new to dairy free!!

[kiltandkiwi]

HI everyone,I have logged onto this site a few times in the last few weeks when i became dairy free and have found it really interesting and helpful so i thought i would register and say hello to you all.I have had problems with my weight since puberty ie. 10yrs old, and since having my son in April 2004 this has become a bigger problem and even though i have stuck to a diet and exercise plan since having him it just wasn't shifting!! I have had IBS from the age of 13yrs and recently my hair started falling out and i was getting terrible spots all over my face. I went to my GP and she was horrible to me and told me to always leave the table feeling hungry!!I booked a test with Holland and Barrett and found i was highly intolerant to dairy. I'm on day 14 of the 28 day detox. She also advised to cut out bananas and aspartum for this period as well as showing slight problems with them. I turned vegetarian 14 years ago so this has basically made me a vegan now. I struggled at first as i'm practically addicted to cheese and chocolate Mullerlight yougurts, but i've found some great substitutes for all my favourite foods, except for cheese (i found cheezley totally disgusting!!).I've already noticed huge improvements in my energy levels and yesterday at work 3 people came up to me and asked what my secret was for looking so healthy and loosing so much weight. I get weighed on Wednesday so i'll find out then if i have lost any weight but my clothes certainly feel looser. Don't know if anyone's interested but i'll keep you informed if the weight starts to drop off!!

[paranoidangel]

Hi kiltandkiwi,

I know what you mean about the chocolate Mullerlight yoghurts. I can taste one now just thinking about it and I've been dairy free since March :)

That's horrible about your GP. So many of them seem to have no idea about intolerances at all. But at least you've got it worked out now - I'm thinking that not being able to eat cheese seems less bad when you remember the effects! I don't like cheese but I'm sure other people will be able to give you advice on better tasting alternatives.

[matt]

ok alternative to cheese. for me it's scheese but not the cheddar one, i have edam or mozerella or cheshire. i think it's something about the cheddar that's just nasty! but don't go comparing it to cheese as then you'll be disapointed, eat it for itself or not at all.hope your eyesights good as you'll be reading the labels alot in the near future.i'm sure that any specifica questions you have can be answered if they haven't already on the site, but don't worry about asking a second time if you can't find the answer.good luck.

[Pam]

Hi K&K, welcome to the site.

I'm glad that things are falling into place for you now that you've taken the plunge and gone dairy free, I hope the benefits continue for you.

Alpro do some nice desserts in packs of 4, they are like custard and come in chocolate, vanilla, caramel and a couple of fruity ones (though the fruit ones aren't so good). These might just help your craving for chocolate mullers. They are low fat too.

Unfortunately cheese is the big let down on a dairy free diet. The only one that I really buy is tofutti slices to put on pizza as I have found these to be the only thing that actually melts properly, but they don't taste that good. Having said that, I have only ever tried the cheddar versions, maybe I should try some of the others as recommended by Matt.

I lost quite a bit of weight when I first went dairy free, unfortunately lack of willpower and the discovery of Green and Black chocolate undid all the good and I ended up putting it back on again, but I just love eating. I have read before that food intolerances can cause weight gain/loss, compulsive eating, cravings etc so it makes sense that when you cut out the bad foods your body and appetite will adjust for the better.

Watch out for hidden dairy in processed foods and medecines, particularly tablets and good luck with your new diet.

[Nic]

On cheese, I use recipes from the Uncheese Cookbook (available from Amazon) and find them better than any of the bought non-dairy cheeses. It might be worth a go, though they're never exactly the same. Also, it is just cow's milk or all milk? Some people (me included) are OK with goats and ewes milk cheese, which gives you quite a lot of options.

Good luck with going non-dairy and the weight loss.

Nic

[kiltandkiwi]

HI everyone,
Thanks for making me feel welcome!! I have tried the toffiti slices and found these have the potential to be edible so i will keep trying them and try not to compare them to real cheese. When i got my test done she said i didn't show an intolerance to goats or sheeps milk but to cut all of them out for 28 days and then try introducing them. I love goats cheese so i will be happy if i can eat that!!
On the subject of tablets, i have been very careful and couldn't believe how many of them have lactose as an ingredient!! Unfortunately last night at work i felt really unwell and borrowed some Solphadine from a colleague. She didn't have the box with her and i was burning up so i just took them. Does anyone know if these are dairy free or not??
Thanks again for all your replies!
Karen

[cnc]

Welcome to the site Karen.

