Should You Avoid Dairy?

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you momma bears (and pet mamas) out there! Today, I’m writing about something that I’ve personally been grappling with myself.

My Struggle With Dairy.

A bit of backstory for you: for the last few months, I’ve been dealing with some unexpected (and not-so-delightful symptoms). I’m talking bloating, stomach pain, joint pain, headaches and nausea. For months. I assumed a lot of it was from job-related stress–all day, running around, forgetting to drink water. Was it finally catching up to me?

I went to the doctors more than once, and they all gave their theories and I tried their recommendations. Nothing was working. And then, on my last visit to the doctor, he listened to me list all my symptoms, poked and prodded at my stomach, asked me about my family history, and then looked up to me and simply said “It sounds like you have an allergy to dairy.”

Dairy?? But I hardly eat dairy, I thought to myself. I don’t drink milk, I hardly eat ice cream, I drink my coffee black, I use alternative milks in my smoothie. Could I really be consuming enough to be impacting my health? But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I actually eat quite a bit of dairy. See, I work around food all day, and while in my home life, I eat very healthy (even my takeout tends to be a salad), at work? It’s a different story.

Some days there are nonstop charcuterie boards or chocolaty desserts being passed around the workspace. And I am but a mere mortal, you know? It turns out cheese and chocolate often make cameos in my day, and I happily indulge them.

Doc recommended I cut out dairy for a week and see how I feel. If it doesn’t get better, we’ll go back to the drawing board. So that’s what we did: for the next week I completely avoided dairy–no milk chocolate, no greek yogurt and no cheese (good-bye salty halloumi!).

And you know what? I felt freaking awesome. I wish I were kidding. My bloating, headaches and joint pain all went away. My pants were no longer snug and uncomfortable at the end of the day. I was no longer nauseous.

Of course, this is all anecdotal–this is just my story, and only two weeks of it at that. But still I find it pretty impressive that I could feel so much butter in a week of cheese-free living.

If you’re feeling hunky dory and you’re eating dairy, then I’m going to say, no, you’re probably fine to keep doing what you’re doing. It’s high in protein and calcium, and grass-fed dairy is also high in vitamin K2. Fermented dairy is also high in gut-healthy probiotics.

But, if you’re like me, and seem to be suffering from digestive issues and inflammation, it may be worth investigating. Did you know about 75% of people are lactose intolerant? And people who are sensitive to gluten may also be sensitive to casein, the protein found in cow’s milk.

5 Signs You Should Go Dairy-Free

You’re constantly bloated.
You have diarrhea, constipation, or both.
You struggle with skin issues like acne, eczema or psoriasis.
You have respiratory issues, like asthma.
You feel nauseous for no known reason.
You suffer from joint pain.

If my story sounds familiar, try cutting out dairy for a week and seeing how you feel. Opt for coconut yogurt over greek yogurt, almond milk over cow’s milk, and, if the craving for cheese is real, go for sheep or goat’s milk based cheeses, as they’re easier to digest! Dr. Mark Hyman writes more on the subject of eating dairy here. As does Dr. Sara Ballantyne here.

I hope my story is helpful, and I’ll be sure to keep you updated!

Looking for dairy-free recipes? Try this Vegan Creamy Pumpkin + Thyme Pasta. Or this Paleo Hummingbird Cake with Cashew Cream Icing.

Have a lovely week,