I've talked a little bit about my relationship with dairy and if you follow my meal plans, you've no doubt seen that I include a lot of optional substitutes for the dairy in recipes, but I wanted to take a second to put it all in one concise place that's easy to reference.
Dairy was one of the first food groups to get the boot during my extended elimination - from my nutrition practice experience, I have gained extensive knowledge of inflammation and inflammatory foods and I had a suspicion that dairy could be playing a role in the symptoms I was dealing with. Even with that suspicion gnawing in my brain, I thought giving up dairy would be really difficult, mostly because I love cheese and we relied heavily on it for garnishing most of our meals, but giving up dairy was easier than I expected and probably because the changes I experienced when I took it out were almost instantaneous.
Ever wondered if you too should lay off the dairy? Here are some signs the milk in your coffee or melted cheese on your burrito may be messing with you…
GI Problems - constipation, diarrhea, stomach ache, cramping, bowel changes…you name it and if it’s a GI symptom it could definitely be associated with some form of dairy intolerance - not everything is black and white here people, it doesn't have to be a diagnosed lactose intolerance or nothing.
Acne - the best way to get rid of adult onset or hormonal acne? Ditch the dairy. Seriously.
Rosacea or Irritated Skin - my whole life I always thought I just had naturally "rosy" skin and don't get me wrong, plenty of people still love to tell me I'm sunburned if I step into the sunlight (I wear sunscreen, I promise - it's my just my color of tan people, it is what it is) but when I got rid of the dairy in my diet, my skin tone (particularly on my face) evened out remarkably. If I’m being honest here, I was really shocked by this.
Bloating - bloating is one of the most common symptoms women complain about and honestly, for many years, I ust thought it was a common symptom of life - something to be dealt with. Good news, it doesn't have to be. If you have persistent bloating, knocking off the dairy may help - and it definitely won't hurt.
Unexplained Fatigue - fatigue is a common symptom of food allergies or intolerances and inflammation so if you have a strong desire to take a nap or reach for another cup of coffee after eating a dairy-filled meal for lunch, you may consider looking into your dairy consumption - this was a big one for me.
Persistent Congestion - when Mason and I were first together, he took an allergy pill everyday - he said he'd always had allergies and blamed them mostly on pollen and seasons, but when he scaled back on the dairy, his need for that allergy medication disappeared completely. We were both astonished! Now he knows that if he eats pizza for dinner, the congestion is coming…but sometimes that's a sacrifice he's willing to make.
When people ask me about giving up dairy, I always tell them that the good news is for most people, dairy doesn't have to be an all or nothing thing. For many, dairy foods are simply mild irritants, stocking up inflammatory symptoms over time, and the key is to find your tolerance level - because I'm all about balance. I recommend doing this using a two-step approach:
Remove dairy altogether for 2-6 weeks. I like a longer elimination period personally because I feel like it allows for a more complete detox but you can definitely start to see a difference in as little as 2 weeks.
Slowly add back in minimal amounts of your favorite dairy products - a splash of milk in your coffee or a sprinkle of feta on your salad. The key is to not go overboard here (i.e. don't go order a large cheese dip at a Mexican restaurant) and give your body a fighting chance to properly digest what you're giving it. Continue with small amounts for several weeks and then, if you must, dig into to the pizza or cheese dip and observe your symptoms.
Finally, decide what level of symptom you can live with - if a couple slices of pizza every once in awhile is worth the possibility of a tummy ache for a couple hours, more power to ya - I know I've made that choice more than once.
Currently I live in a minimal dairy world - I don't reject it completely (love some salty feta and a good Queso) but when I can leave it out of a recipe, use a minimal amount or choose a non-dairy swap, I usually do. Here are my go-to non-dairy swaps I reach for again and again.
Milk --> My go-to is unsweetened almond milk (I don't have a particular favorite brand but if I'm just using it for smoothies or baking I like to buy Califia Farms Unsweetened Vanilla) but any of the many non-dairy milk options would work here.
Butter --> Ghee
Yogurt --> 2-Ingredient Coconut Yogurt
Cream Cheese --> Almond Milk Cream Cheese (my kids love this as much as the real thing)
Ice Cream --> Nada Moo Dairy-Free Frozen Dessert
Sour Cream --> Minimalist Baker's Vegan Sour Cream
When it comes to cheese, I'm not into the non-dairy cheeses - most of them taste funky to me so I just use a minimal amount.
As it pertains to the kiddos: since I eat plenty of leafy greens, take a multivitamin, probiotic and vitamin D supplement and eat an otherwise healthy diet, I generally don't worry about getting enough calcium, protein or fat. My kids, however, are not the best at eating their green, leafy vegetables and can be picky on proteins, eggs, and healthy fats like avocados or coconut, so I do keep yogurt and cheese stocked as optional snacks for them. My guidelines though are that they are generally allowed one dairy option as a snack and I always buy whole milk yogurt and cheese - whole milk dairy products still contain the good fats and have less sugar than their low-fat counterparts. As for milk, my kids have no problems drinking almond milk in place of regular dairy milk (although mostly they stick to water) and I always choose an unsweetened almond milk that is fortified with calcium and vitamin D.
If you're thinking about making a change to your dairy consumption and have questions, let me know. I'd be happy to give you any guidance I can!
