Paleo and Dairy: What's your take?
RatherBeInTheShire
Posts: 561 Member
I'm on day 5 of Paleo and loving it. I have not being eating any dairy of any kind. I've been reading a lot of articles today that pretty much puts dairy in the grey area. How many of you have been eating dairy?
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Hi-
I'm on my 3rd week. I try to avoid it but don't stress about it. Like if we're out to eat & there is some cheese on my salad...so be it. I count it in my cals & move on. But I switched to almond milk in my coffee & don't use cheese, milk, or yogurt in any of my Paleo cooking.
I think its just what you prefer0 -
I eat dairy and consider myself "Primal".
I know I have moderate lactose intolerance, and I know exactly how much and what type of things I can digest and what I can't. So I don't feel like I need to eliminate it. I enjoy cheese too much, and I like the healthy fat it provides.
I get the whole "most animals don't drink milk past infancy" argument, and I get the idea that most native cultures don't drink milk past infancy, and I get the whole idea that there are hormones in dairy that are related to species-specific growth.
I just have decided that I still want my cheese, yogurt, and occasional ice cream treat. I've eliminated so many other things, and this is the one thing I have decided for now that I want to retain in my diet.0 -
I was Primal for a very long time. I struggled with Whole30 twice because of my dairy consumption. However, I'm now on my 3rd Whole30 journey and am doing just fine without dairy. I do miss the occasional cheese and/or yogurt but there are other things I'm more interested in. I've found that without dairy, my allergies are null and void. While eating dairy, I found myself to be wheezing and phlegmy while working out but not anymore. After my Whole30 is over, I'm not sure if I'll be reincorporating dairy on a daily basis into my diet. I don't think I have any dairy intolerance whatsoever either. I can handle milk, cheese, half & half, etc just fine.
For those starting out, I'd suggest adding dairy, if well tolerated, because getting to your daily macros for fats are easier.0 -
Thanks! I was just curious how others felt. I have celiac and therefore seem to have issues with dairy so I cut it out because it makes me feel better. I don't think the argument of whether or not it's actually PALEO will ever have an answer. To each thier own!0
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I go through periods where I cut it out (cause my skin looks better) and those where I keep it in (because cheese is awesome). I don't really drink milk anyway, except in lattes, and I think in moderation, unless you actually have issues with it, it's probably fine.0
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I also consider myself primal (with bouts of paleo), and do eat dairy in moderation. I think it does fit with the whole conception of primal and paleo - eating what humans were eating when we evolved, and therefore what our bodies are best suited to process. Plus, greek yogurt is a good way to get the fermented foods that Mark Sisson recommends. But dairy wasn't a staple of our diet then, and it shouldn't be now, it's supplemental.0
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I am primal too, but the only dairy products I eat are butter and Greek yogurt.. Cantarella's post below sums up how I feel perfectly. :-)0
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I go through periods where I cut it out (cause my skin looks better) and those where I keep it in (because cheese is awesome). I don't really drink milk anyway, except in lattes, and I think in moderation, unless you actually have issues with it, it's probably fine.
I'm trying my best to cut it out now to see if my face clears up...I've been reading that it can cause acne...I'm 28 and have been breaking out like a teenager going through puberty! Not cool!0 -
I consider myself primal and eat greek yogurt and some cheese. I'm 57 and had acne until I gave up grains and sugar, now my face is clear. I have a variety of allergies (under control now) and my inflammation is reduced so for now I'm keeping the yogurt and cheese. If I plateau on my weight loss I will try giving up dairy for a while to see if that helps but I so love my berries and yogurt and that would be hard to give up.0
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I love dairy, thus I couldn't possibly give it up. Guess that makes me more Primal than Paleo.
Thing is with dairy is to just not overdo it. You don't really need to have it with every meal, or even every day. Like dessert. I don't believe in that "everything in moderation" crap, because most of the typical "everything" is junk, but a bit of a fairly healthy indulgence such as yoghurt, dark chocolate or a strong cheese is perfectly fine (and maybe even good for you) in small doses. Granted, you can live without these things, but if you can tolerate and you enjoy it AND you can control yourself around it, then why not?0 -
I'm more primal. Need my bulletproof coffee in the morning.0
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I'm more primal. Need my bulletproof coffee in the morning.
Nothing particularly un-paleo about bp coffee...(assuming you're making it with gf butter and MCT oil).0 -
Dairy has been shockingly easy for me to give up. But I dont feel 100% agaist it as I do with say wheat. If I want a bite of cheese or want to eat something I didnt make that I know was made with dairy then Im ok with that but Id say Im dairy free about 90% of the time.
I miss my greek yogurt and what not but everything I ate before that was dairy was snacks between meals and with eating paleo I have no desire to eat between meals.0 -
I cut back on dairy A LOT this year. After reading It Starts With Food, I'd really like to cut back on dairy even more. However, it is much harder for me to give up. Wheat/gluten that was easy because I feel so sick after eating it. Other grains were easy because I don't enjoy them all that much. Dairy is harder. I'll probably keep it in the diet in small quantities. Right now I eat 3 - 5 dairy servings/week and I'm pretty OK w/ that.
Eventually I'll do a Whole 30 and be interested to see how it feels to do a full 30 days without dairy.0 -
How is bulletproof primal and not paleo? Is it the butter? Won't give it up. I don't have it every day, but I do enjoy it a few days a week.0
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Grassfed butter is still considered paleo, so that's why bulletproof coffee is paleo.
