Dairy, yes or no?

BeyondApril
BeyondApril Posts: 133 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I recently switched to Soy milk after reading that regular (cow) dairy is not that good for you and can cause bloating. I do not like the soy milk. Anyone out there with 1. facts about the true evil powers of dairy or 2. product recommendations for substitutes that won't make me gag?

I really miss my afternoon Greek yogurt, and my cheddar with crackers with my wine. :-) Thanks!
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Replies

  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    Did you personally experience an adverse effect from the consumption of dairy? If not, go ahead. Most of what people hear turns out to be wrong. So unless you are lactose intolerant, dairy isn't a problem. People have been consuming dairy products for a long time.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    If you miss it, eat it. Nothing wrong with it.

  • ki4eld
    ki4eld Posts: 1,213 Member
    I react to the excess lactose in milk, so I drink Fairlife. It's milk, real moo cow milk. It's just been filtered.
  • GillianSmith2
    GillianSmith2 Posts: 387 Member
    If you like it, and don't have any bad reactions to it then just have it
  • cmill125
    cmill125 Posts: 1 Member
    Unsweetened almond plus cashew is delicious and only about 30 kcal per cup. Alot of people do have allergies to proteins found in milk or reflux which can be worsened by dairy. Would definitely be a per person basis because milk is a great source of protein.

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    Do you like it? Do you have issues with it? Can you fit it in your goals? Would you stop eating peanut butter because it can kill people, even if you didn't have any problems with it?
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited November 2015
    1. Fact - we are mammals. Is it really likely it's evil? More likely you have stumbled across some crackpot on the internet with an agenda.
    2. Substitutes. Bleah.

    Does it cause bloating to you? It certainly doesn't to me.

    PS - if someone mentions "baby cows" I will scream! :)
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    edited November 2015
    I have no problems wit dairy and enjoy full fat dairy products every day. Ice cream. cheese and whole milk are regular parts of my meal plan.

    Some people have issues from dairy some don't. If you don't then don't worry about it. Enjoy your food.

    Too much soy can also cause serious problems for some people.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    I get milk straight out of the udder...so yes to dairy...:)
  • JShailen
    JShailen Posts: 184 Member
    I'm lactose intolerant. I can have small amounts of dairy (most cheese seems ok in moderation). I actually love the taste of the plant based milks so maybe not much help but I will say this about Soy milk, it seems to vary greatly from brand to brand. Also, I can't stand the taste of the unsweetened soy. Here in the UK they have Alpro original which is quite nice. In the US I remember liking a vanilla soy drink, think it was Silk...for unsweetened nut milks I go for Almond which is mild and quite good for cooking/baking.

    For yogurt I recently discovered Alpro soya yogurt. My favorite is the coconut flavored one, it doesn't have the tang of greek yogurt and is quite subtle. Lovely for overnight oats!
  • scolaris
    scolaris Posts: 2,145 Member
    I love dairy. I do better with yogurt & cheeses. On the bloat stuff I say 'meh.' Maybe for some. Too much milk drinking seems to correlate with more sinus/allergy symptoms for me ... (I said correlation not causation; but it's so easy to limit it I really don't care to dig deeper.)
    Team dairy!!
  • pondee629
    pondee629 Posts: 2,469 Member
    Baby cows. just wanted to hear the scream ;-)
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    Most people have some sort of issue as a result of eating dairy, usually bloating, some issues with lactose, excess mucus production, and even some skin issues.


    HOWEVER, if you don't have any of these problems with dairy there is no reason to cut it out.

    Alternatively, if it does cause problems for you and you want an alternative i would suggest almond milk. For yogurt, i agree Alpro Soya yogurt is delicious (i bought it thinking it was regular yogurt and kept raving about it before i even realized it was soy). There are many alternatives to cheese.

    Again though, if you dont have any problems, why mess with a good thing?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Dairy: if you like it and react well to it, eat and drink it. (This is me.)

    If you don't like it, react poorly to it, or have ethical issues with it, don't eat or drink it.

    Lactose intolerance is really common, so if you suspect you might have it, you can try cutting it out for a while, but the mere fact that some people (even many people) have issues with it doesn't mean you will.

    For me it's a delicious and easy source of protein, especially low fat Greek yogurt and cottage cheese.

