You can’t swing a cat in a barn these days without hitting some new report out on the beleaguered dairy industry. Not that I’m endorsing cat swinging. Or swinging objects in barns. In fact, I can’t even endorse dairy because – have you heard? – 60% of adults can’t digest milk. And the bad news keeps rolling in: all of that stuff we’ve been told about low-fat dairy aiding in weight loss and strengthening bones and giving us a healthy smile? All those claims are just not true, so says the new research which contradicts the old research – the old research that was all funded by the dairy industry. Pretty much the only thing all the researchers can agree on is that Heidi Klum is the world’s hottest milkmaid – paper coming to an academic conference near you.
You remember this ad campaign? All lies.This news greatly concerns me because I happen to love my dairy products. When I was breast-feeding Jelly Bean, I had to take dairy out of my diet because she had a milk protein allergy (which she has since outgrown). During this time I learned that I can do without most dairy. Even now that I’m done nursing I don’t think I’ve had a glass of milk in a year, I can do without most cheeses and coconut or goats-milk ice cream is just as good but there is no good non-dairy substitute for yogurt. I love full-fat, plain yogurt and I eat it every day. I also love brie with a passion usually only seen in 13-year-old girls waiting outside for the first screening of Twilight: The Sparkly Stalker Story. Not to mention that taking out whey as a protein source would seriously cramp my protein intake as even though I am no longer a vegetarian I still don’t like to eat a ton of meat. (I recently read an interesting post from Mark Sisson about why whey protein powder is acceptable on a Primal/Paleo eating plan even when dairy is generally not.)
And what about the people who just love a cold glass of milk with a warm cookie? Cue the horror of the people who like to point out ad nauseum that humans are the only animals to drink milk past infancy and/or drink the milk of other mammals – a fact which isn’t true despite being repeated a whole lot. Many animals will drink milk of any variety if they can get their paws on it (What do you think all those cats you were just swinging around were doing in the barn in the first place?) We just happen to be the only animals who farm.
Aside from my gustatory predilections, however, there remain two important pieces of information:
1) The 60% of adults as described earlier who can’t digest milk.
2) Nobody past infancy needs milk to survive.
Taken together, this makes me wonder if we aren’t too enamored of our moo juice.
So what exactly does an “inability to digest milk” look like? According to recent research, the ability to metabolize lactose, the sugar in milk, is an aberration.
It’s not normal. Somewhat less than 40% of people in the world retain the ability to digest lactose after childhood. The numbers are often given as close to 0% of Native Americans, 5% of Asians, 25% of African and Caribbean peoples, 50% of Mediterranean peoples and 90% of northern Europeans. Sweden has one of the world’s highest percentages of lactase tolerant people.
Being able to digest milk is so strange that scientists say we shouldn’t really call lactose intolerance a disease, because that presumes it’s abnormal. Instead, they call it lactase persistence, indicating what’s really weird is the ability to continue to drink milk.
Being of mostly northern European descent, I suppose that makes me one of the fortunate mutants. I personally have never had a negative reaction – usually described as cramping, bloating, flatulence, or diarrhea but can also include symptoms like achy joints, acne and chronic congestion – from a dairy product. But apparently a lot of people do, thus ushering in a new wave of dairy teetotalers. (Gives a whole new meaning to the question of “Do you drink?”)
Although the question of whether or not milk is even all that good for you is far from settled, if you do decide to partake you open up a whole other can of research worms. Apparently the recommendations to eat and drink only low-fat dairy products are all based on faulty research. Those of us who grew up in the ’90s are still trying to wrap our brains around the fact that eating fat does not make us fat but nowhere is that more true than with dairy. According to researchers, the most valuable vitamins in milk – like the A & D that must be added back into skim milk – are all fat soluble. So by drinking your milk skimmed you’re just peeing out all those precious vitamins that it was fortified with. The solution according to science is to eat and drink your milk in the least-processed form available which would be non-homogenized, non-pasteurized whole milk, cheese and yogurt. (Preferably hormone-free, grass-fed and – finished and kissed by angels too, while we’re at it.) This type of milk, believe it or not, is illegal in many states (including mine) as they require pasteurization.
For a lot of people, the decision whether or not to eat dairy is a moral one. I almost envy them in a way; they have a reason beyond a quest for basic good health that tells them what not to eat. But for me, I’m conflicted. I like eating it. I seem to be one of the lucky freaks who can tolerate it. And yet I can’t afford the real quality stuff. In the end, is milk worth it?
What’s your take? Love dairy or hate it? Are you a genetic mutant too? If you avoid it – why? Any more research I should read in my quest to know a cow better than her own calf does?
I am sadly not a genetic mutant, in fact I get some of those fun congestion/exhaustion/asthma type symptoms that are more allergy than a lactose issue. I think the whole unprocessed dairy thing is awesome if you can do it, but I can’t have more than a bite or two of dairy once in a while without suffering for it. Because of my intolerance, plus lots of lactose intolerance on my hubby’s side, our currently gestating little one will not be getting any dairy until he’s at least 2, and it will most likely never be a big part of his childhood diet. Interestingly in the childbirth class I’m taking they are really big on pushing (ha) 4 servings of dairy every day. I just kind of ignore that part 🙂
It’s funny how the conventional wisdom about dairy just lingers. I don’t know that anyone actually “needs” it.
