A “Dairy” Sensitive Subject

 In Blog

Got Milk? Milk, it does a body good. 3-A-Day of Dairy. Where’s your mustache? Yeah, we’ve all heard the campaign slogans and it’s highly likely that at some point in our lives (maybe even right now) we drank up the information being poured out by the dairy industry. But is dairy really as great as we’ve been led to believe? Before you take another bite of that Greek Yogurt let’s look at the facts…

If you’re currently a practicing ‘paleo’ you are well aware that all things dairy are off limits (unless you choose to do take the ‘primal’ road – and then only VERY high quality, organic, grassfed and preferably raw dairy is recommended – IF you tolerate it). So what’s the story? Why no dairy? Let’s look at this from a non-scientific point of view. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that our paleolithic ancestors weren’t going out to backyard to ‘milk the mammoth’ every morning so that there would be milk for the coffee. Also, consider that humans are the ONLY mammals that consume the milk of another animal and continue drinking milk after they are old enough to eat regular food. Seriously, have you ever seen a goat going up to a cow to take a swig?? And consider this; even though other mammals aren’t getting milk past their youth, they’re still healthy. Hmmm… Maybe dairy isn’t the nutritional powerhouse we’ve been led to believe it is…

Did you know that as we age we actually lose the ability to digest milk? Yep, our bodies stop making lactase (the enzyme that breaks down the milk sugar lactose). This is why many people experience gas, bloating and other less than appealing side effects when they consume dairy. Do you need more reasons to Moo(ve) away from milk??

Dairy is strongly linked with inflammation; in fact, it’s second only to gluten – yep, that bad… It’s a major contributor to acne, skin rash, autoimmune diseases, Crohn’s, colitis, GERD, heart disease, insulin resistance and obesity. Inflammation is BAD – and if you have any of the above conditions dairy is definitely not your friend! Sure you’re thinking – but what about calcium – where am I going to get that. Here’s a surprise – milk is actually acid-forming and when there is an acidic environment in the body calcium, magnesium, and potassium stored in the bones is leeched out and used to ‘buffer’ the acid. Instead of making your bones stronger, dairy can actually be doing just the opposite if there’s a net acid load in your body. There are many non-dairy sources of calcium that don’t carry an acid load. Trade your cheese and yogurt for kale, collard greens, broccoli, almonds, spinach and oranges. Your bones will thank you!

If you STILL think that dairy is the bomb and that you need it – I would encourage you to eliminate it from your diet for 30 days and then reintroduce it to find out if you truly are able to tolerate it. If you are, choose only grassfed, organic, antibiotic, hormone free and preferably raw dairy. (Raw dairy has some beneficial enzymes that the pasteurization process destroys.) Are you still in the “Moo”d for that yogurt. Do yourself and your health a favor – give it 30 days dairy free and if it’s meant to be, you’ll know.

 

Amy KubalAmy Kubal – Team Eva T. S&C

Amy is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian specializing in the Paleo Diet and performance nutrition. She received both her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Nutrition from Colorado State University. She currently works with athletes and individuals looking to improve their overall health and/or performance through diet and lifestyle. Amy is the consulting dietitian for Robb Wolf and the director of Robb’s Paleo RD Network. Additionally she is the nutrition guru for the Whole9, and dietitian for Joe Friel’s TrainingBible coaching. You can follow Amy on Twitter @amykrd.

 

NEN Workout!

*10 Jump squats or squats, 10 push ups with 10 chest slaps, 3 rounds, ~GO!
*please warm up appropriately

 

Recent Posts
Contact Us

We're not around right now. But you can send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap.

Not readable? Change text. captcha txt

Start typing and press Enter to search

Eva T. Seminar at CrossFit Houma - Group Picture