I LOVE dairy, so I eat primally. That being said, I don't gorge on dairy - I use heavy whipping cream in my coffee or over berries as a dessert, and I put cheese on my eggs and sometimes my veggies, and then I use butter. But I'm not eating tons of dairy, and I'm not drinking milk. Keeping dairy in my diet makes this so very easy for me to do. As long as I continue having no problems losing weight, I'll keep my beloved dairy. :-)0 -
Thanks so much for everyones replies!! Since cutting it out was pretty easy for me, I've decided to just keep it out for now!0
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I stayed away from it even before I went Paleo. I might give a good quality grass-fed butter a try for cooking, but that is about it.0
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I consider myself Primal as I do have dairy in small amounts.
I was never a big milk drinker but ate yogurt and cheese and had creamer in my coffee so when I did a 30 day strict Paleo I was already eating clean - but giving up the dairy was hard for me - especially in my morning coffee (used coconut milk from a can during that time).
After doing the 30 day strict I decided life was to short to completely cut out dairy so it is back in my diet in moderation...I do have a cup of coffee with creamer every day, I have greek yogurt 1-2 x's per week, cheese I may have a few times a month depending on what we are having and if cheese might enhance...(like for example I made turkey chili last week and a little shredded cheese on top made me happy)..things like ice cream maybe once a month (usually a soft serve ice cream cone...sometimes you just need a little yum)0 -
Grassfed butter is still considered paleo, so that's why bulletproof coffee is paleo.
I LOVE dairy, so I eat primally. That being said, I don't gorge on dairy - I use heavy whipping cream in my coffee or over berries as a dessert, and I put cheese on my eggs and sometimes my veggies, and then I use butter. But I'm not eating tons of dairy, and I'm not drinking milk. Keeping dairy in my diet makes this so very easy for me to do. As long as I continue having no problems losing weight, I'll keep my beloved dairy. :-)
Actually grass fed butter is considered Primal, not Paleo, since it does contain milk solids. Ghee or clarified butter is considered Paleo since the milk solids have been removed. One can definitely still make BP coffee if following Paleo by using ghee. It's not a lot of difference in taste really. When my Whole30 is done, I'm really looking forward to using grass fed butter and not having to clarify my own any more, so long as I can still tolerate it.0 -
I have been doing paleo roughly 2 to 3 months and i did it last year. last year, no dairy. This year my hubby and i ate greek yogurt for bfast but that was the only dairy. we gave it up this week because we started the 21-day sugar detox program and the greek yogurt (fruit flavored ones) have a ton of sugar, and i don't care to eat the plain kind without honey or fruit, defeating the sugar detox. Anyhow, I've lost 3 pounds in 4 days so far :-) after the sugar detox i don't know if we'll eat it again or not....... we use almond or coconut milk in place of cream in coffee, i don't miss it.0
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I eat a little bit of full fat dairy, but I'm more Primal than Paleo. I usually have a small Gouda Babybel cheese every other day or so. I also sneak in a little bit of milk if I'm feeling like it. I don't have digestive issues with milk, and digestive problems are the main reason why they want you to avoid it.0
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paleo for almost a year and try to avoid dairy. My skin is sooo much better without it! Although like another poster if there is cheese on a salad I dont 'not eat' it...I just count it and move on. I do miss yoghurt tho.
I use tonnes of coconut milk ....especially in my coffee and tea.0 -
Who seriously cares about Paleo/Pimal designations? It can't be just dairy... Is it what book everyone follows, or what? Most people I have found here follow Blueprint, but I'm a Robb Wolf acolyte,so that would make me Paleo+dairy? Though we aren't attacking each other, we sound a little like the vegetarians fighting over who's the "real" vegetarian because somebody eats fish or eggs or something. Can't we just call ourselves archevores and move away from designations?
To answer the question, I eat dairy. Mostly because it doesn't bother me, then because it;s the easiest way for me to get easy fat and protein, and also because I love cheese. I despise the taste of milk (grew up on a dairy farm), so don't use that, and I don't use anything grass-fed because I can't afford it, and it is difficult to get. We must do the best we can with the resources at our disposal.0 -
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I'm Primal, but I would never just sit down and drink a glass of milk. If I have dairy it's usually grass-fed butter, full fat greek yogurt, or some nice artisan cheese. I have noticed since going Primal I can't stand cheap cheese. Basically any "american" cheese at a restaurant just tastes salty and fake to me. Don't even get me started with nacho cheese. Yuck!0
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As I mentioned earlier, I consider myself primal. But this week I made a mistake and bought (3) no fat greek yogurt from Costco. Was so focused on no sugar/sweeteners that I missed the no-fat marking. Didn't want to waste it, so I bought some MCT oil to add. The can said start with 1 tsp and work your way up, so I added 1 tsp MCT and 1 tsp pure almond butter. I didn't want to just do almond butter as I thought it would overpower my raspberries. So in the end I had a yogurt with more fat than 2%, more protein and less carbs than full fat or 2%. I can work my way up and add more MCT to get the fat content up higher. Right now I'm almost thinking about continuing with mixture rather than full fat yogurt cause MCT is supposed to have so many health benefits (esp brain health). Plus on days when I don't want berries I can up the almond butter - it tasted sinful.0
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I didn't care much for dairy products even before I became a Paleo/Primal eater. Other than heavy cream in my coffee and the occasional a shot of kefir for the pre/probiotics....dairy just makes me gassy :blushing:0
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Surely one of the points of having the full fat stuff is that low/zero fat yoghurt is going to be full of thickeners, sweeteners and starches0
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I am doing a Primal version. I found that fermented dairy, home made quark/kefir induce weight gain, so I stick with butter & double cream for cooking certain dishes (but prefer coconut oil to butter) and I have about an oz of raw organic hard cheese almost daily as a substitute for all things sweet.0