Must be Bradley! Four servings of dairy is encouraged because of the vitamins and calcium (yes I know it’s not the best source) and the fact that it is relatively cheap and low income households can afford it. 🙂
I go back and forth on the dairy issue. I’ve lost my taste for much of it: I definitely prefer almond milk and coconut ice cream, for example. And I can’t digest cow’s milk very well. But cheese. Ah, cheese! I just love it!
But I may have to break up with it. When I eat too much, I have congestion and all that fun stuff. I’ll probably feel better if I cut dairy out entirely.
But it’s a process. (Not processed. Har har!) Eventually, maybe, I will get there.
In all seriousness, I worry about the way we farm animals these days. I don’t want to feed my kids all those hormones, and I don’t want them, myself.
Good point about factory farms! And I’m with you on the good cheeses. (American cheese can die and I’d never miss it.)
twilight= the sparkly stalker story. amen and amen. what? were we talking about dairy? oh well, i wasn’t raised on cows milk (boxes of rice dream right here!) and people still look at me like my bones might just break in half right then and there when i mention I’ve never had a glass of plain old milk in my life. gross.
Wow, I bet you always win “I have never…” lol! And yes, Twlight. BLech.
I love yogurt and cheese and ice cream. I don’t like milk.
I think my concern with milk is that the purpose of milk is to fatten up babies (baby cows, baby people, etc.) So…I don’t see how it logically can really be all that helpful for weight loss. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have other nutritional benefits (e.g. avocados! Calorie dense…but good for you!)- I just don’t think I ever bought the idea that it was for weight loss.
Though I love cheese/yogurt/ice cream, I try to limit my dairy servings to one a day, because otherwise my tummy gets upset. And it makes my throat mucous more thick than usual, which I also don’t really like (TMI? oh well, too late now)
To be clear- I do understand that yogurt/cheese/ice cream are all made from milk, I just like the taste of them, but don’t like the taste of milk.
Also- my premise of milk fattening up the young, I understand will follow through to the milk products, I just love the taste so much that I don’t care.
I realized upon reading that my statement seemed a little inconsistent, even though it’s not.
Hahah – I totally understood it! Probably because I think the same way (don’t ever drink milk, loooove brie). We’re allowed to be inconsistent – we’re not machines right? 😉
Dairy and I don’t get along. We haven’t for years. I tried lactaid and other things so I could enjoy cheesy macaroni but would end up in agony and swigging a bottle of Pepto Bismol.
Instead I drink hemp milk now. Soy, almonds and hazelnuts are all allergies of mine. Because it’s more expensive to drink Hemp milk I don’t put it in just anything and I think about the choices to use it.
The thing I miss most is a good cheese. But after trying some and still having bad effects I finally had to give it up. Not a happy day.
Oh wow – dairy, soy, and almonds all off the table? That’s tough. Hemp milk is said to have a great nutrient profile though! Can you do coconut milk? (That’s my fave;))
People who can’t tolerate milk can often tolerate raw milk. I saw you briefly touched on that but I think it’s really important information. I have an iron stomach NOTHING bothers me (that doesn’t mean all things make me feel equally the same). I drink raw milk. It’s expensive but for me it’s about much more than just health. It’s about voting with my dollars and that is worth the extra price. When we take off and I no longer have access to my milk I’m not sure what we will do. Probably drink less and we’ll buy organic.
BTW had I been in town I would have driven down to LA to march in a protest against the Rawesome raid that happened last month. Have you seen Farmageddon? If not seek it out. It’s worth it. It was made by a youngish mom who is passionate about our rights regarding food.
“It’s about voting with my dollars.” LOVE that! It’s so true!
I haven’t seen that but I’ll add it to my list! Thanks for the rec! And thanks for emphasizing the point about raw milk. I really want to try some.
This is a great post Charlotte. My husband is a vegan, and although he doesn’t carp on about it I am painfully aware of the cruelty of mass dairy farming. I don’t buy cheese and have very little yoghurt… I couldn’t give it up totally though because, like you, I eat very little meat and I need to get protein from somewhere!
Px
Im yogurt and cheese but can not stand milk…which has always made me wonder if Im sensitive and thats why I dont “like” it.
I now wanna try raw milk.
and check out Farmageddon.
where’s all that free time life promised us?? 🙂
We should have a viewing party together:) Virtually…
Love my dairy but currently eating dairy-free due to nursing a cow milk protein intolerant 11 week old. My pediatrician told me I could still eat yogurt since it’s cultured and is usually more easily digested, so I’ve developed a deep, deep love for Greek yogurt. Unfortunately, I’ve decided I need to cut that out too for now. Definitely miss it but it’s worth it to have a happier baby!
When did Jelly Bean outgrow it? What symptoms did she have?
Your doc is confused. Yogurt has one of the highest concentrations of milk proteins and was the one thing guaranteed to put Jelly Bean over the edge. Yogurt is supposedly better for people who are lactose intolerant (the sugar in milk) but it has a lot of milk proteins. Clarified butter (or ghee) is supposed to have virtually no milk proteins in it. Anyhow, it made a HUGE difference for Jelly Bean but I had to take out all dairy. She finally outgrew it at about a year old. Good luck – you have ALL my sympathy. It was a rough adjustment for me.
Oh as far as symptoms, she had super colic, lots of spitting up (her nickname was volcano), heartburn etc. Completely went away after I stopped eating dairy (even chocolate! I had to make my own out of coconut oil…)
Well, dangit – I’m glad I decided to cut it out on my own. I’ve already eliminated all other dairy. I’ll have to look into making chocolate out of coconut oil – that’s one thing I really miss!
