Do we really need dairy?

Milk is an ideal source of nutrients such as calcium, vitamins A and B, magnesium, protein and zinc. Milk is good for bone health, smooth skin and strong immune system.

A few months ago I discovered that having normal milk as part of my diet was not good for me. I was on holiday for a few days and didn’t like the brand of milk where I was so I stayed off milk for the duration. When I got back home, I had some tea with semi-skimmed milk in it and lo and behold, my stomach started doing some serious somersaults. I got bloated, windy and felt really uncomfortable. The only thing I’d had was the tea that morning so next day I had tea without milk and I was fine. Just to make sure, I had tea again with milk and surprise, surprise the discomfort started again.

So, here’s a question for you folks out there – Do we really need milk or dairy products as adults?

Apparently, humans are the only mammals who continue to consume milk into adulthood. We really don’t need dairy because it is not an essential part of the human diet – I’m not saying quit having dairy straight away, just be aware of what your body can tolerate. There are a lot of adults who don’t have dairy at all, some because they are lactose intolerant – which means they lack the digestive enzymes required to digest dairy.

People who can have dairy products generally have too much of it. Dairy products especially cheese and ice creams are full of fat and cholesterol that contribute to clogged arteries and heart disease. The Harvard School of Public Health has cited dairy as a significant contributing cause of menstrual pain, asthma, brain fog, mucous, a wide range of allergies with symptoms such as skin conditions and mood swings. A lot of people tend not to realize that their problems may be cause by dairy sensitivity and instead take a lot of drugs to mask the problems.

Increasing your intake of dairy to prevent osteoporosis or bone fracture does not work. According to studies carried out by Harvard University’s Landmark Nurses, countries with the highest dairy consumption such as the Unites States, Sweden and Holland have the highest records of osteoporosis and fractures than countries with lower dairy consumption like Japan and South Africa.

For those who are not lactose intolerant or don’t have sensitivity to dairy and wish to have the “normal” milk or other dairy, I suggest choosing organic products. The organic cow’s natural diet contains no added hormones, chemicals or antibiotics like non organic farmed cows.

There are alternative types of milk out on the market for people who can’t stomach normal cow’s milk like rice, soya, oat, almond milk. I tried most of these to determine which one was good for me and finally settled on a brand of rice milk – Almond & Hazelnut Rice Dream.

To find out if you sensitive to dairy, go take an allergy test or the cheapest way would be to experiment with your body. Stay off dairy for about a week or more, and the start re-introducing it back into you system slowly. Keep a food diary of how you feel when you have any dairy products, and do this continuously for about a week, after which you would know if you are sensitive to dairy on not. If you feel lighter and less bloated like I did, then I suggest finding an alternative you like or cut out dairy completely.

Peace and fabulous health!