Happy Hump day, everyone! For most of you that may already know me, know that I am 100% dairy-free. The reason I bring up this topic up is that many people have some sort of dairy allergy or suspect that they have a dairy allergy due to a skin or digestion issue. This is when they come to me and ask for help. I want to break it down simple for everyone that way whether it’s yourself or a friend who is dairy-free, you know what that means and what things you need to look out for when buying groceries or eating out. In addition, I want to be honest and say that in my opinion dairy-free is much harder than being gluten-free. Typically, I’ve noticed that these two allergies go hand in hand, but they make a lot more gluten-free products than they do dairy-free (not all of them being healthy, but nevertheless are free of gluten). Lastly, I want to highlight that 4 years ago that I was a HUGE dairy eater as I loved ice cream, cheese, pizza (all the good stuff!) but had to give it up as a result of cystic acne and bad digestion. I’m here to tell you that while it can be difficult in the beginning, I promise you can do it and it will definitely be worth getting rid of those painful symptoms. In addition, don’t beat yourself up if in the beginning you go cold turkey and then find yourself having that piece of cheese two weeks later. It took me a very long time to have the self control and find dairy-free alternatives I truly loved because I knew in the end it wasn’t worth the pain I was going through.
How is Dairy-Free Defined?
I define dairy free as food products that contain no milk-based ingredients. Some of the ingredients you need to look out for on nutrition labels that are milk-based are: butter, casein, cheese, cream, curd, whey, delactosed, lactalbumin, lactoglobulin, lactose, milk fat/powder, and recaldent. I also want to clear the air that eggs and mayo (typically made from eggs and oil) are not dairy; therefore, if you’re dairy-free you can eat them. In addition, it is safe to assume that if a food is defined as “vegan” that there will be no dairy in it as vegan food does not contain any animal by-product, including dairy. Lastly, dairy-free is not the same thing as non-dairy. Non-dairy is defined by the FDA as containing no dairy, but allows for milk derivatives to be present in the food, such as whey and casein. Therefore, I would check the nutrition labels on all non-dairy products before consuming.
Do you have a Dairy Allergy?
The best way to figure out if you have a dairy allergy (or any allergy) is by doing an elimination diet. You will need to eliminate dairy products from your diet for 3 weeks and then re-introduce it back in and take note of your symptoms. If the symptoms return, they you know that dairy is the culprit. If you have no reactions, then you might have a different allergy but at least you can rule out dairy. Again, I know elimination diets are not easy and I was really bad at it in the beginning. However, the best way to heal your body is by taking out the food that is leaving your body in a constant state of inflammation. I realized that as I took dairy out of my diet, that overtime I was able to heal my body and when I did want to indulge in that delicious, decadent piece of chocolate cake – I could and my reaction was much less significant than it used to be. This is because I allowed my body the time it needed to heal.
How do you live Dairy-Free?
1. Read the nutrition label.
As I mentioned before, there are a lot of “milk-based ingredients” that you need to look out for when buying groceries. I will list them again:
- Butter
- Casein
- Cheese
- Cream
- Curd
- Whey
- Delactosed
- Lactalbumin
- Lactoglobulin
- Lactose
- Milk fat/powder
- Recaldent
2. Find dairy-free alternatives you enjoy.
I was so much happier being dairy-free when I found alternatives that I really loved. Here are some of the products that I eat daily:
- Almond/Coconut/Cashew Milk
- Califia Farms is my favorite with Almond Breeze and Silk for a close 2nd and 3rd!
- Homemade Nice Cream – My favorite and the healthiest option. Here is a link to my recipe: Banana Protein Nice Cream
- Coconut Bliss – If you love coconuts, you will love this ice cream.
- Ben and Jerry’s Non-Dairy flavors – While they are delicious, they are not necessarily the healthiest but definitely “worth it”!
- Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream – Amazing vegan flavors and found in NYC in both the west village and east village!
When I say that I used to love cheese, I mean I would ask my dad to bring up blocks of cheese to my dorm in college because he owns a dairy company (I know – tell me about ironic.) For a while when it came to cheese, I would just prefer not to have it; I didn’t like to eat food that was pretending to be something that it just wasn’t. However, overtime I really missed pizza so I decided to try this cheese out and it became one of my staples: Daiya Cheese.
3. Don’t be afraid to speak up at a restaurant.
You should definitely let the waiter/waitress know at a restaurant that you’re dairy-free. The reason I bring it up is because I find too often (including myself in the very beginning) feeling uncomfortable or not wanting people to think I was “high maintenance” because of my dietary restrictions. It’s your body and you should be able to control what you put in it. If you have an allergy, you deserve to know if there are any milk-based ingredients in the food you’re eating. You’re better off being safe than sorry because all too many times restaurants put milk in foods that you would never think have dairy in them. Lastly, you’re paying for the food so you should get it prepared how you like and there’s no shame in that.
I hope this post was helpful, and please reach out if you have any questions. Thank you for reading this “little adapt”!
