Giving up dairy?

[AutumnDance]

I have some pain and inflammation in my body. It was recommended to me to give up dairy. Not by a doctor or a nutritionist. It was mentioned on a Facebook group to me.

Has anyone given up dairy or reduced dairy? Does giving it up work for reducing inflammation?

I would able be able to give up milk in my tea and coffee and go for alternative milks. I that would be manageable. However I am a big fan of cheese. I love cheese. I would have cheese at every meal if I could - breakfast, lunch, dinner. I also love yoghurts. I know there are dairy fee alternatives to chesse and yogurt but the vegan stuff is horrible. I tried them before.

The idea of giving up dairy doesn't appeal to me. I would be willing to try it for a week or two or a month at the most hut that's it.

Has anyone here given up dairy?

Yep, gave up about 5 months ago. It's boring beyond belief as the vegan alternatives really are not great. I've given up on vegan cheese or yog or choc, but the alternative milks are fab, including the chocolate ones (go figure!) The only benefit is that I've lost weight.

Have YOU identified that dairy is a trigger? Where is the inflammation?

What you been to a doctor and had any blood tests or other tests to rule out other things?

I wouldn't arbitrarily give up dairy on the say so of someone on facebook.

I fluctuate between small amounts of dairy and none through the year. Probably 50/50. My inflammation markers change dramatically between periods when I’m having dairy and not.

Definitely worth a try (but I’m with you on the cheese. 🤤)

Yep, I quit dairy years ago. I love cheese too but the second I broke the habit I found I don’t crave it and really don’t miss it.
It worked wonders to clear my sinuses and vocal chords but the biggest change for inflammation came when I quit meat.
Game changer - within days I realised I hadn’t had to take my inhaler at all.
My body doesn’t hurt after a work out, much less inflammation I found!

Hi. I have an autoimmune disorder which involves inflammation. I changed my diet to give up dairy and meat and it made a big difference for me. My CRP (blood test) reduced from being much too high to normal range. The blood tests were 6 weeks apart.

I have soya in tea and oat milk in everything else pretty much.

Agree with @Bigfathairyones that alternatives are poor! No comparison to the real thing. I found giving up dairy relatively easy because I'm not a massive cheese lover.

I gave up for a week and noticed a difference in my painful joints, my skin and my mood almost immediately. I started to eat it again for another week just to see how I would feel and I felt awful.

I am now completely dairy free and I have less pains in my stomach, no pain in my joints, clearer skin and feel I have more energy.

I never thought I could give up cheese, but it's surprisingly easy once you have been off it a while, in the same way as once you stop sugar in coffee it tastes grim with it in. Vegan applewood is nice. I generally just avoid it now and don't feel sad about it anymore i bloody did initially.
Vegan Oatly yoghurt is lovely. I like an almond milk latte if I'm out.
Not lost a single pound, but my (apologies) lifelong mucusy issues have cleared up.

In my ds case the cause of inflammation was gluten, which we discovered when going dairy free didn't fix the problem. After about 6 months gluten free he was able to tolerate some dairy.

U could perhaps try food diary or elimination diet.

But u would need at least a month to notice a difference of such a diet. Also, some substitutes are vile so u might have to just rethink the diet to basic non-processed foods rather than rely on substitutes.

I was already veggie (30 years)

Any recommendations for Milk alternative for tea? I love Almond milk with cereal and yoghurt and enjoy dairy free yoghurt. I could give up cheese but not tea.

@pastabest

Have YOU identified that dairy is a trigger? Where is the inflammation?

What you been to a doctor and had any blood tests or other tests to rule out other things?

I wouldn't arbitrarily give up dairy on the say so of someone on facebook.

I am waiting on test results from a colonoscopy. The scope showed diverticulosis and some biopsies were taken along with a removal of a polyp. I'm still wait on the results from the scope. My whole entire lower region including my back is sore. I suspect there's inflammation going on.

I identified some trigger foods already - chocolate and onions. I never considered dairy. I would consider cutting out dairy if it helps to reduce the pains but then I am battling with the idea of giving up cheese.

@Rupertpenrysmistress

Any recommendations for Milk alternative for tea? I love Almond milk with cereal and yoghurt and enjoy dairy free yoghurt. I could give up cheese but not tea.

I really love oat milk in coffee but that's coffee.

I battled with that too, OP.

Cheese has mildly addictive properties but like anything, once you kick the habit it doesn’t seem like such a challenge.

I had to give up dairy for two years. I agree you get used to it. The applewood is Ok and apparently there are some mozzarella which melt but generally vegan cheese is far from good. Oatley yoghurt is the best and I like there milk.

It all sounds a bit woo but as long as you are getting enough calcium, vitamin D and iodine I can’t imagine it will cause an issue. If you think you have an allergy to cow milk protein you should also avoid soya.

@NavigatingAdolescence

I battled with that too, OP.

Cheese has mildly addictive properties but like anything, once you kick the habit it doesn’t seem like such a challenge.

