Dairy, does it stack up?

Dairy - how does it stack up?

 

Most adults cannot properly metabolize lactose. About 70 percent of the world’s population can't digest dairy, which can cause a myriad of unpleasant symptoms.

 It is important to consider that food intolerances affect our gut health, overall health, and can cause low lying inflammation in the body. This can have many negative effects in the long term, so if this is the case for you with dairy, why would you want to keep consuming it?

As Kiwis, consuming dairy products as part of an overall healthy diet has been the norm forever. However, up to date research is now proving that dairy in most forms is a food that causes more harm than good in many people.

Another important fact when it comes to dairy is that cow's milk is meant to support rapid growth in baby calves, it was not meant for human consumption. It is especially important to consider this fact if you struggle with your weight.

In this month’s segment I outline what some of the signs are that dairy is not such a great health food, and what types of dairy can be the most problematic.

 

So how do you know if the effects on you are positive or negative? 

 

 Have you suffered from any of the following?

 

• Diarrhoea or constipation 
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Weight gain 
• Gas 
• Bloating
• Skin conditions 
• Acne
• Eczema 
• Post nasal drip 
• Constant needing to clear your throat
• Excess mucous
• Sinus/breathing problems
• Headaches
• Joint pain 
• Reflux
• Heartburn 

These symptoms can be relevant to other food or environmental sensitivities too. It is really important for your wellbeing to start taking notice of these symptoms, when they do occur try to keep note of what you have eaten in the past 24 hours that may have affected this. You might just start to recognise a pattern.

 

Most people who are intolerant to dairy will have had some symptoms before, other signs could be.

 

• The feeling that you don't like the taste of milk or you wouldn't drink it on its own.
• Strong cravings for dairy products - we often crave foods that we are intolerant to.
• Eating of certain dairy products makes you feel sick, for example, ice cream or a milkshake.

 
It is also common for newborn babies to struggle to digest cow’s milk. Babies can be so sensitive, that breastfeeding mothers with colicky or refluxy babies remove cow's milk from their diet first as a treatment for these conditions. There is often improvement in the baby’s symptoms once dairy is completely eliminated from the mother's diet.

 

Here is my own personal story about dairy and my tips on how to reduce and or eliminate dairy from your diet 

 

This is something that has really affected my family, and we are now a dairy free household (apart from good quality butter). My son was diagnosed with cow's milk proctocolitis at 12 weeks old (infants cow milk allergy). He is a happy busy almost three-year-old now, but he is also intolerant to several other foods and we are still managing his diet carefully as his digestive system slowly improves with age. This condition is becoming more common, and I suspect it comes from environmental factors, as well as underdeveloped digestive systems in utero based on the mother’s gut health at the time of conception - another very important reason to focus on your gut health. This is a whole other monthly segment that I will come back to in the coming months.

 

Symptoms in children of dairy intolerance can be slightly different to adults and some of these can be;
behavioral problems, eczema and skin rashes, bloody/mucousy stools, diarrhoea or constipation, reflux, asthma, breathing difficulties and being sick often.

 

An example of how this intolerance can affect children is recurring infections affecting ears, nose and throat/chest. Necessary surgery may be required such as having adenoids out and grommets in and or having tonsils removed. One reason dairy can be a factor in this is that it is mucous forming and children have very small eustachian tubes which can easily be blocked up with excess mucous. This mucous and inflammation can be hard to completely clear. Sometimes these infections require treatment with antibiotics as well which affects the gut health and immunity of the child creating a nasty cycle.

 

In my own experience with my family, we have seen big improvements in many of the symptoms I have outlined that have been overcome with dietary adjustments - and I am not saying this has been easy but it has 100% been worth it. 

 

I have recently learnt that the A1 protein in cow’s milk is what most people are intolerant to and struggle to digest and goat’s milk does not contain this but A2 protein which doesn't cause inflammation - so you could try this as an alternative if you feel you may be better off without dairy but still want to enjoy some goat’s cheese. Good quality organic butter can be a beneficial food containing good fats and nutrients, and ghee (clarified butter), which contains almost no lactose can be a good choice too for cooking when you want a buttery flavour.

 

Some information you might find helpful when considering your dairy intake 

 

• Milk has the highest lactose - usually the most troublesome, also containing the least amount of benefits when you consume it. 
• Cheese contains lower lactose, some people can tolerate cheese and not milk, you could experiment with hard or soft cheese.
• Yoghurt - is also lower in lactose, and can contains beneficial bacteria. Avoid anything with sugar or artificial sweetener and stick to Greek style with probiotics or better still switch to a high fat coconut yogurt like Raglan coconut yogurt. http://raglancoconutyoghurt.co.nz/

 

Butter - is high in fat but it is low in casein and lactose (the proteins that are hard to digest).
In 2016 a group of leading scientists did an analysis of nine of the best studies on butter and health, which included consumption data on 636,000 people over many years, and they concluded that there was no link between butter and heart disease.  They also found that butter was protective against diabetes. This doesn't mean you should consume butter in huge amounts but you can enjoy it as part of your cooking, I don't however recommend lashings of it on white bread! Instead use it for cooking eggs, fish or as part of a bulletproof coffee. 

 

You don't need to consume dairy to have strong bones, but you do need calcium. 

 

Here is a list of some foods containing high levels of calcium 

 

• Sesame seeds, 1/4 cup contain 351 milligrams of calcium
• Sardines with bones 1 small can 351 milligrams 
• Silverbeet, 1 cup 268 milligrams 
• Canned sustainable salmon, 188 milligrams
• Bok-Choy, 1 cup 158 milligrams
• Almonds dry roasted, 60 grams 150 milligrams
• Cow’s milk 240 ml 276 milligrams
• Spinach, 1 cup 245 milligrams

 

So you could swap one milky coffee per day for one cup of spinach for the equivalent calcium intake.

 

If some of this information resonates with you, I challenge you to take a dairy free trial for seven days, ensure you completely eliminate it - you will need to check labels and watch out for casein, milk protein, buttermilk, milk fat and whey. These are all milk products. On the eighth day re-introduce one normal serving of milk/cheese/yogurt and notice if you have any symptoms. If you have a negative reaction I would suggest taking a 30 day break and when you re-introduce it try lower lactose dairy first, or you may find you feel better off without it in your diet.

 

When I first gave up dairy for seven days whilst pregnant all my joint pain went away (I couldn't believe it) and I was also very surprised how clean my mouth and throat felt - the excess mucous was gone. I experimented with the 80/20 rule with dairy after I finished feeding my son, but I found I felt much better with it 100 percent out of my diet. My eczema completely cleared up and my digestion was also improved. This is my experience, and I have also had some excellent results with clients who have heavily reduced or completely removed dairy from their diets. However, it is important to note that each person is unique and it is best to listen to your body and take note of what really works for you.

 

If you feel ready to take on an elimination trial with dairy or another food but are not sure where to start, I would love to help to guide you. 

Or come and join my next Autumn wellness series in the evening focusing on Balance for working women, starting on the Wednesday 9th May in Takapuna, email me reneerigden@icloud.com to reserve your space today.

References for my facts and statistics on dairy come from the inspirational doctor Mark Hyman's latest book 'What the heck should I eat?'. He is an amazing person to follow if you appreciate functional medicine as I do. @markhymanmd

http://www.foodthebook.com/