Clean eating and dairy.

HalfTheWomanIUsedToBe

I'm fairly new to eating pretty clean, so I'm still trying to get the hang of it. Just, in general, where do most people stand on clean eating and dairy products? Yes, no, sometimes? What are your thoughts on different and specific products? I have cheese on the brain right now, but really I'm looking for advice for all dairy.

(I looked several pages back, and couldn't find anything on this topic exactly. But if it was posted before and someone can direct me to it, that would be wonderful.)

Thank you.

krissenior

I have cottage cheese everyday and skimmed milk and it never hurts me

coachmjfitness11

You will probably heard a lot of mixed reviews on this so its really just what's right for you.

Personally, I see dairy as kind of one of those grey areas I just try to avoid/lower my intake in general. It is a great source of protien but is harder to digest then most clean or raw foods. I try to keep it to 1 time a day personally, and try to substitute dairy consumption as much as possible (sub almond, rice or soy for cow's milk) I personally am not a nutritionist and don't know much about why it might be harmful but I've found with weight loss, dairy products tend to be higher in fat and can hinder progress because of it, and because they are harder to digest.

fabdancr1

Some points on the topic from the Organic Consumers Association:

1. The pasteurization kills all the beneficial microorganisms
2. Homogenization artificially modifies dairy fats in a way that ultimately harms the human cardiovascular system when consumed.
3. Processed "mainstream" milk is also taken from dairy cows pumped up with antibiotics, rBGH (Bovine Growth Hormone) and usually treated very poorly in terms of ethics. Even the popular brands showing happy cows and claiming to be organic are under intense fire by the Organic Consumers Association

Link to the article: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_6742.cfm

I personally consume no dairy because my body is intolerant of it. So far I've had no issue getting my recommended nutrients, but I'm also a superfood eater....lots of spinach, kale, chia seeds, etc. There's just so many non-dairy sources of the nutrients found in milk that have FAR fewer calories and fat that it just makes sense to avoid it IMHO.

Metallux

I love creamy dairy things, but I also want to transition out of animal products, for a dozen reasons but mainly because of antibiotics and the amount of pus allowed in milk. *shudder* I'm transitioning to organic dairy or almond milk when I can, until I can either source a good local farmer for dairy, or get off animal products altogether.

veggiemodel

Well, for me dairy is not good at all, my skin have cleared up since I cut it out, I lost abdominal fat and both my rhinitis and sinusitis are gone

HalfTheWomanIUsedToBe

Thanks for all of the responses. I figured it was a topic I was going to get mixed reviews on, but I did want to see different points of view.

The only dairy I really consume right now anyway is some cheese on my salads. So I think I'm going to keep it on occasion, but reduce how often I have it. I'm a huge fan of cheese, so I don't want to cut it out completely! But cutting down a little will probably be good for me

veggiehottie

I guess it depends on what your definition of clean eating is. Tosca Reno and Bill Phillips, huge proponents of "eat clean" diets, list dairy products as good sources of protein.

I am vegetarian and I have attempted to go vegan many times, and tried to cut the dairy out. I have recently been very into heavy lifting though and my body just feels better when I eat dairy (milk, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt) daily.

badtastebetty

I'm currently in the process of cutting out processed foods, and gluten. I have cheese as a way to fill out my meals, and indulge a little.

I'm fine with dairy, I will eventually look into removing it from my diet, but not anytime soon.