Going dairy free

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joybedford
joybedford Posts: 1,680 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have decided to go dairy free. I have severe IBS and live my life with stomach cramps, bloating and severe constipation. after years of suffering this ( I have had these issues from boing a baby). I had food intolerance testing done. The results were intolerant to dairy gluten and eggs. I cut all these out for 9 months and felt so much better. I gradually reintroduced and was Ok for a while but just lately the fatigue and above symptoms have crept back in. I have spent the last week finishing of all my yoghurts as nobody else would eat them and money doesn,t grow on trees. I am prepared with the dairy free alternatives and tomorrow is the first day. I am not at present cutting out eggs and gluten as this is a challenge and we are going on holiday soon wouldnt be able to eat out at all but dairy free is manageable. Anybody else dairy free any advice on eating out etc.

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  • BrokenButterfly
    BrokenButterfly Posts: 224
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    I've gone dairy free recently. And meat free. And taken on a whole foods plant-based diet. It may be an idea to check out the menus of restaurants you like on the internet to see if they have a nutrition guide.
  • Taritanolan
    Taritanolan Posts: 2
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    Going dairy and gluten free is the story of my life.. I keep yo-yoing between them on and off and I really should just never have dairy or gluten again but sometimes you slip or like you did.. you start reintroducing slowly and then you're suddenly hit with all the symptoms.
    My comment would be that just because you are going on holiday doesn't mean you can't eat out at all if you are cutting gluten, dairy and eggs. You can always have a salad as a starter with tomatoes and cucumbers or something else fresh.. and then for main course I tend to ask for a grilled fish or grilled meat with a side of vegetables. It's super boring I know but I too suffer from cramps and bloating and it's true that whenever I'm "good" and order well at restaurants I end up enjoying my meal and feeling great afterwards.. It seems impossible because sometimes you have to create your own dish and ask the waiter to prepare something from one plate and mix it with the sides of another but they will often do it for you.. it is there you just have to find it...
    What do you think? Hope you're going somewhere nice!
  • SlinkyNewMe
    SlinkyNewMe Posts: 213 Member
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    Hello. I have been a vegan for over 20 years and therefore dairy free. It is not that difficult not to eat dairy while eating out. Pizza is out for obvious reasons, as are certain pasta dishes - but if you just ask them not to sprinkle cheese on everything, avoid cheesy creamy pasta dishes you should be fine. Eating at Asian and Chinese is usually OK too. To be honest I have never found any major difficulties with eating out - the only places it is hard are in the sort of fast food type places you get in theme parks, seasides and some pubs where they rely heavily on burger and pizza, full English type places! I have eaten Thai, Chinese, Morroccan, Turkish, Indian, Italian with no problem.

    You are in the UK, so in terms of your yoghurt habits - Alpro do a good range of soya yoghurts, both plain and fruity and you can get those from any supermarket. They also do soya milk. If you like milk in your tea and coffee sometimes soya milk curdles, especially in coffee for some reason (but I only have filter coffee which is very strong so that could be why). I have found that Alpro soya milk doesn't curdle, neither does Tesco own brand (the ones in the blue packet) - some of the cheaper brands curdle in both tea and coffee. For some reason Co-op soya milk always curdles in everything! A way round this is to heat the milk up before using it.

    For cheese alternatives you may also want to try Cheezly or Sheese - both available from good health food shops. You will need to try a few of these before you find the one is right for you. If you like cheesy sauces then Free and Easy Dairy Free Cheese Sauce Mix is great in macaroni "cheese" style dishes. I get that from Tesco, and Holland & Barrett also stock it.

    Hope this helps.
  • bryonysten
    bryonysten Posts: 44
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    Hey, good luck. There are loads of resources out there for dairy free living, but the one I used most when I had to do an elimination diet for IBS a few years ago was 'Cooking Without' by Barbara Cousins. However, there are hundreds and hundreds of others, from things like Appetite for Reduction (Vegan for weight loss, and tasty tasty recipes) to the Forks Over Knives site. Also, blogs such as my new roots are really great.

    I'd also suggest visiting the health food store and trying 'tofutti' cream cheese, comes flavoured, and you can experiment with making your own 'tofu cheese' too. As a massive cheese fan (trying to go dairy free at least a few days a week) I was actually pleasantly surprised by how nice it tasted on a salad with a feta like consistency.

    Good luck, and enjoy feeling better

    B

    PS - Have you determined whether it is all dairy or just cow products? I seem to be fine with sheep and goats stuff, just have to take it very easy on the cow products....
  • determinedbutlazy
    determinedbutlazy Posts: 1,941 Member
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    I've been dairy free about 8 months now, and I'm incredibly happy I did. I still miss cheese, and when I feel like a "treat" I might have a tiny nibble of it or a slice of pizza. However, that's about once a month and I normally get a tummy ache afterwards ):

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