LITTLE Daniel Barker has good reason to smile - and its all thanks to a herd of goats.

From the day he was born, Daniel, aged two, was constantly sick, suffered terrible tummy aches and never slept through the night.

His troubled mother, Jayne, of Badger Hill, York, sought medical help when he was seven weeks old and rushed to hospital after choking on his own vomit.

Although he was given medicine for a reflux problem, his unhappiness continued until a friend suggested removing cow's milk from his diet.

Within four days of drinking goats milk, Daniel was a different little boy, cried much less and even slept through the night.

"From the day he was born he was never settled," said Jayne, 32.

"He cried an awful lot and seemed to be uncomfortable and he was sick all the time.

"At first I thought he was a whiny baby, but he got worse and he had diarrhoea and he never, ever slept through the night.

"After a friend suggested swapping cows milk for goats milk everything changed.

"Four days later he slept through the night for the first time; the change in him was amazing."

Jayne still gives Daniel small amounts of cows milk now and again, but it still brings on diarrhoea and tummy ache.

"I don't think he is allergic to cows' milk because he doesn't have hives or anything like that, but then the doctors have always been reluctant to carry out tests," she said.

"It has made such a difference to his life, and to mine, it really has changed his life."

Daniel is among the 70 per cent of people questioned in a recent survey conducted by St Helen's Farm, at Seaton Ross, York, who claim goats milk has improved their health.

Forty-five per cent of consumers questioned reported improved digestion.

Twenty-six per cent experienced a reduction in catarrh and 15 per cent reported an improvement in eczema.

St Helen's Farm, which produces goats milk, has launched Thank Goodness For Goats Week (July 25 to 29) to celebrate its success.

For information, log on to www.sthelensfarm.co.uk

:: Allergy or intolerance?

SARAH Dowson, of York-based Yorktest, said she did not know whether Daniel had an allergy or intolerance to milk, but stressed the key differences.

She said: "An allergy is a reaction in your body to eating, touching or smelling something that you cannot cope with.

"The reaction is normally immediate and the symptoms might include itchy skin, swelling and wheezing. Severe allergic reactions can lead to anaphylaxis.

"When you are intolerant to a food your body doesn't completely digest it, allowing incompletely digested food to enter the bloodstream where it is treated as an 'invader' by the immune system.

"The immune system is designed to recognise and attack any 'invaders' and in some people this triggers the production of an antibody known as Immunoglobulin G (IgG).

"Unlike an allergy, usually more than one food is involved, meaning self diagnosis is difficult especially as a reaction of intolerance from a particular food may take up to four or five days to become apparent.

"Common illnesses and conditions such as asthma, eczema, migraine, IBS, arthritis, fatigue, sinusitis, anxiety, general feelings of being 'down' and general aches and pains are all conditions influenced by food intolerance."

Updated: 10:00 Friday, July 22, 2005