“Volcano” … hehehehe. That’s horrible yet hilarious.
Have you read any of the Weston Price Foundation recommendations for moms and babies? I’d be interested to hear what you think, as a mom and health enthusiast. I ran across it this weekend and was really interested to find out that they highly recommend homemade formula using raw cow’s milk over commercial formulas. (It sounds like a PITA to make, especially since they tell you to make it every single day… as if a new parent doesn’t have other things to worry about.) They also completely vilify soy.
My mom always told me I’m lactose intolerant, and that we had to be on soy formula as infants. I’m wondering how much of that was lactose intolerance and how much was tummy trouble from a lack of probiotics. I had tons of ear infections as a kid so I’m sure all the antibiotics had an impact on the good bacteria in my intestines. (Please note I’m not blaming anything on my mom, she did the best she could with me and my brothers, and we’re all relatively healthy and happy adults, so she did a lot of things right.)
In the past few years, I cut way back on dairy and started drinking a lot of soy milk… but in the past couple weeks I started to eliminate soy milk and coffee and have started using more cream and whole (albeit pasteurized) milk products. I’m not having the digestive trouble I used to, at all. It’s weird. Though I also stopped eating wheat, maybe that’s part of it too. The next step is to get back into fermented dairy (kefir), since I’m not really that into yogurt.
I would assume that more than 40% of people could digest fermented and/or raw dairy just fine (fermented for the friendly cultures and raw for the enzymes). Not that I’m against pasteurization, that and vaccinations have saved so many lives. But a good quality, properly produced (e.g. healthy animal, clean conditions), properly kept raw milk, or a slow/low temp pasteurized milk from grass fed cattle, should be better than standard CAFO fare.
And as I mentioned on Twitter, a side effect of untreated celiac disease is lactose intolerance, since it messes up your intestines, where all your lactose digesting happens. Once a celiac cuts out gluten, the intestines can heal and some celiacs can have milk again. Celiac is supposedly incredibly under diagnosed.
Sorry for the novella, I’ve been really interested in this subject lately. 🙂
Also, obviously no dairy is ok for someone who is allergic to milk protein versus someone who has a hard time digesting milk sugar. Two totally different topics. And interestingly the Weston Price alternative to raw milk baby formula is a liver-based one… Weird??!!
Milk truly is a double-edged sword in a healthy diet and I loved reading your post about it. I wanted to tell you about my experience. I drank a lot of milk when I was young but I always had stomach (IBS) problems and found out at 28 that I had osteoporosis already. I decided to stop dairy and my problems have gotten considerably better.
Apparently it was the casein in the milk? I’ve talked with a few people who say that my osteoporosis may have been exacerbated by this inability to digest the protein…
but then the rest of my family drinks milk/ eats ice cream like it’s no problem! We’re all so different eh? 🙂
That’s really interesting about your osteoporosis connection! I had IBS too for a long time and I never made a connection with dairy but I wonder if that was part of it? Hmmm.
I guess I’m another mutant, haha. – no bad dairy issues for me =) Personally I love milk & the taste of it, and having grandparents that had working farms have also had milk darn near straight out of the cow (it does taste a little different and is warm obviously, but still good). I also eat yogurt daily and cannot give up my milk (regular or no sugar added chocolate), but can take or leave most cheeses – I like them but don’t buy or eat any on a regular basis except parmesan, which I totally will shave a nice little pile of and eat as a yummy snack 😉
You would love the Netherlands. It is so common to keep drinking milk into adulthood that business lunches include milk as the only drink provided. I grew up there and continued to drink milk into my 30s until I was finally convinced I didn’t need the carbs. Yogurt stayed in my diet but I don’t regularly have milk anymore. Amusingly, I never loved the taste of milk however I LOVED it with other things (and not just cookies 😉
I would love the Netherlands! And my favorite combo is milk + ice cream… as in a milk shake;)
I go back and forth with totally avoiding dairy and allowing it in moderation into my life. While I’ve never really liked a glass of milk, I do really love Greek Yogurt and Cottage Cheese. As a teenager only of the only things I liked to eat was ice cream! In recent years I’ve identified a dairy intolerance and can only have dairy in very limited moderation.
As for the push for dairy in our culture it is totally driven by the government and the industry, no different than corn or soy.
I’m lactose intolerant (milk and ice cream give me horrible problems) but I digest yogurt just fine.
Go ahead and enjoy your full-fat yogurt. Even if “experts” say it’s horrible for you, I doubt that you’re eating tons of it. Just don’t eat it loaded up with sugar.
Nope, I don’t add any sugar to mine. I don’t mind the taste of plain yogurt as long as it’s full-fat. The fat free stuff tastes like garbage.
Lactose intolerant vegan. So yeah.
I will throw out that there coconut milk “yogurt” is very, very good. I like the texture and taste a lot. It doesn’t have as much protein as real milk or soy, but it has that same consistency (I think). Almost milk “yogurt” isn’t bad, but the texture is more like tapioca pudding than yogurt (but it does have protein). I think I’ve also seen cow milk yogurt that’s lactose free, for anyone who is lactose intolerant but not vegan.
As for healthy… meh. I feel like a glass of milk is healthier than a glass of soda, but still something to be consumed in moderation if at all. And yogurt’s healthier than a lot of ice cream (plus the fat and protein help with avoiding a sugar rush), so if that’s your easy quick treat of the day, then it’s healthier than some things you could be eating. At the same time, I wouldn’t buy into any of the “eat x glasses of milk a day and you’ll lose weight!” BS.