Thing is, I kicked so many habits I don't know if I have room for any more.
I eat healthy enough without takeaways and ready meals. I make a lot from fresh and I love a variety of vegetables and some fruits every week. I love my nutribullet for smoothies too. I don't have sugar. I limit breads. I limit coffee and alcohol. I gave up smoking years ago.

My life is turning boring now. I don't thing I have it in me to give up cheese.

I've not been a big dairy eater at any rate but I still have a big (cow's) milky coffee in the morning. Any coffee after that main one, I'll drink with Oatly, which is really, really good. Soya or Oatly in tea (I tolerate oat better than soy, tbh) are both really good. In fact, I've always preferred soya in tea which I started doing about 30 years ago then stopped in my later 20s only to go back to it recently. Though these days, I tend to prefer oat milk in tea and coffee (apart from my cow's milk coffee in the morning).
The Collective non-dairy yogurt is to die for. I much prefer it to the original and it still has all of that good bacteria.
I am not a real cheese eater- never really have been-though I still use grated mozzarella on pizza and in other recipes.
Dairy has never quite agreed with me in general and as I've gotten older, I've really noticed it playing havoc with my digestive system. There is an absolute noticeable improvement in how I feel and how my digestive system is functioning since I cut back on the dairy. I do think the Oatly range is the nicest dairy alternative range you can find.

About once a month, I pick a day over a weekend to do some Intermittent fasting where I fast from foods for about 24 hours. I drink plenty of fluids. My body loves fasting and I usually feel great from fasting but then the pains all come back again. I think fasting is helping me and I am thinking there's something in the diet aggravating something or another in my body.

I identified dairy as being the trigger for bad eczema ( late onset, in 40s) by doing a series of elimination diets. It cleared up very quickly as long as I steered clear and now, years later, the reaction is a bit lower if I accidentally have some. I also, as a side benefit, stopped suffering from blocked sinuses and infections.

I now can’t stand the taste of milk, anyway ( when I’ve had it by mistake I tea) - I like oat milk, which doesn’t split when hot.

But I still miss cheese - the soft cheese spread substitute is the only bearable one and that’s because I have it with Marmite. Some of the melting fake cheeses are ok for texture in toasties or omelettes, and the fake mozzarella is ok on pizza, when there are other toppings. I hope this might continue to fade and that I can experience a nice sharp cheddar or blue cheese again ( sigh)

There's dairy is butter too. I love the real butter. The block of butter in foil. The idea of giving up butter kills me.

I gave it up for a year while bf my ds who has cmpa. I had oat milk substitute and used pure butter. Koko yoghurts are ok as is oatly ice cream and I didn't bother with cheese. I ate after eight mints for chocolate fix. I lost weight and felt great. It's in lots though- some breads,crisps, biscuits, wine, gravy. You have to check everything.

I'm lactose intolerant and haven't had dairy for 2 years. Feel loads better for it, lost 2 stone. Don't miss it at all but I do have the arla lactose free cheese which tastes the same as normal cheese. Have Soy milk for breakfast and black tea for the rest of the day.

Vegan cheese is 🤮

The closest I've come to the real thing is from here:

lafauxmagerie.com/collections/cheese

Bloody expensive though!!

I have up dairy over 25 years ago, when the alternatives were harder to come by, and often crap to boot. I became vegan for animal reasons, and wasn’t expecting any health benefits.
I found the benefits to giving up dairy were that my eczema got far better, hay fever became minimal rather than severe, I stopped coughing my guts up running and I stopped getting really heavy colds/sinusitis and my digestion problems stopped. It was clear dairy and me are not compatible and it was pretty easy to stay off. After a while dairy seems rather grim/smells funny, so it’s worth giving it a go.
I find instead of going with one non dairy option fits all circumstances, a variety works well.
Eg- plain soya milk in tea/milky coffees, but almond milk in porridge/cocoa.
Plain unsweetened no added sugar alpro soya yoghurt is good for fruit and yoghurt/muesli etc. Cocos (expensive) coconut yoghurt is great in curry etc and is delicious.
Cheese…there is no good vegan cheese. It’s possible to make fake Parmesan with nutritional yeast and cashews. Nutritional yeast is lush and I can eat it off the spoon.
Cashews soaked and puréed make good cream alternative, with nutritional yeast it’s a bit cheesy.
Eating other things instead of cheese rather than finding an alternative is a better bet. Nuts, taifun smoked tofu with seeds, hummus etc are different but still Savory and tasty.

I gave up dairy a month ago after being a cheese fanatic for 40 years. What got me to finally change was reading about nutrition and changing up my diet, and rather than cheesy pasta for dinner I now have something like sweet potato fries, fish and avocado salad. My stomach is so much happier! All my bloating is gone and I’m more trim around my stomach. I miss the taste of cheese but not how it makes me feel.
Oat milk is great, as is oat yoghurt.

@AutumnDance

About once a month, I pick a day over a weekend to do some Intermittent fasting where I fast from foods for about 24 hours. I drink plenty of fluids. My body loves fasting and I usually feel great from fasting but then the pains all come back again. I think fasting is helping me and I am thinking there's something in the diet aggravating something or another in my body.

I’ve upped my fasting to a 3 day water fast per month and am reaping the benefits. It’s like a total body boost.