I personally prefer the toffutti Mozarrella (have never mastered spelling that!) slices to the cheddar ones, although both are acceptable.

Regarding the solphadine, it will depend on what type it was, (soluable etc), but to be honest as you said you were feeling really unwell and was probably better for you to take them than not to- I spoke to another doctor about this another day and they said generally for occassional medicines if you're intolerant not to worry too much. I know you are on a detox, but these things sometimes just have to be done.

Hope you stick around and let us all know how you get on. Hope you are feeling better this morning!

[rebecca c]

Hi Karen

Glad your dairy free diet is yielding results. As Claire says take medicines if you need them but once you are better and have a bit of time you can research what dairy free alternatives are available for next time.

I have a lot of problems with doctors and finally have found a good one after about 5 years of putting up with poor treatment (but now I have to move so I hope he lets me stay with him) I have also found a good chest consultant who has refered me to guys allergy clinic and has been very supportive of my extensive diet changes.

You could find a new doctor or go back to her if the dairy free makes you a lot better and assertively spell out the situation to her. Allergies/ intolerences and other auto immune responses are real and should be taken seriously.

[Kamagrian]

Hi Karen! Don't really have anything more to add to the great comments from all the others, but wanted to extend a warm welcome to another Scottish-dwelling member. :D

Hope everything goes well for you with your diet. Regarding cheese, I don't mind Cheezly but I know many others hate it. I think Parmezano is WONDERFUL over pasta and to add a little more 'cheese' flavour to my Tofutti slices on toast too. I want to try the Tofutti slices in an omelette next, as I think there's potential there with some sliced onion or mushroom. :drool:

[alexx]

The one cheese tip I have found is that for some weird reasion houmous curbs my cravings for cheese spread etc on toast - think it is because it is quite salty!
good luck!

[Copper]

Hi K&K

Welcome to the site.

I can't really add anything to the comments above. I think that cheezley is horrible too, it is the only "cheese" that I have thrown in the bin. I agree with Matt that scheese is very nice - I even like the cheddar one :)

[kiltandkiwi]

I have now been dairy free for 3 and half weeks and i have to say i've been a bit disappointed by the results so far. The spots on my face are still just as bad (although i know this could be due to all the toxins leaving my system) and the worst bit is i put on weight at my class on Wednesday. I wasn't expecting to suddenly drop half a stone but i have been so good this last 3 weeks so i was really gutted when i got on the scales and i'd put on a pound. I know this isn't a lot of weight but i have done nothing to deserve it. :confused:
When i had my tests done at Holland and Barrett they suggested wheat as a priority 2 ie give up wheat for 28 days if no results from giving up dairy.
I don't really know why i'm writing this, i'm jsut so frustrated by it. Does anyone out there have any advice??
Thanks
Karen

[matt]

keep positive. i would try the wheat exclusion, pain in bum but....

it can take a while and are you positive that nothing you are eating might be a little dodgy?

your body will take a while to sort itself out. major changes in diet will take a few weeks to settle down. but at end of day it might be something else casuing it. did they point towards any other culprits?

[Nic]

Karen - weight is funny like that. I successfully lost 11kg a few years ago. But I could stick strictly to a calorie-controlled diet one week and lose 2kg, and then nothing for two weeks while eating and exercising exactly the same. So don't get down-hearted, if you keep doing the right things, the weight *has* to come off. Its physics - if calories in are less than calories out, eventually your body will notice!

One thing, have you been checking calories / points / whatever you're using on your new non-dairy substitutes? I was surprised how high some of the soya substitutes are, as you tend to think of them as 'healthier' somehow than the dairy options. That might be part of the problem.

On wheat, I'm not intolerant to it so I have no idea. But I do know its not a good idea to make too many radical diet changes at once, so perhaps you should keep going just on the non-dairy for a few weeks more.

Good luck, and I hope everything looks better this morning.

Nic

[goose]

:D hello karen, as a sheep from aberdeen as well, i found this site very helpful and had some good advice from others.
I am also new to the dairy free range as i suffer from ibs.
I agree the cheese is awful, have you tried the cheese spread from holland & barrett in the fridge section. its very good and highly recomended.
You should give it a try and let us know how you get on.