I have never tried coconut milk yogurt but I’d love to! I’ll keep an eye out for it – thanks for the rec!!
Make your own yogurt! Then it can be as thick or runny, sweetened or not, as you like! And it’s EASY! Just google crock pot yogurt – or go to http://www.crockpot365.blogspot.com and check out her step by step instructions. I make a batch overnight every week – it’s fab in a green smoothie every morning.
I do make my own yogurt actually! And this post was the exact one that got me started on doing it, lol!You’re right – so easy and way cheaper!
1. You should see my cat Zappa if he happens to be in the kitchen when I take the milk out of the fridge. He stands up on his hind legs and swipes at the carton. That cat loves his milk.
2. Humans ingest plenty of things that are not necessary for survival.
3. Like you, I don’t like to eat a lot of meat, but I would have a hard time giving up dairy. That said, I actually can’t drink milk. Ice cream is iffy. But I can and do eat yogurt & cheese. Preferably the full fat versions.
I do sort of wonder if my issues with drinking milk has something to do with how they process it. We always had 2% milk growing up and I got to the point in my late teens where I couldn’t drink it. And ice cream seems to be iffy – depends on the type of ice cream. But I can eat real whipped cream with no problem, and if I eat the premium, higher fat, made with real cream ice creams I’m okay. So I can’t help but wonder if it is because of whatever they do to remove the fat. I’m not that big of an ice cream fan anyway, so I could live without that, but the yogurt & cheese would be hard to give up.
There are LOTS of alternatives to whey protein powder! Life’s Basics has a delicious pea, hemp, and rice blend; there’s Sun Warrior, and if you’re on a budget, TrueProtein.com has great deals on hemp, pea, and rice proteins. My flavored pea protein powder from TP is only $5 a pound!
I cut out dairy a while ago and it’s done wonders for my skin, digestion, and overall feeling of wellbeing: I’m glad others are bringing these issues to light!
Yes, so many alternatives! I’ve heard egg protein powder is really good too. I’m glad you found what works well for you! And thanks for the tip on TrueProtein.com. I’ll check them out!!
I didn’t like milk much as a kid. Of course it was continually forced on me 🙂
I used to eat cheese, but for a long time now, I eat vegan in the dairy and eggs area. It just ain’t natural do dairy as an adult!
I come from a long line of genetic mutants adn freaks, but in this milk regard I am not one of them. I can’t eat the stuff, but I do miss my yogurt. Oh, how I miss it.
I can’t imagine my life without my two 1/2 cups of ice cream a day! I LOVE ICE CREAM. I always eat low fat ice cream but that is part of my meals that I always look forward to, my ice cream! 😀
Have you ever tried making protein ice cream? It’s become one of my fave snacks:)
No I don’t have an ice cream maker. Turkey Hill, Edys and Breyers light ice creams live in my freezer.
Oh you don’t need an ice cream maker! I use my blender. It’s basically just ice, protein powder, a little liquid like almond milk or reg. milk and whatever flavorings you want (my fave is cocoa powder, peanut butter and chunks of unsweetened chocolate). The trick to making it “ice cream” is to use xantham gum and guar gum. You just need a teeny bit (you can buy them in most health food stores) and you can eat it with a spoon!
Cool ya I’ll probably try it when we move. Not really a good idea to do blending down here.
I tried a no-dairy diet on the advice of my allergist, who felt it might lesson the severity of the reactions I have to other foods. (He also had me cut out caffiene and alcohol.) I discovered that I can’t stand almond, rice, or soy milk at all. I also missed yogurt, cheese, and ice cream, when I ate a “test carrot,” I still broke out in horrible, itchy hives, so cutting those things out just wasn’t worth it for me.
Little Brother had an awful habit of spitting up anything and everything and I was worried that it was a milk thing, but any change in my diet didn’t seem to affect him at all…turns out, it was just something he had to outgrow. Hoping not to have that issue this time around!
Have you read this story about the man who is attempting an all-breast milk diet? http://donthaveacowcurtis.blogspot.com/ Check it out–it’s pretty crazy!
Wha….? Um, I’m all squicked out now!
Sigh, I love milk and cheese and yogurt. But this black girl didn’t get to be in the lucky 25%. I get all those symptoms – congestion, cramping, gas, bloating – pretty much everything but the acne. I do have dairy on occasion but I spread them out and have very little. I use almond milk for most things though.
I love me a glass of chocolate milk or some ice cream, but I bloat up like a balloon and get all congested and snore at night. 🙁 I’m trying to lose weight right now, which is the only reason I’m avoiding it. Otherwise I’d have no qualms about going out for ice cream every once in a while and just wear a loose shirt 😉 But I won’t be going back to milk and cereal every morning, that’s for sure.
Oh well – lots of fun things to eat for breakfast instead, right? 😉 And this cracked me up: “I’d have no qualms about going out for ice cream every once in a while and just wear a loose shirt”
Oooh, finally a post near and dear to my heart (don’t worry, I’m a fairly new reader). I’m a nursing student… but a vegan… and also of native american descent. So this whole thing of tying cows in barns, keeping them continually in a state they so they produce milk (pregnant), and killing them to make chicken nuggets after four years instead of their usual 20… is just so foreign to me. I think if we all go back to a state of having to kill/cut/process our own animal products, most people wouldn’t be able to stomach it.
