Dairy

Calories from dairy won't cause weight gain any more or less than calories from anything else. I'm vegetarian and I also have to avoid wheat, so I get a LOT of my protein from a variety of dairy products.

Not to start a flame war but strictly speaking cals from dairy will cause less gain than cals from many other sources because they are low in sugars. Why they might be fattening is because they are calorie dense and such people eat more cals from them than they believe they are. I.e. a nice nibble can be 100 cals. doesn't take many nibbles to make a full meals worth of cals! but 100 cals of cheese is say less fattening than 100 cals of bread for instance.

Nope. You just contradicted yourself. They are more fattening because people eat more of them? 100 calories = 100 calories.

If dairy doesn't give you digestive problems, eat it. It's a great source of all sorts of nutrients. It will certainly NOT hinder your weight loss; numerous studies have shown that dairy consumption is associated with lower body weight. There is a lot of hysteria perpetrated by various proponents of elimination diets that is both irresponsible and uninformed.

As to whether you should eat full fat or skim/reduced fat dairy, it depends on your macronutrient needs. I eat fat-free dairy when I want to eat something else that's fatty, but otherwise I prefer full fat because it just tastes better to me.

I think thats a key thing we all need to experiment and see what works for you.

for me losing the notion that fat and sat fat was somehow bad has transformed by life and health. For others this may not be the case and the opposite may be true. Some research fields claim it can be dictated by blood type i.e. O = high fat A = more grain based. I remain unconvinced that its that simple...

I'm interested to know how a blood group antigen can be associated with how the body handles lipids. Can you please post a source for the research you mentioned?

Calories from dairy won't cause weight gain any more or less than calories from anything else. I'm vegetarian and I also have to avoid wheat, so I get a LOT of my protein from a variety of dairy products.

Not to start a flame war but strictly speaking cals from dairy will cause less gain than cals from many other sources because they are low in sugars. Why they might be fattening is because they are calorie dense and such people eat more cals from them than they believe they are. I.e. a nice nibble can be 100 cals. doesn't take many nibbles to make a full meals worth of cals! but 100 cals of cheese is say less fattening than 100 cals of bread for instance.

Nope. You just contradicted yourself. They are more fattening because people eat more of them? 100 calories = 100 calories.

No contradiction. 100 calories of dairy COULD be considered more fattening in an unmeasured way because its calorie dense and we unintentionally eat more than we think we are. But.... if you eat 100 cals of cheese it is less fattening than eating 100 cals of chocolate, or bread, or rice or wheat for instance. Look up how the body reacts to different food types and you will understand that 100 calories does not = 100 calories when it comes to the way the body uses those cals. Its all controlled by blood sugar and insulin. Dairy is generally low in carbohydrates so no blood sugar changes thus no insulin which means no storage. If you eat 100 cals of say refined carbs your blood sugar rises, insulin is put into the blood and excess is stored as fat in the cells. This is why calories are not created equal and its important that people understand this.

Most people have at least a minor allergy to cow's milk. If you notice your throat feels a little phlemy after eating dairy, that is a minor allergy. If it doesn't bother you, you can probably continue consuming it just fine. I think fat is better than no fat - keeps you satisfied longer and typical American low-cal diet doesn't have a balanced amount of fat in it.

If you find you have a bothersome allergy - then cut it out. I had to cut out dairy when breastfeeding because my baby had an intolerance. I lost some bloat and had perfectly clear skin when cutting out dairy. I should cut it out permanetly but have a yogurt almost every day. <slinks off in hypocritcal dispair>

Not to start a flame war

Always mean "I'm going to start a flame war get ready". lol

I don't know how some of these authors get away with the rubbish they write.

They say it's science and get someone like Dr. Oz to back them. Then the sheep follow.

Most people have at least a minor allergy to cow's milk. If you notice your throat feels a little phlemy after eating dairy, that is a minor allergy. If it doesn't bother you, you can probably continue consuming it just fine. I think fat is better than no fat - keeps you satisfied longer and typical American low-cal diet doesn't have a balanced amount of fat in it.

If you find you have a bothersome allergy - then cut it out. I had to cut out dairy when breastfeeding because my baby had an intolerance. I lost some bloat and had perfectly clear skin when cutting out dairy. I should cut it out permanetly but have a yogurt almost every day. <slinks off in hypocritcal dispair>

I must disagree that most people have a minor allergy to cow's milk. In fact, very few adults are allergic to milk protein. An allergy involves the immune system . The feeling that you may get in your throat after eating dairy is very unlikely to be an immune reaction. Enjoy your yogurt. My favourite is Greek yogurt......yummy

No contradiction. 100 calories of dairy COULD be considered more fattening in an unmeasured way because its calorie dense and we unintentionally eat more than we think we are. But.... if you eat 100 cals of cheese it is less fattening than eating 100 cals of chocolate, or bread, or rice or wheat for instance. Look up how the body reacts to different food types and you will understand that 100 calories does not = 100 calories when it comes to the way the body uses those cals. Its all controlled by blood sugar and insulin. Dairy is generally low in carbohydrates so no blood sugar changes thus no insulin which means no storage. If you eat 100 cals of say refined carbs your blood sugar rises, insulin is put into the blood and excess is stored as fat in the cells. This is why calories are not created equal and its important that people understand this.