The goose from above.:rolleyes:

[Pen]

I have now been dairy free for 3 and half weeks and i have to say i've been a bit disappointed by the results so far. The spots on my face are still just as bad (although i know this could be due to all the toxins leaving my system) and the worst bit is i put on weight at my class on Wednesday. I wasn't expecting to suddenly drop half a stone but i have been so good this last 3 weeks so i was really gutted when i got on the scales and i'd put on a pound. I know this isn't a lot of weight but i have done nothing to deserve it. :confused:
When i had my tests done at Holland and Barrett they suggested wheat as a priority 2 ie give up wheat for 28 days if no results from giving up dairy.
I don't really know why i'm writing this, i'm jsut so frustrated by it. Does anyone out there have any advice??
Thanks
Karen
Five days after I went dairy-free (and also free of many other foods), a rash started on one of my legs. It gradually spread around my whole body (except my face luckily) and and lasted 23 days before it began to slowly subside and disappear.

It was four weeks after I started the new diet that I noticed I had started to lose some weight (about 5 lbs). I have now lost about 20 lbs in those 8 months, and I sometimes go weeks without much weight change, but the trend still seems to be downwards. If you have only gained one pound, remember that a body can vary a couple of pounds in the course of one day, but it is the trend that is more important to determine if you are losing weight--so please don't despair!!

Cutting out dairy alone will not necessarily make someone lose weight--it can depend on what else they are eating in place of the dairy foods (and what else they continue to eat from the old diet). In my case, I had to change just about every meal I had eaten previously, and have stopped eating any artificial colours, flavours, preservatives through choice and my body is so much happier from eating only real, unprocessed foods. The body is more able to detox and function more efficiently if those additives are removed from the diet, along with any highly-processed foods.

Good luck with your skin and weight--be patient--these things can take time.

[tigerlily]

I find the Provamel choc. desserts are great...help me curb my PMS choc desire every time...same with the choc. Tetra Packs from Alpro Soya!... I eat a lot of dairy-free stuff now that Eden has to, see!

Vanessa.

[Copper]

Well you have to taste test them it is only fair :lol2:

[kiltandkiwi]

HI everyone,
Just thought i'd let you know how i'm getting (if you are at all interested!). I was dairy free for 35 days and i thought i would try to reintroduce some dairy to see what happened. My plan says to try it in small amounts morning and lunch for two days then no dairy for two days and see what happens. Well, i tried milk and had diarhhoea nearly straight away, which lasted for the 2 days. Don't know if this is just because my body wasn't used to dairy or because i truly am intolerant to it. I'm now having my two days off to see if i get any more symptoms. Once that is over i'm going to try goats cheese (as i am really missing cheese) to see if i can get away with that rather than cows cheese. I don't know how my weight is doing as didn't get weighed last week (had a week of my diet). How ever i went out last week and fitted into jeans and a bra that i haven't been able to get near for over 2 years!!:D
My skin seems to be clearing a bit so if i continue to get diarhhoea and anything else i reckon i'll stick to dairy free forever!! I didn't think it could be done and although it's not easy it's better than i thought it would be!

[matt]

sorry to hear about the bad reaction, good for your for not giving up.

hope the goats cheese is ok. i used to like it. none for me now.:(

[Pam]

I'm glad that things are getting better for you but sorry about the reaction. It is possible that your problem is lactose intolerance in which case lactase tablets might help if you have the occasional lapse in diet.

Fingers crossed that goats milk products don't cause a problem.

[Copper]

Hi kiltandkiwi. It was brave of you to try the dairy again. It sounds like a lactose intolerance problem to me. I have worked out how much lactose I can tolerate and try hard to stick to it. I can have the smallest amount of lactolite milk in my hot drinks and that is my limit. I carry lactase capsules in my handbag when I go out, just in case I can't find anything dairy free to eat. They work for me.

[rebecca c]

Kiltandkiwi

Stick at it you are doing really well. See how it is after 6 weeks.

I was Ok on goats milk and then sheeps milk for a while but soon developed an intolerance to them too so bear that in mind if it starts to slip.

Without my diet changes I get ill and it wears me down and stops me living the normal life I want so for me the sacrifices (which are many) are worth it. Sometimes feel like I would do anything for a good stiff drink (gin and tonic) - maybe I'll treat myself to one at christmas.:D

[kiltandkiwi]

where can i get these lactase capsules?

[Copper]

I don't know if H&B sell them but I found mine in my local health food shop.

[cnc]

H &B do sell them, I think, but they're stupidly expensive. Local health food shops are much cheaper. I got mine from the the herbal shop on my local indoor market.