I don’t mean this to be a pro-vegan post, but I do want to make people more aware of where their food comes from and HOW it arrives in the supermarket, all nicely packaged. We are so disconnected from our food, and its so no surprise that largely Americans (North America, though I think South and Central America are catching up with similar health problems) have ischemic heart disease, cardiovascular disease, and other related ailments as their leading cause of death and disability.
I haven’t found a replacement for milk chocolate yet … and my guess is that it will probably be expensive, but that means I’ll eat less and savour it more, which is a good thing. 🙂
I was vegan for a long time and am still highly sympathetic to that way of eating. If it were just a moral issue, I’d be vegan again in a heartbeat but my body didn’t tolerate it too well. You make a very good point about how everyone needs to be more aware of where and how their food comes to them. I don’t take the killing of any living thing lightly. As for chocolate – when I was vegan I used to make my own out of coconut oil & cocoa powder that was delish! ! I can send you the recipe if you want.
I want the recipe!
This is the one I started with: http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2010/02/raw-vegan-coconut-oil-chocolate-mailbox.html and I kinda fussed around with it until I got it how I want it. SUPER easy! Let me know how you like it.
I don’t have any issues eating dairy. So I guess I’m a mutant, too? But I HATE drinking plain milk. I’ll do chocolate milk after a run or a workout and I’ll put it in smoothies (although I’d just as likely use soy milk, too) but will never drink a glass of it plain. So, yeah, I could give up cow’s milk as a beverage. But you’ll have to pry cow’s milk ice cream from my cold, dead hands.
Wanting to add to my above post that my prior education is Animal Science (animal welfare/physiology, especially of animals used for food production).
Oh, and the fact that most people think is a myth: cows are a huge source of methane gas, which largely contributes to our ozone/global warming problems.
I hear a lot of people extol the virtues of un-pasteurized milk. I just came here to say that the sickest I’ve ever been was from a campylobacter infection in my gut from un-pasteurized milk. Expelling blood from every orrifice for a week with the most intense stomach pain I’ve ever experienced. Be careful. Pasteurization is a good thing.
Raw milk absolutely MUST come from a clean source. It’s not just the lack of pasturisation that makes it preferable to a carton of 1%, it’s the way that *most* raw dairy farmers raise, feed, shelter, care for and milk their cows. Happy, healthy animals produce happy, healthy consumers of their products. Sick animals = sick people. A raw dairy can’t hide behind the protection of pasteurisation, so they have to get it right the first time.
I’ve had camylobachter, I feel your pain. I believe it was Nina Plank (in Real Food for Mother and Baby) who found that there have been more cases of food poisoning from pasteurised milk than raw in the US. It’s not that raw is perfect, as you’ve unfortunately identified, but the risk is in fact LOWER than with the stuff in the carton. Not only are commercial dairies sloppier on average than raw dairies, but the enzymes that protect milk from going rancid in the mother have been killed off, leaving a perfect environment for bacteria to breed. Case in point: raw milk left out overnight clabbers – becomes slightly sour, thicker, and absolutely drinkable – while pasteurised milk goes rancid.
To homogenise milk, it is sprayed at high pressure through a fine mesh which explodes the fat droplets so sompletely that they can’t reassemble. It is thought that this damages the fats themselves, making them unfit for the human body, and also so small that they aren’t recognised by our gut properly. That’s why some people can tolerate raw who can’t tolerate “normal” dairy. For sources, see the Weston Price Foundation, Real Milk, and the (excellent) book Deep Nutrition.
I can’t do dairy at all. I tried 2 year parmesan last week – no go. Real yogurt is sometimes okay. I find it so much easier to drop all dairy substitutes than to search for an acceptable frankenfood. But every once in a while I do so CRAVE something unctuous and creamy, like melted cheese sauce or a malted milk. Needless to say that doesn’t happen! I usually up my fat intake and the craving subsides.
Oooh I forgot about that Teej! Good point. Great point, actually.
I’m a Dairy Farmer, so this is a hard topic for me. I was raised on unpasteurized cows milk and still drink it to this day (lock us up, also illegal in Canada). This year i ran a trial on myself because i thought dairy was causing many of the symptoms you described. I went for about 2 months no dairy, then upgraded to lactate pills and now i’m back on a full dairy diet with no trouble. my conclusions at the end of this trial were
1. full fat Dairy is easier to digest than non or low fat
2. I put way worse things in my body than dairy products, i love them, it’s my livelihood, so i’m going to keep eating them
3. when i balance the ph of my body and focus on alkalizing my body, dairy products digest
***this was all a self diagnosed plan, and conclusion***^^
LG
You can get around the illegality in Canada (maybe US too? Don’t know) by buying a “share” in a cow, and getting a portion of its raw milk- it’s not illegal to drink raw milk, it’s illegal to sell it/purchase it. But it’s not illegal to buy the cow, and drink the milk from YOUR cow.
It is a relatively expensive proposition, but…just FYI.
It seems to me that someone in BC was selling it as pet food, and that was okay (until it wasn’t)
Very interesting idea!! THanks for the tip!