Calories are created equal but the nutrients behind those calories are not.

100 calories from fruits and vegetables have a wide range of vitamins, minerals and fiber associated.

100 calories from Oreo cookies will have very little behind it nutritionally speaking.

However, the body will use that energy the exact same way, regardless of the origin of said calories.

Blood sugar and insulin responses only matter in people that have medical problems like diabetics, not for everyone else.

Sorry there is much more to it than that.

No contradiction. 100 calories of dairy COULD be considered more fattening in an unmeasured way because its calorie dense and we unintentionally eat more than we think we are. But.... if you eat 100 cals of cheese it is less fattening than eating 100 cals of chocolate, or bread, or rice or wheat for instance. Look up how the body reacts to different food types and you will understand that 100 calories does not = 100 calories when it comes to the way the body uses those cals. Its all controlled by blood sugar and insulin. Dairy is generally low in carbohydrates so no blood sugar changes thus no insulin which means no storage. If you eat 100 cals of say refined carbs your blood sugar rises, insulin is put into the blood and excess is stored as fat in the cells. This is why calories are not created equal and its important that people understand this.

Blood sugar and insulin relates to carbs. Fats and proteins also enter cells to be used for energy, storage, etc. just not via the insulin mechanism. It doesn't mean that they are less likely to be stored. They just enter the cell via a different mechanism. 100 calls is the same regardless of the macro source.

Ps. I'm sorry if I sound like I'm picking on you. I promise I'm not. I just find this type of thing interesting.

When I lost weight the first time I still had dairy and string cheese because I love it! Animal fat has not so great effects on our body (in large quantities) so I would stick with keeping it to 1% or skim. I'm back on the wagon and still plan to have my dairy

Most people have at least a minor allergy to cow's milk. If you notice your throat feels a little phlemy after eating dairy, that is a minor allergy. If it doesn't bother you, you can probably continue consuming it just fine. I think fat is better than no fat - keeps you satisfied longer and typical American low-cal diet doesn't have a balanced amount of fat in it.

If you find you have a bothersome allergy - then cut it out. I had to cut out dairy when breastfeeding because my baby had an intolerance. I lost some bloat and had perfectly clear skin when cutting out dairy. I should cut it out permanetly but have a yogurt almost every day. <slinks off in hypocritcal dispair>

I must disagree that most people have a minor allergy to cow's milk. In fact, very few adults are allergic to milk protein. An allergy involves the immune system . The feeling that you may get in your throat after eating dairy is very unlikely to be an immune reaction. Enjoy your yogurt. My favourite is Greek yogurt......yummy

There is a difference between a milk allergy and lactose intolerance. The majority of people do have some level of lactose intolerance, but may not be allergic to dairy which is less common. Lactose is a sugar in milk, casein is a protein. Lactose intolerance in a reduced ability to break down lactose. Casien is the protein which some people are allergic to but being allergic to casien will produce a different response from lactose intolerance. It is possible to be both lactose intolerant and allergic to casien. It's also possible to be allergic to casien but not lactose intolerant.

People of northern european descent are less likely to have lactose intolerance, but those people do not make up the majority of the world, just the united states. People other other descents do have a higher risk of being lactose intolerant with more severe symptoms.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/2009-08-30-lactose-intolerance_N.htm
http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/vegdiets/what-is-lactose-intolerance

I am lactose intolerant, so I eat fat-free dairy products.

Lactose is sugar. Fat free dairy contains lactise. That makes no sense.

To the breast-feeder: Breast feeding burns a lot of calories. I doubt dairy was your issue.

Dairy wasn't my issue, it was my baby's. I had been breastfeeding for a few months with no weight loss. That only came after eliminating dairy. However, as I mentioned, I wasn't working on getting healthy so my calorie consumption was high. When I cut out dairy, I had to cut everything out with it like my chocolate chip cookies and eating a whole pizza to myself, candy bars...all the bad stuff. I thought about eliminating dairy again just to lose weight, but I love those foods and I need this to be a lifelong journey so it's all in moderation. I don't eat chocolate bars and if I have cookies, I only have half a large soft cookie and that is rare because I really enjoy eating other treats that are healthier.

Just saying, if you enjoy dairy, don't cut it out, have it in moderation.