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Figure out what exactly your body is reacting to.
You could be lactose-intolerant, which is an inability to properly digest milk sugars, and/or allergic or intolerant to the proteins in dairy foods, known as casein and whey. Lots of people think they’re lactose-intolerant when in fact they’re actually allergic or intolerant to the proteins in milk. It is important to find out for sure, as different parts of your body are affected and you need to approach each reaction differently. You can ask your health practitioner to test you for both lactose intolerance and dairy allergies. However, some reactions to casein and/or whey qualify as an intolerance and won’t necessarily appear in an allergy test. To weed this type of reaction out, you’ll need to do a controlled elimination-challenge diet.
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If you’re lactose intolerant…
This means that you don’t make enough of the enzyme (lactase) you need to digest milk sugars (lactose). You may be able to get away with eating dairy if you have small amounts at any one time, if you mix dairy with other foods, or if you choose lactose-free dairy products. You can also take a lactase digestive enzyme whenever you eat dairy, or choose to eat fermented dairy foods such as yogurt or kefir. Experiment and find out which modifications suit you best. Lactose intolerance can cause digestive discomfort and be an inconvenience, but it’s not harmful to your health.
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If you’re allergic to or intolerant of dairy…
Then your overall health may be harmed if you continue to eat dairy and you need to seriously consider removing dairy foods from your diet. Learn to spot hidden dairy ingredients in packaged foods. Allergies and intolerances to proteins can contribute to or aggravate many other health issues, including digestive distress, autoimmune conditions, asthma and and other upper respiratory infections. Don’t despair, because you can:
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Build your (delicious) dairy-free pantry.
Expand your definition of “milk.” There are many milk alternatives to experiment with and most recipes do very well with a milk alternative. Find your new favorites by trying any of these substitutes: coconut milk, hemp milk, brown rice milk, soy milk, almond or other nut milks. You can also substitute clarified butter, also known as “ghee,” for regular butter, as the clarification process removes the lactose and the casein. For a healthy cheese alternative try nutritional yeast, which tastes cheesy and gives you an added boost of protein, fiber, and B vitamins, including vitamin B12. I personally don’t recommend soy or rice “cheeses,” because these are highly processed foods.
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Did you eliminate dairy? It’s worth checking back in with your body after a while if you have an allergy or protein intolerance. You may be able to “rotate” it in.
After you’ve been off of dairy for some time you can test having dairy again. Sometimes, eliminating a food allows your body to rest and heal from the allergic/intolerant reaction to the milk proteins. After some time - weeks, months, or years later, depending on your body - your body may be able to tolerate having a small amount of dairy every so often. This does NOT apply if you have a severe allergy, such as with anaphylactic shock, so in that case - stay away from dairy, for good.
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