I’m so glad you figured out how to make it work for you! I can’t imagine being a dairy farmer and not being able to eat dairy…
I have a hard time with this type of debate, because so many people don’t take into consideration evolution or simply don’t understand it at all (though they think they do). If you say ‘it’s no normal’ to digest milk, you are in fact considering per-agriculture humans to be your norm. That is not the norm today. Agriculture might be recent in our evolutionary past but evolution never stops and we have evolved since then. More and more people can digest milk, from 0% back then to 40% now to more in the future – because any gene that helps us avoid indigestion and unlocks a new source of nourishment is a good thing and will continue to spread in the population. Same thing for the genes that helps us digest alcohol or gluten (many other animals can digest these two as well, but again, they do not farm like us). Also, in genetics a mutation is simply means a change. If a mutation is consider an ‘aberration’, then everyone with eye colour other than brown, with hair other than brown or black or with skin other than brown is an aberration and is not normal. If our norm is even further back in time than everyone today is an aberration since we don’t have thick hair all over our body and stand upright, we have weak jaws, etc. Even further back, everyone who sees in colour is an aberration.
Anyways, that was the evolutionary biologist in me venting. As for how I eat, well – every thing in moderation right? I think my norm should be me rather than the whole human population today or in the past or other species. Since I can digest milk and like the taste, than it’s normal for me to eat milk products. If you can’t, then it’s not normal for you to eat it. To me food would be boring without cheese, but that doesn’t mean I eat some every day. Breakfast with yogourt or eggs keep me full longer that a breakfast without, so that’s a good thing regardless of the nutrient content.
I don’t put much faith in nutrition research. To much involvement from the food industry, and even in the most perfect and unbiased research there are so many variables that can’t be controlled or taken into account (like everything else we eat or do). Humans are not a closed, controlled system like a test tube or a petri dish. We are too complex to put so much faith in a study (sponsored or not) looking at a single aspect (milk) of a single aspect (food) of our lives. They can be interesting but we should always take nutrition studies with a grain of salt and use what works for us.
Hear hear!
Amen to this: ” I think my norm should be me rather than the whole human population today or in the past or other species.”!! And thank you for your perspective – obv. this is not my area of expertise so it’s good to hear from people who study this!
I don’t mind dairy…and I am a cheese fiend. I find for me it’s a flavour/taste thing. I like almond milk in things like overnight chia oats and smoothies better than milk (and noone steals almond milk form the work fridge…ahem), but sometimes a glass of milk is tasty too. I love yogurt and cottage chees & I use milk for baking. I have relatives with dairy sensitivities so we’ve worked out alterntives – usually almond or rice milk. It’s how I got onto the whole almond milk thing to begin with and I really like the taste.
I’ve read that whole milk keeps longer than skim due to the fat in it. I personally can’t stand skim milk and 2% is too thick- 1% is just right. 🙂
I have never understood people who steal other people’s food from communal fridges. Who does that?!?
I have a number of crunchy friends who are really into raw milk. I’ve heard from them that even people who can’t tolerate pasteurized dairy can usually have raw milk because it contains enzymes that aid its digestion. Also, raw milk is only straight-up illegal in about 10 states. In most of the rest, including Minnesota, you can still legally buy it directly from a farm. And retail sales are actually legal in 10 states!
My family drinks regular whole organic milk. We’ve tried raw milk a few times and it is really yummy. Unfortunately I can’t stomach (ha!) the $16/gallon price tag.
16$/gal?!?! Holy crap it might as well be illegal. Yeesh. Thanks for the info though! I asked at my local farmer’s market and they told me it was “illegal” – apparently they were confused!
I’ve had IBS my whole life. Until 2 years ago, I consumed dairy. The day I had a very embarassing blow out (like an infant) while driving my children home from school (TMI), I realized I needed to figure it out–the panic in my daughter’s face. I cut out dairy, and I’ve not had the gastric issues since–no tooting or pain. Two months ago, I did allergy testing and that little pin prick for milk blew up like a water balloon. I can’t say that I am 100% off of dairy because I find it is still in a lot of processed foods or in baked goods. But one thing is for sure, cheese, yogurt, and cow’s milk will no longer be consumed in it’s raw form. And BTW, I relocated to Wisconsin over 3 years ago, and a bit angry that I can’t have a bowl of Berry Alvarez Ice Cream.
WOW. I had IBS and I remember having some pretty close calls but I never actually had a blowout – sounds like you handled it well though! You poor thing… So so glad you figured it out!
Thanks, Charlotte. It was not a fun event. It is pretty much in control since becoming dairy free and I use fiber pills to bulk up. I hope to never have anymore blowouts like that. Extremely embarrassing, but mostly scary for the little ones.
Apparently the dairy debate is as charged as the circumcision debate. I don’t like milk for much other than on my cereal and am willing to substitute unflavored almond or rice; however I can’t give up greek yogurt, ice cream or cheese, their substitutes are severely lacking in flavor.
As for the raw milk debate I know that full fat raw milk makes me horrifically sick – but low fat pasteurized does not.
As a parenting writer for Redbook, I gotta say NOTHING is as contentious as the circumcision debate, lol. I learned that the hard way. That and immunizations. Egads.
As a kid, I was somewhat lactose intolerant but loved dairy (mostly ice cream) so much that I kept consuming it. I seem to have outgrown it because I eat dairy products all the time without any problems. There is no way I’d give up cheese, ice cream or chocolate milk!
I had raw milk once as a kid on a field trip to a farm, but it was disgusting. I don’t know if it was mental or because it truly tasted different, but it still makes me queasy thinking about it. I’ll stick to the pasteurized, even if raw were legal in our state.