    Also, just because I think it's interesting, there's unsurprisingly a link between geographic origins and ability to digest lactose as an adult. People from areas where dairy became a part of the diet earlier are typically not lactose intolerant: http://nutrigenomics.ucdavis.edu/?page=information/Concepts_in_Nutrigenomics/Lactose_Intolerance
  • yusaku02
    yusaku02 Posts: 3,472 Member
    Dairy is great, delicious and packed full of protein.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    I'm all about the cow.
  • richardgavel
    richardgavel Posts: 1,001 Member
    Two suggestions for issues with dairy that have helped me. One is to go organic. I don't know why, but I have significantly less issues with organic milk vs normal milk. The other I go with is slowing the rate of absorption. For example, when eating out, I wait until I've started eating before I drink any of the milk.
  • siluridae
    siluridae Posts: 188 Member
    Raw milk is the best thing ever.
  • juliebowman4
    juliebowman4 Posts: 784 Member
    I love my dairy, and I've never experienced issues....but hubby does. There are more alternatives that just soy milk. Almond milk (flavoured, plain, chocolate etc)
    Cashew milk, sweetened or regular.
    Rice milk, again....all flavours, even strawberry!
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    You have no ethical reasons to cut milk, and read somewhere it might cause bloating. Do you suffer from bloating? If not, and you have no ethical reasons, continue to drink your milk.

    I often drink Kefir instead of milk, because I do find it helps my digestion.

    I compared various milks and substitutes here. http://bit.ly/1NHiVW3 They are not equal. Soy milk is the closest comparator to what milk does for you.
  • Duchy82
    Duchy82 Posts: 560 Member
    I love dairy especially yogurt so I would never give it up.

    I agree that soy milk is disgusting (and I get problems with soy anyways) after that experience i have never tried any of the other alternatives.

    I would say if you have no issues with dairy reintroduce it there is nothing wrong with consuming dairy.
  • kyrannosaurus
    kyrannosaurus Posts: 350 Member
    I don't consume dairy for ethical reasons, but that's me.
  • VykkDraygoVPR
    VykkDraygoVPR Posts: 465 Member
    I don't like milk (unless it has chocolate in it), and too much of it will make me just feel kind of icky. I drink unsweetened vanilla almond milk. I actually enjoy the taste. If milk doesn't bother you, then don't cut it out!

    So far as I can tell, ice cream, cream, and cheese don't both me (yogurt and sour cream will always be disgusting though). I think it just might be that a gigantic glass of chocolate milk has more lactose than a tablespoon of cream (in coffee).
  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,847 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Dairy: if you like it and react well to it, eat and drink it. (This is me.)

    If you don't like it, react poorly to it, or have ethical issues with it, don't eat or drink it.

    Lactose intolerance is really common, so if you suspect you might have it, you can try cutting it out for a while, but the mere fact that some people (even many people) have issues with it doesn't mean you will.

    For me it's a delicious and easy source of protein, especially low fat Greek yogurt and cottage cheese.

    Also, just because I think it's interesting, there's unsurprisingly a link between geographic origins and ability to digest lactose as an adult. People from areas where dairy became a part of the diet earlier are typically not lactose intolerant: http://nutrigenomics.ucdavis.edu/?page=information/Concepts_in_Nutrigenomics/Lactose_Intolerance

    Not shocking. My husband and I are both of good mixed northern/western European stock and neither of us nor our horde of beast children have any problems with dairy.

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Cutting out a food because it makes you bloat is probably a good idea. Cutting out a food because other people say it makes them bloat . . . I don't really understand that.

    I don't consume dairy (for ethical reasons). If you really want to avoid it, try one of the many other plant milks out there -- cashew, almond, hemp, hazelnut, oat, rice.
  • AskTracyAnnK28
    AskTracyAnnK28 Posts: 2,817 Member
    I love dairy but my tummy doesn't :( I recently switched to vanilla almond milk and I love it!!! Oh and there's even almond milk/coconut milk frozen desserts (like ice cream bars). My digestive system is very happy!

  • WinterSkies
    WinterSkies Posts: 940 Member
    nicsflyingcircus wrote: »

    Not shocking. My husband and I are both of good mixed northern/western European stock and neither of us nor our horde of beast children have any problems with dairy.

    Lol... I'm going file that one away for future use!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    richardgavel wrote: »
    Two suggestions for issues with dairy that have helped me. One is to go organic. I don't know why, but I have significantly less issues with organic milk vs normal milk. The other I go with is slowing the rate of absorption. For example, when eating out, I wait until I've started eating before I drink any of the milk.

    I now don't consume conventionally produced dairy for ethical reasons. In the past, I have had problems with conventionally produced dairy that I did not have with dairy from small family farms. Some of these have organic practices but are not certified organic.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Milk is good for you. Why not. ;)

  • salembambi
    salembambi Posts: 5,585 Member
    dairy is vile
    just the smell of it makes me want to vom
    which is funny cause i use to be one of those vegetarians that was addicted to it

    alternatives are way better

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