I just watched an interview that I did with a local fitness expert on dairy. I am a bit disappointed in myself because there are so many things I could have said. It’s hard to summarize a huge question in a short period of time so I am going to try to express my true feelings right now.
This question was asked of me. “What is bad about dairy?” Oh my. That’s like the question of the year for me. Here are my true thoughts.
I love dairy. I still maintain that for my last meal I would eat an entire Pizza Hut pepperoni lovers pizza. But I would only eat it on my last day because I would feel like death if I ever ate that again. What I am trying to say is that I didn’t grow up being a dairy hater, nor did I ever want to quit eating it. I had to live with a dairy allergy getting so severe that I thought I was dying. Literally.
So I did what most people who think they are really sick do. Research. It turns out that my repeated sinus infections and 4 consecutive rounds of antibiotics were really not necessary. I didn’t ever have sinusitis, I had a dairy allergy that was causing sinus trouble. My passion now comes from a desire to spare you and your family illness and antibiotics that may not be necessary. Here is some important information for all of the people flirting with the idea of removing dairy from their diet.
1. Dairy is a good source of calcium? Dairy makes our bodies acidic so in order to restore the PH level our bodies are forced to leech calcium from our bones. So if you look at a glass of milk vs a glass of enriched rice milk and notice the rice milk has less calcium don’t let that bother you. Chances are you aren’t absorbing the calcium from the dairy anyway (maybe even losing some) so actually absorbing the lower calcium content from the rice milk leaves you better off.
2. Dairy is a good protein source? Cow’s milk contains a protein called casein that is good to make wood glue. For real. Cow’s milk contains 300% more casein that human breast milk. Imagine all that glue like substance in your body. I believe it can inhibit the absorption of minerals and nutrients including protein.
3. Cheese is addicting. I will agree with this one. Casein has an opiate like effect that they believe is intended to soothe baby calves while they nurse. A baby calf weighs a lot so can you imagine the amount of opiates we take in with even a little dairy. It does take 10 pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese so there is a ton of opiates in cheese. It makes sense you would feel addicted to it.
4. Dairy is good for weight loss. New evidence is pointing to dairy sensitivities causing weight gain up to 30 lbs a year. In short, dairy can cause inflammation that does not allow your food to digest and can even cause irritable bowel syndrome. How many people do you know with IBS?
5. Organic milk is hormone free. Even without the use of hormones or antibiotics you are still drinking breast milk from a lactating cow. Lactating cows have hormones.
6. We are the only mammal that drinks another mammal’s breast milk. Cow’s milk contains lactose. Most of us lack the enzyme called lactase needed to break down lactose after age or 3 or so. Why would that be? Is our body designed to drink it? I know a baby cow is because they can digest it. It’s worth a thought at least.
Probably the most convincing argument for me is how well some autistic children do on a casein free diet. Casein is the part of dairy that truly scares me because there is such a high amount in dairy, and it acts like a drug.
I lost weight right after I started my dairy free lifestyle. I actually couldn’t believe it. Now three of my girlfriends have experienced the same thing. So even if it’s just weight loss you’re after, going dairy free will do that and make you feel better. It’s not the end of the world, it’s the beginning of an even better one.