I used to love milk. In high school I’d wake up in the middle of the night craving milk, so I’d pour myself a glass, chug it, and go back to bed. Not long after I started having what I call “milk issues”, mostly relating to the taste. I couldn’t drink milk plain, and in things it had to be 1%.
A year or so ago, we bumped our milk up to 2%, and then to whole. I still rarely drink a glass of it, but I’ve gotten use to it now. We get our milk delivered from a local dairy.
I love cheese and yogurt. I couldn’t live (very well) without those…
I don’t do dairy, but I’m not one of those ‘dairy is not real food’ types. If you like it and can tolerate it, have at it. Just use dairy from sustainably and humanely farmed cows.
I’m actually just posting in regard to your mention of whey protein, to suggest Garden of Life’s Raw Protein powder. It’s made from sprouted seeds, so I think it could be arguably be more paleo than whey.
Not that I’m Paleo either.
🙂
Interesting – I’ve never heard of sprouted seed protein powder. I’ll need to check that out – thanks for the rec!
Yep! It’s one of my primary protein sources and I’m doing pretty well (click over to my blog page to see for yourself, lol).
Thanks for the GREAT discussion! I’m sending people to check it out.
Hi! I’m also a genetic mutant freak. I’m turning 30 this Saturday and I still drink/eat a lot of dairy. A few months ago I cut back my milk intake (from 3 glasses every day, to just 1 in the morning) which made me very sad and my fingernails started to chip after a couple of days. I don’t like the coconut flavour and almonds give me migraine, so I don’t have a lot of option, plus they are way more expensive than just milk.
I also love cheese, yoghurt, cream, everything with dairy. So what am I to do? Is it unhealthy to eat/drink dairy?
I don’t think there’s any problem with it as long as you digest it all right, and it sounds like you do! Stick with what works for you and your body!!
All my family can digest it. We are all Northern Hemisphereites.
My husband has one nephew who cant and 9 other nieces /nephews who are able to.
I wonder about that ‘fat soluble’ bit.
Surely it doesn’t have to be the fat in the ‘milk’ that holds onto the fortified vitamins, it must surely mean the fat you have ‘eaten’, as it will all be going to the same stomach and that might be in your cookies or a piece of cheese.
Good point – I think you’re right in that the fat could come from any source.
I have always loved milk, so much that my parents used to restrict my consumption. Now I mostly consume dairy as part of my oatmeal or yogurt with an occasional glass of milk. I am lucky not to be lactose intolerant (both of my sisters and mother are), unfortunately I am fructose intolerant.
Wow – I’ve never heard of fructose intolerance before. No fruit then??
Nothing with a higher level of fructose than glucose. So no HFCs, agave etc. Some fruits (berries and citrus) are no problem, some I can have occasionally and some I have to avoid always (apples, watermelon). It is the same with veggies, onions and cabbage especially. I have to read packages constantly, having found kidney beans and pickles with HFCS in them. I can eat things with equal amounts of fructose-glucose (sugar) in small amounts, but large amounts of sugar and all artificial sweeteners make me extremely sick.
Oddly enough the few studies done found about 30% of people have an intolerance (there is a scale of sensitivity) but it’s not well known in the US yet. I was lucky to have a doctor that tested for it.
This topic makes me crazy. I have been diagnosed as lactose intolerant since I was 18. There is Lactaid out there for the occasional user, and Digestive Advantage make a Lactose Defense product that is a once a day pill that works. So if your only problem is the inability to digest, these problems WILL solve it. there is also lactose free milk. If you don’t want to consume dairy, fine, but don’t use the lactose excuse. My only objection to many people avoiding dairy, and comparing it to other ethnicity’s diets, is that most Americans are not eating an Asian, or Native American diet, and without all the veggies, fish bones or other seafood, where are they getting their calcium? And are they drinking pop or other sweetened beverages instead?
I can’t speak for everyone but I pretty much only drink water. But then I’m also pro fish bones too;) There does seem to be an element of “trendiness” to this issue.
So I really question this study and the data behind it. Cows have been a domesticated basic for centuries and it hasn’t always been for the meat. Take India for example where cows are considered holy and not because of their beef but because of their milk which feeds the population. So if this practice of consuming milk for nutritious purposes has persisted in one of the oldest civilizations in the world, even the most basic level of evolution would dictate that a majority of that population would be able to digest dairy. The same can be said for most every civilization in the world. When the colonies were established in America, cows were considered one of the most fundamental commodities because of their milk. If it was a question of only being able to afford a pig or cow, hands down families chose the cow. If the family cow died and there was no replacement, it was considered devastating.
So if the numbers coming out of that study saying most adults can not process dairy are correct, I submit that dairy intolerance is a modern day issue with causes far more complex than the simple conjecture that humans aren’t made to digest milk past infancy.
” I submit that dairy intolerance is a modern day issue with causes far more complex than the simple conjecture that humans aren’t made to digest milk past infancy.” This makes sense – I think we def. need more research in this area.
I say, if you can digest it, you want it, and it makes you feel good, go for the best source possible.
My nutritionist is a fan of (organic) milk and suggests that I use it as my pre- and post- workout fuel. I get the lactose free kind just to be sure it’s ok on my tummy (it’s hit or miss with milk over the years and I’d rather not discover which it is during a 10 mile run). Organic lactose free milk isn’t cheap, but since it’s just me drinking it and I drink it at a rate where it doesn’t spoil, the expense isn’t too bad.
