Milk Mustache: Yes or No?
Two weeks ago I posted links about milk. I’m going to delve into my personal experiences with milk over the last couple of years, give you a little research to mull over and leave you to make your own conclusions on whether or not milk has a place in your diet.
For the last five years I’ve moved every 12-18 months due to school, work, etc. It took some time initially to adjust to the new environments and I would experience a mild cold or allergy-like symptoms when I first relocated. I noticed the same pattern when I moved to D.C. in 2008. However, this time I felt more tired and the cold-like symptoms only worsened over time instead of dissipating as I adjusted to my new environment. The other fun piece: I started to develop acne. Yuck!
So… what’s a girl to do? I wanted to try to solve it myself before consulting a medical provider. I had a friend who had a holistic health provider help her identify foods she was allergic to and decided to proceed in a less formal manner. I did a little research on common allergens and compared the list to my current diet. After systematically removing foods one-by-one for a few weeks, I finally had to face the one I didn’t want to give up: dairy.
As a girl who grew up in the Midwest, I had always been led to believe milk was essential for my health and development. It seemed contrary to defy this notion. I loved my morning cup of coffee with skim milk, string cheese and yogurt at lunch, a good tzatziki or charcuterie plate … sampling cheese from the local grocer. Dairy was fully embedded in my daily diet 4-5 times each day.
Dairy was my culprit. The congestion in my lungs and skin (and acne is a form of congestion) started to clear. I now enjoy goat or sheep versions of what I formerly loved – like brie, blue cheese and feta. Yogurt on occasion – only the Greek variety and as fresh as possible. “Milk” is now almond, rice, hemp, coconut and soy varieties. It’s been almost a year now since I stopped drinking milk. To be certain it was an aversion to dairy products I decided to “re-test” my dairy “wheys” for seven days. The congestion, mucus, puffy eyes and acne returned with a vengeance.
I found a community of people with similar aversions and a body of research to support the symptoms (hooray for the internet!). Here are just a few things I learned on my journey:
- If you are of European descent you have a 9 in 10 chance of being lactose intolerant. Somewhat less than 40% of people in the world retain the ability to digest lactose after childhood. Other nationalities and ethnic groups that experience problems digesting milk: 5% of Asians, 25% of African and Caribbean peoples, and 50% of Mediterranean peoples.
- No other species on earth continues to drink milk beyond its infancy. Calves stop drinking cow’s milk between the ages of six to eight months. Humans lose the ability to digest lactase, the sugar in milk, between the ages of two and five.
- An overwhelming number of studies and research on milk are funded by the Dairy Council if you read the fine print (biased results?). The Dairy Council has an excellent marketing campaign to protect its interests ($$), not your health.
- Harvard School of Public Health, on the consumption of dairy products (2005): Three glasses of low-fat milk add more than 300 calories a day. This is a real issue for the millions of Americans who are trying to control their weight. What’s more, millions of Americans are lactose intolerant, and even small amounts of milk or dairy products give them stomachaches, gas, or other problems.
Now… the Dairy Council would gasp and ask the question “where will you get your calcium?”. Seeds, nuts, vegetables, fish and fruits. The recommended level of calcium for adults age 19 through 50 years is 1000 mg per day. That can easily be achieved through alternative dietary sources (see insert below), especially foods that have magnesium in them, which is an important counterpart to calcium in doing its magic on the cellular level. Sunshine’s Vitamin D – which isn’t a vitamin, but actually a hormone – additionally helps unlock calcium for use in the body.
Calcium has other critical functions aside from maintaining a healthy skeletal system and should not be neglected. As a woman the issue of bone density is important over the span of a lifetime. Bonus: Exercise, specifically weight-bearing exercise, is a big help in maintaining your bone density!
And stemming from my readings on eating raw foods/whole foods I’ve been becoming more and more thankful to have parted ways with milk. It’s a food that RFDD recommends cutting out, especially the mass-produced varieties (Natalia Rose devotes 4-5 pages to explaining her views of dairy… leave me a note if you want the full explanation). Essentially the undigested parts of pastuerized milk stay in the body over time because you cannot fully break down the protein molecules in milk. The undigested proteins stick around and can create a “toxic” situation. Yum, right?
Do you have any food allergies? How did you discover them and how do you eliminate them from your diet? 
Rah, Rah, Ah, Ah, Ah… Raw-mance
I went Gaga… too late to go back now. “Raw, Raw, Ah-Ah-Ah”!
The snarky saying “you are what you eat” resonates in my mind when making food choices. It’s simple and it makes sense. Your body will give you it’s optimal best if you give it optimal fuel. After reading Natalia Rose’s Raw Food Detox Diet (RFDD) this thought and those associated with it are ever more present in my mind.
Disclaimer – I have not fully practiced her raw food diet. I will be doing so in September and documenting the journey. I know it will challenge me in ways I cannot imagine at this time and I’m thrilled to have great resources, like RFDD, as guidance on this upcoming journey.
I’ve viewed numerous before-and-after photos and read stories of those who committed to raw and most people experience changes anyone would be thrilled to have as results. Clearer skin? More energy? Cravings for fruits and veggies instead of sweets and junk food? Check “yes” for all for me!! I wrote an overview and review of the plan.
Curious to know more about taking a journey to the raw side….?
Fit for the Road – Boston Edition!
Whirlwind Wedding Weekend has come to an end… Congrats to the newest Mr. & Mrs. in our family. Sneak peak of their first dance below. My brother’s wife has been dancing since she could walk (more or less!) and choreographed their first dance.
Yesterday began with an indoor cycling class (facilities can’t be called “Spinning” unless they pay for it), followed by hair, followed by all things wedding… ceremony, photos, reception and a night of calorie-burning booty shaking… a.k.a dancing. Today was a day of rest and travel to Boston.
I settled into a very cute, historic (tiny!) hotel for the next couple of days. First things first… checking in with a few work emails and then onto the very important tasks: finding out when I have time for fitness in my work travels. I try to stay at hotels with fitness facilities, but this was a very last minute travel decision and I took any hotel I could get in proximity to the conference… After realizing Hotel 140′s “gym” consisted of a mat and an elliptical in a small closet-like room it was time for Plan B!
Back to the room to (1) check the weather and (2) find a running route on MapMyFitness.com (3) and finding a nearby gym in the event of rain. Tomorrow will be a quick a.m. yoga to wake things up, 15 minute walk to the convention center and a running route, as pictured and linked below.
MapMyFitness is another handy tool that gives you multiple options for creating your workout and has the added feature of linking to multiple social networking accounts to share your fitness plans. Research shows keeps social networking can help keep you accountable to your plans. Tuesday is going to be an early, early workout… going to check out Revolution Fitness, which has a discount for hotel guests.
Body Pump class at 6:15 in the a.m. before heading to the final day of conference and an afternoon of exploring Boylston/Beacon Street area of Boston.
From Boston tomorrow… a review of Natalia Rose’s Raw Food Detox Diet.
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