Is there a controversy?
I see a lot of clients in my practice who can’t tolerate dairy, albeit sometimes temporarily until we work out their gut problems, but their over riding concern, particularly for their children is that they’ll become deficient in calcium if they omit cow’s milk from their diet.
A lot of this is due to sustained marketing and whilst I do believe milk (full fat) can sometimes be an important and nutritious part of a family diet, it is also important to take a break if is causing symptoms so that you can lower inflammation and fix the gut.
“Dairy is nature’s perfect food — but only if you’re a calf”. (Mark Hyman, MD)
I personally feel so much better when I exclude diary from my diet, I have childhood memories of always feeling unwell after milk growing up due to unresolved gut imbalances at that time but always considering it a food that I ‘should’ and needed to eat. The main symptoms I see in my clients are excess mucous production and post nasal drip, skin issues (particularly acne), bloating, tummy aches (children especially) and ongoing diarrhoea which resolve almost immediately once it is omitted. It is estimated that about 75 percent of the world’s population is genetically unable to properly digest milk and other dairy products — a problem called lactose intolerance. After the age of 2 our ability to tolerate milk products declines dramatically.
I could go down a rabbit hole here pointing out a plethora of research showing calcium isn’t as bone protective as you might think, there are far reduced rates of osteoporosis in countries where dairy consumption is lower, however the main point to this post today is to assure people that in terms of their children and family that calcium intake is very easy too achieve through other food sources if you find you need to take milk out of the diet for a while. Everyone is different and nutrition is personalised to the individual but please don’t ignore food intolerances as they can be debilitating long term and lead to chronic health issues.
Do see the table above showing both the RDA for calcium intake in males/ females and children as well as the wide variety of alternative food sources available containing calcium. If you do drink milk, always choose organic and full fat for maximum nutrition benefits and lower toxin exposure.
Have a lovely day! 🥛🧀🧈🐟🥬
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