Cut out the dairy?

[grey]

Ok this is just me.
I started playing around with my diet about a year ago. I have ALWAYS, always loved milk. I used to drink a gallon every two days.

Then I tried being vegetarian. I found I felt more energetic, and had also heard that when people go vegan, they feel even better. So I tried it for a month... and I haven't looked back.

Cutting out milk and cheese did a LOT for me. I used to have AWFUL, I mean horrid horrid periods (vomiting, chills, lots of pain down my back and legs, bad bad bad). No more pain. I had my first 'accident' because none of the signs were there, and I'm 31!

More, I used to have 3 headaches a week. Now I get about three per month, and I usually know WHY I have a headache now.

More? I was starting to feel arthritic. My hands were losing their grip, and it hurt to grab anything heavy like a pot full of food. My hips and ankles were feeling it a little too, especially in the mornings.

No more dairy, no more problems. My theory is, there are SO MANY hormones in dairy these days, that it interferes with our own hormones. RBgH, anyone?

I have also noticed that if I cheat (I still love cheese, and if we go out to eat, it's virtually impossible to get a vegan meal) I have less endurance the next day. Could be in my head, but I don't think so. I can have 2-3 cheats per month and not incur any painful penalties at the end of the month.

So, experiment, see what works for you. Some people NEED meat - my husband loves how he feels on our vegan diet at home (he says he feels sharper mentally, wakes up easier in the morning, and has more endurance at tennis) but if there's a chance for a meaty meal, he jumps on it. That's his cheat, cheese is mine.

Oh and we have both lost weight. Not sure that it has anything to do with losing milk, though.

[CarbonCandy]

That sounds fantastic. I would love to go vegetarian, but if I did, I would probably DIE. Maybe because I don't really eat veggies. Yes, this is the part where you smack me upside the head and say "what the @#$^??" So, it's really not an option, and my whole anti-veggies thing is a topic im working on, trust me. Its because I really dont like any. Seriously. Ignore this. Its a work in progress. The vegetable thing I take one day at a time.

Anywaysss.....as for milk, I've been drinking organic since I was 6. My mother has always been a big believer in coops and organics.

So congrats on going vegan. It sounds like an awesome plan

[alpinerabbit]

naaah... this may do something for some, but I had plenty of dairy in my diet this spring. Milk, yoghurt, cheese, cottage cheese, you name it. I believe it is a sane source of protein and it keeps your stomach satisfied longer.

For me, weight loss boils down to the garbage in-garbage out balance. Maybe by cutting dairy some people experience a psychological effect - focusing on WHAT you eat leads to monitoring how much, and hence, weight loss.

I see it might be at the root of some health troubles but since I don't have any (knock on wood), I see no reason cutting things out of my diet altogether.

[OakLeaf]

Lots and lots of people have mild food allergies and don't know it, because the symptoms are subtle, often delayed and last up to four days after you ingest the food.

Milk allergy is different from lactose intolerance. Most people of northern European heritage are not lactose intolerant. Most people with other genetic backgrounds are. But it's definitely possible to be allergic to milk but not have the digestive issues of lactose intolerance (I am).

Most allergies develop via repeated exposure to the allergen, so you're most likely to be allergic to foods that you eat most days, or grew up eating. It can be really hard to break the habit. Your body will also have physical cravings for the allergenic substance, besides the psychological hurdle of eliminating a staple from your diet.

What I tell everyone is, just try it.

The best way to do it is with a challenge diet where you eliminate all common food allergens for four days, then re-introduce them one by one. But there are a lot of them (dairy; eggs; all grains except rice, including ANYTHING made from corn which is just about every processed food on the market [and noting that buckwheat, quinoa and amaranth are broadleaf plant seeds and not grains, so they are okay]; yeast including ALL mold products, vinegars, alcoholic beverages, mushrooms, miso, tempeh, soy sauce and processed fruits; soy; chocolate; shellfish; peanuts; tree nuts - and that's just what I can think of off the top of my head) so doing it the right way takes a lot of commitment and a hypoallergenic cookbook.

Less accurate but much less hassle is to just eliminate the one substance you most suspect, like dairy in your case. Four days without it, check how you feel, then reintroduce it and note any symptoms. Repeat the challenge if you're not sure. Of course if you're allergic to other things too, the results will be cloudy, but you can usually tell when the allergic load on your body is reduced.

Just FYI, this is all information from my MD allergist. I know there are people whose heads explode if something seems "new age-y" to them. But this is sanitized, dualistic, symptom/body system-limited American medicine all the way

[han-grrl]

I think its already been said

but some people react to milk - and weight gain is a symptom - basically water gain and bloating, because of an immune response...

[KnottedYet]

I have trouble with lactose, which I finally made a real effort to eliminate from my diet a couple years ago.

I've gained 30 lbs since then.

Bummer....

[doggrrl]

I was having inflamation issues in my foot from running. A wellness doctor suggested I give up dairy for 3 months because it might be contributing to my inflamation. Dairy is the #1 cause for allergic reactions, people think it's nuts or soy, but it's really dairy products, specifically cow dairy.

Yeah I know, it's sort of "out there hippie" finding a cure for my plantar faciitis by changing my eating, but the doctor had a point about the food we ingest. Think of it as clean fuel vs. not so clean fuel, both will still work, but your body will definitely function better with cleaner fuels.

Once I gave up dairy I dropped 15 lbs in 6 weeks. I have to say, it wasn't just dairy that did it. I switched out my proteins to be more fish oriented, ate more veggies, etc. I seriously felt physically better. However, to me it was probable that dairy did bad things to my body that I didn't even notice--minor inflamation, minor aches and pains. My body just didn't like dairy on a large level. (I will still have a slice of pizza or ice cream on occassion)
However to be fair, the weight loss could have made it easier on my joints and now my aches and pains are less. Who knows? I just think it's dairy.

Then I started to look into epigenetics--the thought being, our body genetics are driven by the diet of our ancestors. They ate what was available in their area and then genetics followed to adapt to those foods (through the generations) Since I am of Asian desent, I should eat more foods from the sea and more rice and typically Asians are lactose intollerant, so cutting out dairy made even more sense.

Anyhow, my 2 cents worth about weight loss.