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Should You Try a Dairy Free Diet?  How do you decide if a Dairy Free Diet is for you? Obviously, if you are allergic to dairy, that makes your choice easy. But, what if you aren’t allergic to dairy as far as you know?

Maybe you have heard that a dairy free diet is healthier and you want to make an educated decision. I’m going to give you the medical and scientific facts about a dairy free diet. I’ll also share my personal experience with going dairy free. This is a great book for resource:

Food Intolerances: Fructose Malabsorption, Lactose and Histamine Intolerance:
living and eating well after diagnosis & dealing with the elimination diet

We all know that babies need milk. Warm blooded animals feed their babies milk until they are able to eat independently. We parents usually give our babies milk, usually cow’s milk.  Most of us grow up thinking we need milk to survive and be healthy. Humans are the only species that keep drinking milk from another animal. Cow’s milk is perfect for baby cows, but isn’t the best thing for us to be drinking.

Some of us can eat or drink almost anything without noticing anything different in our well-being. Others of us though can feel bloated, and achy. We develop stomach cramps, itching, or other symptoms that show our bodies are sensitive or allergic to what we ingested.

Some people react to dairy from the time they are born and must avoid it in any amount. The medical term for being sensitive to dairy is called being Lactose intolerant.

A true milk protein allergy can be dangerous and includes the more severe symptoms of hives, wheezing, or vomiting. This can occur as soon as seconds after milk is ingested. The person may go into anaphalactic shock, which is a medical emergency and life threatening.

Symptoms that can develop later after consuming dairy may include:
* Loose stools, which may contain blood
* Diarrhea
* Abdominal cramps
* Coughing or wheezing
* Runny nose
* Watery eyes
* Itchy skin rash, often around the mouth
* Colic, in babies

Milk is the third most common food allergy behind peanuts and tree nuts that causes anaphylaxis.
Your doctor can run tests to determine if you or your child or loved one is allergic. Depending on results he/she may prescribe an epinephrine
injection pen for you to carry with you, in case you accidentally ingest anything that contains milk (Mayo Clinic, 2015).

Lactose intolerant symptoms can occur within minutes to hours and are usually digestive problems such as bloating, gas, abdominal pain and diarrhea. You can take a lactase supplement with the first bite
of dairy containing food. This helps your body to digest the lactose in dairy or choose lactose free products.

Some people can eat smaller amounts of dairy with no problems, or even be
symptom free if they spread their dairy throughout the day. Other people may find they have fewer symptoms if they have their dairy with other food.

There are other reasons you may not feel well when you eat or drink dairy products.  Many of the cows are now treated with hormones or eat food containing high levels of pesticides or GMOs. These are good reasons to try organic dairy products! Look for a label stating that the cows were not given hormones.

I am lactose intolerant. Having dairy can set off symptoms within hours of abdominal pain, bloating and gas. If I have ice cream and another dairy product in the same day, I will have violent symptoms! I know now that I am better off without dairy. I don’t crave it much now, after many years going without dairy.

Another easy solution for either milk allergy or lactose intolerance is to switch to drinking a milk substitute.  I use almond, rice, cashew, soy or coconut milk often. My personal favorite I make is unsweetened almond milk!

I know people who have found that after being off dairy for months their adult acne has cleared up and along with muscular pain from an autoimmune diseases are much less.

But there are others who are truly Allergic to dairy!  My grandson is one and his family has to carry an epi-pen with him wherever they go.   A few years ago we were out to brunch and my grandson started crying saying his throat hurt.   As I watched, his neck began to swell up and he complained of chest pain and had a hard time breathing!  He was only 7 years old at the time.   We got out the epi-pen and were ready to administer it.   We had no clue what he ingested that made him react this way.   Often when his food even touches something dairy and he eats it, it can trigger a response.   We had him stop eating everything and drink as much water as he could.   Fortunately we didn’t have to administer the epi-pen but we came very close to it.   His neck remained swollen and sore for hours but his chest pain went away and he could breathe better.

So, do you think you would feel better being off dairy?  What are some of your favorite dairy substitutes?  Let me know in the comment section, I’d love to hear from you!