As dairy allergies and lactose intolerance are becoming more common, more people are eliminating milk and cheese from their diets. Dairy foods can be a contributing factor in skin problems, asthma, diarrhea or constipation, stomach troubles and gas. Other benefits of going dairy-free may include a drop in blood cholesterol levels, weight loss and relief from indigestion or chronic stomach problems.
What about Milk and Calcium?
Many people seem to think they will be missing out on vital nutrients if they don’t drink milk. This is really one of those myths reinforced by the dairies. In fact, current research suggests green vegetables, such as kale and broccoli, may be better than milk as a source of calcium. The fat content of milk, other than skimmed, is high as a percentage of total calories.
Milk and Iron Deficiency
Milk is very low in iron. To get the Recommended Dietary Allowance of 11mg of iron, an infant has to drink more than 20 litres of milk each day. Milk can also cause blood loss from the intestinal tract, depleting the body’s iron stores.
Milk and Type I Diabetes
In a recent study following 142 children with diabetes, 100 percent had high levels of an antibody to a protein in cow’s milk. It is believed that these antibodies may destroy the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas.
Contaminants
Milk is frequently contaminated with antibiotics and often contains excess vitamin D. In one study of 42 milk samples tested, only 12 percent were within the expected range of vitamin D content. Out of ten samples of infant formula chosen at random from local supermarkets, seven had more than twice the vitamin D content reported on the label, and one had more than four times the label amount.
Lactose Intolerance
Three out of four people from around the world, including an estimated 25 percent of individuals in the US, are unable to digest the milk sugar lactose, which then causes diarrhea and gas. The lactose, when it is digested, releases galactose, a simple sugar that has been linked to ovarian cancer and cataracts.
Allergies
Milk is one of the most common causes of food allergy. Often the symptoms are subtle and may not be attributed to milk for some time.
Colic
Milk proteins can cause colic, a digestive upset that bothers one in five infants. Milk-drinking mothers can also pass cow’s milk proteins to their breast-feeding infants.
How to Replace Milk in the Diet
It takes about three weeks to break or create a habit and there are some simple hints to make the transition easier.
- Use fortified rice or almond milk on oats or cereal.
- Make smoothies with vanilla soymilk or drink an ice cold glass of your favorite soymilk with your meal or snack.
- Order an entrée or salad with no cheese. Lots of dishes can easily be made cheese-free. Try guacamole, rice, or extra salsa in your burrito or on your tostada instead of cheese. Put more vegetables on a dinner salad or add some beans, nuts, or baked tofu chunks instead of cheese.
- Most recipes using milk can be made with soymilk instead.
- Make creamy dips and desserts using silken tofu instead of cream or cream cheese. Silken tofu works really well in soup recipes
- Sprinkle nutritional yeast on popcorn or pasta instead of Parmesan.
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