WHY DAIRY FREE?

Dairy products are one of the most popular food groups in the Western world. Milk has a wholesome, nutritious image but the only milk which is good for us is the milk fed by a mother to her baby.

WHY IS DAIRY A PROBLEM
Humans are the only mammal which continues to consume milk after infancy. Once we leave infanthood we no longer have the enzymes to absorb the nutrients in milk. Digesting milk then becomes difficult, creating mucous and acid in the gut. This upsets the balance of bacteria in the gut causing general difficulty with digestion and reducing absorption of nutrients. Dairy products contain the protein casein. There is 300 times more casein in cow’s milk then in breast milk and humans often have difficulty digesting it.

Pasteurisation further reduces any beneficial aspects of dairy products by killing beneficial bacteria, destroying useful digestive enzymes, destroying vitamins and destroying antibodies which protect against harmful bacteria.

Lactose intolerance is a common allergic reaction. Lactose is the sugar contained in milk. In order to digest lactose we need the enzyme lactase and this is often missing because we are not intended to drink milk after infancy. The sugar in milk may also cause problems in those suffering from Candida Albicans (thrush in the gut).

DO WE NEED DAIRY?
We are encouraged to drink milk and milk products in order to maintain healthy levels of calcium which are essential for health bones and teeth. In reality, we can get sufficient calcium from other foods. Vegetables, fruit, nuts and pulses all contain calcium. Good sources of calcium are sesame seeds, figs, almonds, greens, haddock, broccoli and carrots. In fact, the digestive problems caused by milk are likely to reduce our absorption of vitamins and minerals leading to low calcium and other mineral and vitamin levels.

Cheese has all the problems associated with milk. Butter is the fatty part of the milk and, although high in fat, has little milk left in it. This means it is often better tolerated by those who are intolerant to milk.

Live yoghurt is low in fat and has been partly digested by the action of the live bacteria which are contained in it. These bacteria also help to maintain friendly bacteria in the gut. It does, however, still contain milk so can cause problems for those intolerant to milk.

If you are avoiding dairy products be aware that they are sometimes labelled as whey powder or casein on product information.