our normal body temperature. That is why we get most of our respiratory infections occurring in the winter; the colder air cools the sinus passages. It is also why summer colds are so hard to get rid of, they’re heat resistant. Eating ice cream could have the same effect. Some interesting studies are being done on introducing “good” bacteria (bacteria that aid us in fighting off bad bacteria) back into our sinus passages after modern medicine indiscriminately killed off all bacteria in there attempt to “cure us”. Stay away from ice cream especially in cold weather, and wear a mask over your face so you retain more of your body’s heat when breathing when you go out in the cold.