I’m trying to shift over to organic cheese but it’s hard to find in every different type. Besides that, I use the whey protein for smoothies, and greek yogurt is a morning staple for me. I used to not eat very much dairy, but now that I’ve started having a lot of it, and with all the other dietary changes, I feel great!
I love dairy, I eat a lot of yoghurt and cheese and have never had a problem with it. Admittedly I’ve never tried to stop eating it to see the effect. I need to have a good calcium intake, so I try and have dairy every day (although I do take a calcium supplement as well). I know you can get calcium from other stuff but dairy is a very good source. Don’t think I could ever give up cheese.
My cats love dairy for treats. Apparently a high percentage of cats are lactose intolerant, and should only have the special cat milk. Ours are fine though, although if they get upset tummies (from eating junk outside) we quit the dairy for a day or two.
I don’t like milk and I’m lactose intolerant, so suffice to say I don’t drink it. I do like the taste of yogurt, but it seems to make me break out, so I guess dairy’s a no-no for me.
And not to be picky, but it’s my understanding that vitamin D does not occur naturally in either whole or skim milk, except for trace amounts. People started adding it long before skim milk was popular in order to prevent rickets, because people in northern cities who worked indoors were not getting enough sunlight, especially children. Anyway, please correct me if I’m wrong on that one, I just remember reading that somewhere…
I think you are correct – I know there isn’t any vit D in breastmilk and I’m assuming it’s the same for cows? I think the best source for Vit D is still sunlight.
An animal exposed to sunlight will convert sunlight into VitD and store it in their fat. This is why cod liver oil is such a rich source of it, as is pastured lard. A cow that has never seen the otside of a barn will NOT have an appreciable amount of it in their milk, hence the “need” to fortify. The VitD used to fortify milk is not particularly usable by the body in and of itself, and occurs in the unnatural absence of other cofactors when that milk has been pasteurised, so is even *less* usable by the body.
Okay, I know that every person is located in a slightly different position on Earth and can’t eat from every time zone all the time, but how can it make sense that we as a species would NEED supplements to acheive standard health? Do zebras in the Seregeti take a multivitamin?
Shouldn’t real, whole foods from as close to the source as is reasonably possible do for us too?
This: “Shouldn’t real, whole foods from as close to the source as is reasonably possible do for us too?” is something I ask myself all the time. I think that it should be this way. And I think in an ideal world it would be but perhaps some supplementation is necessary due to the hazards of modern living? Maybe?
I had stomach issues for years and once I finally weened myself off having milk multiple times a day (cereal, coffee, a glass with dinner, etc.), I had fewer gaseous moments! Now, whenever I have yogurt, cheese, or ice cream, I have to be very careful… and not on a date 🙂
I keep going back and forth on the dairy thing. I don’t usually keep milk in the house but I do love greek yogurt and cheese. From what I’ve read, I’ve come to believe that dairy is not at all essential for health and that it can actually be bad for you. But most delicious things can be bad for you and so the trick is to not go overboard.
I just came across this blog and I love love LOVE it!!!!
I am very concerned with the way animals are raised and slaughtered in that assembly-line of death which so many people just have no knowledge (or desire for knowledge) of!
However, I would find it hard to give up all those things, so I buy only free-range organic, which calms my conscience and makes me feel much better about the health aspects of it all. And because it is so much more expensive, we eat primarily vegan with fish allowed because I don’t think it’s possible to torture a fish!
Fortunately, I live in South Africa, where we CAN still go down to the local farm stall and buy raw, unprocessed, full cream milk. Sadly, though, I have recently developed a rather (um) unpleasant reaction to too much dairy (especially cheese, which just breaks my little heart), so I tend to keep the milk to tea and have soy if I get a hankering for anything requiring larger quantities.
Of course, every now and then, only a pizza will do, and my dear partner and love of my life is remarkably long-suffering 🙂
I do wish I could get almond milk here … we are rather behind the times on dairy substitutes in general.
Hi, I appreciate this post as I’ve been recently trying to figure out how to incorporate dairy in my diet. I have IBS (and had orthorexia) so I had cut out dairy for ages but now trying to eat it in moderate amounts.
Two things to add: You frame the lactose situation as if a person is either tolerant or intolerant, but as I understand it, our bodies simply REDUCE the amount of the lactase enzyme we produce as we age, so we will still may be able to digest dairy as adults, just in less quantities, or only low-lactose products, i.e. hard cheeses and yoghurt. So I eat real, aged parmesan cheese… but I don’t eat ice cream. Lactose-free milk is also an option – I buy a local organic brand. If I do decide to succumb to an ice cream or pizza craving and fear I’m getting more lactose than I can handle, I take a Lactaid pill with it, which supplies the lactase my body isn’t providing itself.
Second is the issue of how to get sufficient calcium without eating dairy. I have early-onset osteoperosis so this is a concern of mine. I just want people to be aware that if they decide to cut out dairy as I did for so many yeras, to make sure they are getting their needs through other high-calcium and calcium-enriched products, and possibly a supplement as well.
Finally, a big shout-out to goat and sheep dairy. The proteins are more easily digestible than cow dairy (or so I’m told), and it’s so yummy. I eat a local maple-goat yoghurt that is absolute heaven.
Oooh thank you for the information on lactose – you’re right, I had NO idea it was so nuanced. I love all the stuff you guys teach me! And amen to goat dairy – I don’t know why it isn’t more popular in the US because it’s awesome. Never tried sheep milk but I’d totally be open to it!