Conflicted with dairy

[ps4624]

I am conflicted about dairy. I went dairy free after DD was born because of her sensitivities. Now that she is 12 mo old, she seems to be able to handle it better, so I've added it back into my diet. I drink cream in my coffee (ooooooh, I love it so!) and eat raw cheese. We don't drink milk.

I guess I'm conflicted because when I read about GAPS, Paleo, etc it makes sense to me that cow's milk could cause issues. I'm not convinced that we can process it correctly.

On the other hand, a creamy cup of coffee or a hunk of cheese makes me a happy, happy girl.

What are your thoughts - do you have a reason for including/excluding dairy besides personal tastes?

Lastly, what about weight management? Are you able to maintain your desired weight with dairy included? The reason I ask is I tried on a swimsuit today and the results were less than desirable

[EllaMae]

I too often feel conflicted about dairy. I used to believe I had sensitivities, but now believe that my recurring sinus infections were due to heavy drinking and smoking. About the time I gave up that lifestyle I also began to eat mainly raw cheese. This made a big difference in the digestibility.

Currently I am all for dairy. Given that it is from grass fed/organically fed cows, raw or cultured in some way or form. I am also a big fan of goat when I can get it.

I am lucky enough to be part of a milk co-op, meaning we milk the cows ourselves. Reading Weston A. Price's pioneering book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration recently, I feel more energized around dairy products. However, I refuse to buy dyed cheese, pasteurized or homogenized milk, and I won't buy milk in a store. If I can't find local raw milk then we go without and eat raw cheese or cultured whole milk yogurt to get our dairy fix.

A word on the weight... I have eaten a high saturated fat diet/nutrient diet for 3 years now. Meaning a lot of butter! and cheese and bone broths, as well as tons of garden grown luscious produce. I did lose weight initially on this diet, but it was not a goal. I just wanted to be healthier and rekindle my love of butter. I have lost even more weight now, nursing an 8 month old. I was in my pre-pregnancy jeans by 6 weeks pp and am now down another size.

One last thing: Eating fat is not just it. I don't believe in gyms, but traditional people ate this much fat b/c they needed that energy to work hard outside. So I say eat fat and get outside!!

[tanyalynn]

I'd go with how the dairy makes you feel, including whether there are subtle issues associated with it. Enough people eat significant dairy, in healthy ways, to make me think it can be possible, but for us, for now, we're completely dairy-free.

Someday, I think we'll be able to eat goat cheese, and maybe cow's milk butter, without issue. I don't think we'll ever be drinking a glass of cow's milk, but I'm okay with that. Different types of dairy seem more tolerated than others. (eta: I think we're always going to stick with raw)

For me, weight gain is a sign of a food intolerance. I lost a lot of weight eating a ton of fat and no gluten or dairy (my food intolerances), so I don't think the fat, per se, should be an issue. But other parts of dairy can be.

[dogmom327]

OP I can totally see myself writing the same post sometime in the future. I cut out dairy when DD was 3 weeks old for her sake (8 months ago) but recently discovered I have dairy sensitivities too. Assuming they ever resolve themselves, I don't know what I'd do because I too really question dairy--the more I read the more I question. Sigh. No advice--just commiserating (and terribly missing cream and cheese).

[425lisamarie]

If you don't seem to have issues a little shouldn't be a problem. I don't do dairy except for a small amount of greek yogurt in tzatziki, and good pecorino which is sheeps milk. I cannot do feta, but DH and the kids LOVE it. It's too fresh for me, I can only handle a little of the hard aged, or a small bit of yogurt.

I don't actually ever eat dairy on purpose, except the tzatziki here and there. If i forget to make my salad without pecorino i'm fine, but i won't purposely eat it.

Ground roasted sunflower seeds, nutritional yeast and garlic/onion powder make a REALLY good parmesan sub!

[FairyRae]

I'd go with how the dairy makes you feel, including whether there are subtle issues associated with it. Enough people eat significant dairy, in healthy ways, to make me think it can be possible, but for us, for now, we're completely dairy-free.

I totally agree w/ this. I think there are pros and cons of lots of foods, but what it comes down to for me, is how they work w/ MY body. I think it's a very individual thing--as most aspects of diet typically are!

GAPS and SCD are pro certain kinds of dairy, just fyi. Low-lactose yogurt and cheeses, along w/ butter maybe???

[earthmama4]

DS outgrew his dairy sensitivity at 14 months (at least that is when I discovered it - we hadn't tried it since 8 months) I introduced it again because *I* needed it. I just felt it. Despite a nutrient rich diet, and a calcium supplement, my teeth hurt. I feel amazing with dairy and DS is thriving. Despite frequent BFing, he's pretty skinny, off the charts in a bad way, and dairy has really helped him fill out! All that good fat, protein and calcium - I am a fan! And he absolutely loved it too. I think both our bodies were telling us we needed it.

BTW, we did it like this with great success: first week whole milk yogurt, no issues, second week add cheese, no issues, third week add whole milk. I did gain a little weight at first, TBH, but then my body has adjusted and I am the same weight I was before at 6 weeks out.