I have recently reduced my dairy intake by massive proportions. This decision came from a few weeks of getting sick after almost every meal. For me, getting sick is a one time every three to five years deal, so getting sick multiple times in one week was odd, and the complete opposite of fun. I finally isolated what I was eating that made me feel sick, and what do you know, it was dairy. Since then, I have taken almost all milk products out of my diet. This means soy milk creamer in my coffee, no cheese on my salads, and no more pizza. The no more pizza deal is what I am most sad over since I was getting so close to disproving the pizza theory.
Other than my pizza sadness, I have felt great. Over the past week I have noticed I feel far less bloated (to the point that it feels like I have lost weight), have had more energy, and the best part, I have not gotten sick. Serious reason to celebrate! These massive changes after less than a week led me to do some massive research on milk, lactose intolerance, and dairy sensitivities.
So, what have I learned about dairy since then? Let's start with some pretty important vocab. Most Americans these days know that drinking milk past the age of five is not good and that we have few of the lactase enzymes that break down milk as we age. This reduced amount of lactase enzymes is what causes lactose intolerance. Lactase is the enzyme that breaks down the milk sugar, lactose. Those with lactose intolerance have issues digesting the lactose sugar and feel discomfort once the undigested lactose enters their intestines. For this reason, those with lactose intolerance may feel bloated, have gas, diarrhea, nausea, headaches, vomiting, or feel discomfort in the abdomen after consuming dairy.
Most people past the age of five have some form of lactose intolerance, although people who drink milk regularly will have higher productions of the lactase enzyme. Those with lactose intolerance, generally, can eat dairy products such as yogurt and cheese without any side effects. This is not the case with milk allergies.
A milk allergy, on the other hand, is an immune response to the ingestion of dairy products. Like most other allergies, the body sees the milk substance as a foreign invader and mounts an attack against it. Those with a dairy allergy could exerpience the same symptoms as those with lactose intolerance, but much more extreme. Unlike lactose intolerance, those with milk allergies usually get them during infancy. Lactose intolerance can come at any age and is more commonly seen in older adults than during childhood.
New research has been conducted on milk and the effects it has on our bodies. One of the leading research institutes on milk is Harvard School of Public Health. If you are interested in reading a pretty interesting article on milk, read this one.
We once thought that we needed to drink two glasses of milk a day to get strong bones and fit figures. That belief is either completely dis proven or on it's way. Milk is fattening, any dietitian would advise against drinking milk as a form of weight management. Now, researchers are also finding that milk, not only, does not increase our bone density, but it can actually decrease it!
Milk turns acidic when we digest it, and to combat this new acid, our body releases calcium. Since we only keep about 1% of the body's calcium in the blood stream, most of the calcium used to fight milk's low pH is taken from the bones. What makes it worse is that we cannot digest enough calcium from cow's milk to make up for the calcium lost upon digesting milk.
New research is also starting to show a correlation between drinking milk and osteoporosis. Countries that have high rates of milk consumption also have the highest rates of osteoporosis (US, England, and Sweden), while those with the lowest milk consumption (Africa and Asia) have the lowest rates of osteoporosis. This new understanding of milk is leading people to wonder if we need it at all?
There are plenty of other methods to absorbing calcium, from leafy greens to supplements. Dieticians and researchers agree that calcium is absorbed into our bodies better when taken with vitamin D. There is new research concluding that shows vitamin D to be better at fighting osteoporosis than, are you read? Calcium supplements.
Other interesting reads can be found here, seperating milk facts from the myths. Here, where webmd goes into detail about lactose intolerance, and a sum-up from Harvard, here.