Removing dairy from diet

My doctor told me 1 in 3 Europeans can't tolerate milk.

I stopped ingesting dairy quite a few years ago because of a stomach condition. It has now healed but I still don't take it.

It took a while to stop eating cheese but then it got so bad I associated pain with cheese. That helped cut it out. I even tried the lacto free cheese- made no difference. I am now happy to say I don't miss it at all and my weight/diet/lifestyle has improved because I cut it out of my life.

If you feel better not drinking milk then keep it going. Slowly cut out the other aspects of dairy and see if the improvements keep going. The best way to know if you have an intolerance is cut it out for say 8 weeks and then try some dairy again and see how your body reacts.

I have no need or want for dairy. There are good alternatives out there that are healthier and provide more nutrients than milk.

All I've done so far is stop drinking the ridiculous amounts of milk that I normally drink daily.

Then all you've done is cut a significant number of calories. Provided you don't have dairy allergies, it really shouldn't make a difference. I did substantially reduce dairy from my diet, but only because it's a but load of calories that I would rather spend elsewhere...other than that, there really is no substantial benefit if you don't have a medical condition or allergy.

It isn't just the calories. Milk is also quite salty and my dad ended up with seriously increased edema because he was drinking too much milk. I'm lactose intolerant and gave up milk decades ago, but now use soy milk in my cereal. My son, who is also lactose intolerant, uses rice milk to avoid the plant estrogens in soy.

My daughter is lactose intolerant and she get constipated and bloated. Look as long as you are taking in enough calcium I would give it a go and see whether it makes that much of a difference in the long run.

My IBS stopped completely when I stopped eating meat. I didn't think it would make such a difference to my life and I love my meat, but eventually it all became too painful to continue.

I recently discovered that chocolate was causing a lot of health issues for me that people normally wouldn't associate with food. Dairy was actually next on my list of foods to experiment with- if you think it may help, no harm in giving it a try! You can always add dairy back into your diet if it doesn't make a difference.

When you really think about it, there is no reason to eat/drink dairy. We are obviously the only "animal" that drinks milk past infancy, let alone another animals milk. (But yet, breastfeeding your baby is taboo...sigh) We were not made to digest it, but it is a easy way to get some nutrients. And of course, cheese.....'nough said!

We are the only creature that deliberately milks another animal, but other animals consume milk past infancy given the change. Cats and pigs love the stuff.

Not that I'm disagreeing with the OP's choice to cut out milk if it helps.

I developed lactose intolerance, so I really had no choice. I noticed no other benefits than the obvious 'no more violent sickness'.

I believe there have been some studies which suggest a diet rich in low-fat dairy is beneficial to weight loss. Something to weigh up when making the decision.

I was really crappy feeling last week. I'd been drinking my daughter's 2% milk, as I was out of skim. So, I decided to stop drinking milk altogether. Knock on wood, I am feeling better this week than I have in a looooong time. I've been sleeping better, waking up in morning actually not having to talk myself into getting out of bed, I feel more alert during the day, my pants seem to fit better even though I haven't lost weight. Wow. I'd given up soda almost 4 weeks back as well, but this giving up milk thing has really got my attention.

For those of you who have given up dairy, what other positive benefits might I expect? All I've done so far is stop drinking the ridiculous amounts of milk that I normally drink daily. I'm thinking of giving up my all time favorite snack - cheese - next. I seriously feel like crap all the time, and if giving up milk made this big of difference, I'd be willing to give up cheese if it gets me all the way back to good health, even though it is one of my favs. Feeling like garbage constantly is the worst.

Well done!
I gave up all animal-derived foods about six or seven weeks ago. Its been absolutely fantastic. I feel like a million bucks and I've lost weight after going on a wholefoods plant-based diet. Some of the benefits include clearer thinking, feeling 'lighter', much more energy, and despite the fact that its hayfever season here and I am a chronic sufferer - no hayfever.
There are some significant long-term health benefits as a result of giving up animal-derived foods and very little downside.
kind regards,

Ben

I was really crappy feeling last week. I'd been drinking my daughter's 2% milk, as I was out of skim. So, I decided to stop drinking milk altogether. Knock on wood, I am feeling better this week than I have in a looooong time. I've been sleeping better, waking up in morning actually not having to talk myself into getting out of bed, I feel more alert during the day, my pants seem to fit better even though I haven't lost weight. Wow. I'd given up soda almost 4 weeks back as well, but this giving up milk thing has really got my attention.

For those of you who have given up dairy, what other positive benefits might I expect? All I've done so far is stop drinking the ridiculous amounts of milk that I normally drink daily. I'm thinking of giving up my all time favorite snack - cheese - next. I seriously feel like crap all the time, and if giving up milk made this big of difference, I'd be willing to give up cheese if it gets me all the way back to good health, even though it is one of my favs. Feeling like garbage constantly is the worst.

I've been vegetarian for a few years and I immediately felt health benefits. But my favorite foods were all dairy My diet staples were milk, cheese and yogurt. My weight loss stalled. I didn't lose weight for quite awhile and I was lacking in energy.

I cut out all animal products and started eating a plant based diet around the first of the year. It was difficult but the rewards were nearly instantaneous. I don't think I missed the stuff after a couple of weeks because I just felt so much lighter and clearer.

Personally, I just don't think we need all those added hormones from animals. I just think "live foods" are superior to other foods. There's no cholesterol in a plant based diet, which is very cool too. But after studying up a bit on milk products I understand a bit more now. Milk created a lot of phlegm in me. And I wasn't lactose intolerance but there were still side effects to dairy for me.

It also turns out that standard dairy cows are stimulated with hormones that in the end, cause infection in the udders of stressed cows that then get treated with antibiotics.

This infection is, of course, treated with antibiotics, helping to breed more antibiotic resistant organisms. It is literally unbelievable that one liter (a little over a quart) of Californian milk contained 298 million pus cells in 2003, 11 million more pus cells than it contained in 2002.

You might console yourself by saying "but milk is pasteurized. Surely the cells are cleared!" No, they are not cleared, they are only heated. So your kids drink dead pus cells. There is a slight consolation: some other states' milk contains a much higher pus cell count than California's. Alabama's has an average of 444 million cells; Nevada's has less: ‘only' 443 million; while Florida's milk has the highest count: 548 million pus cells per liter, or nearly 130 million per 8-oz glass. Even that is well below the USDA's allowable U.S. standard of 750 million pus cells per liter, above which milk must be consumed in the state in which it is produced!


http://foodmatters.tv/articles-1/how-many-pus-cells-are-in-your-milk

I know a lot of what is said about dairy is so much "hoopla" but I simply switched almond milk for dairy milk and it has more calcium and actually tastes better than dairy milk without any of the risks or associated side-effects.

If you feel better without drinking milk and eating dairy ... stick with it. Your body doesn't lie. And the benefits, for me, go on and on.

Good luck in whatever you choose!

It may also lower your cholesterol.