[Pen]

HI everyone,
Just thought i'd let you know how i'm getting (if you are at all interested!). I was dairy free for 35 days and i thought i would try to reintroduce some dairy to see what happened. My plan says to try it in small amounts morning and lunch for two days then no dairy for two days and see what happens. Well, i tried milk and had diarhhoea nearly straight away, which lasted for the 2 days. Don't know if this is just because my body wasn't used to dairy or because i truly am intolerant to it. I'm now having my two days off to see if i get any more symptoms. Once that is over i'm going to try goats cheese (as i am really missing cheese) to see if i can get away with that rather than cows cheese. I don't know how my weight is doing as didn't get weighed last week (had a week of my diet). How ever i went out last week and fitted into jeans and a bra that i haven't been able to get near for over 2 years!!:D
My skin seems to be clearing a bit so if i continue to get diarhhoea and anything else i reckon i'll stick to dairy free forever!! I didn't think it could be done and although it's not easy it's better than i thought it would be!
I hope goats' cheese works for you. I have been eating it (and other goat milk products) since February, and so far I have not become intolerant to it. Just read the ingredients as I have heard that some use a derivative of cow milk products--trouble is I am not quite sure what ingredient to look for (maybe someone out there has more info?), but maybe it is something to do with either the 'bacterial culture' or the 'microbial enzyme.' I use three different types of goat cheese that taste really good (having experimented quite a bit first--lots of tasteless ones out there)--a medium cheddar, feta, and brie (from Woolwich, and Mornington Dairies). I also use goat milk and yogurt.

Well done on your apparent weight-loss. I've lost 20 lb since being on my food-free (well almost) diet (but not actually trying to lose weight) and have dropped 1-2 sizes in clothes, so had to buy new trousers as the old ones were falling off me.

Good that your skin is improving too. Mine is still better than it ever used to be and I am sure it has a lot to do with not using cow dairy. I don't think I will go back to cow dairy again.

[kiltandkiwi]

HI again everyone,
Well the goats cheese seemed to be ok although i only had a small amount. I decided to give cows cheese a go yesterday and have regretted it ever since!! I am now sitting at work (stuck here until midnight) and my IBS has been playing up since this morning. Not as bad as it could be but bad enough that it has confirmed to me i am definitley intolerrant to cows milk and won't try it again!! My face, which had just started to clear up has flared up over night and i now have spots all over (just in time for my night out on Friday!!). Hopefully i'll be alright with the goats cheese if i eat it in small amounts and only occasionally. On the weight side of things, i have lost 4 pounds in the last 2 weeks and that brings my total to 1 and a half stone in 2 months. I have been trying to shift that for a year and half so i suppose i must face the truth thats staring me in the face and realise i will never be able to eat cheese again (at least without putting up with the painful consequences!!). I am wearing clothes i haven't worn in years and feeling much healthier so i guess i truly am one of you now!!

[matt]

keep with it and hope you're feeling better soon.

[pinkfairy]

HI again everyone,
Well the goats cheese seemed to be ok although i only had a small amount. I decided to give cows cheese a go yesterday and have regretted it ever since!! I am now sitting at work (stuck here until midnight) and my IBS has been playing up since this morning. Not as bad as it could be but bad enough that it has confirmed to me i am definitley intolerrant to cows milk and won't try it again!! My face, which had just started to clear up has flared up over night and i now have spots all over (just in time for my night out on Friday!!). Hopefully i'll be alright with the goats cheese if i eat it in small amounts and only occasionally. On the weight side of things, i have lost 4 pounds in the last 2 weeks and that brings my total to 1 and a half stone in 2 months. I have been trying to shift that for a year and half so i suppose i must face the truth thats staring me in the face and realise i will never be able to eat cheese again (at least without putting up with the painful consequences!!). I am wearing clothes i haven't worn in years and feeling much healthier so i guess i truly am one of you now!!

Glad to hear you are feeling better. And hope you have a good night out on friday!!
One point that may help you loose weight even more, is goats milk products contain as much lactose as ordinary milk products. I swapped my daughter over to goats milk when she was 3 and her eczema disapperared. But when she had a genetic test she was found to have severe LI. So I don't know why goats milk reacts less to some LI symptoms. All mammals milk contains lactose except seals and walruses milk. This fact I got from the Tony's lactose free cookbook. It contains lots of facts not generally Known to LI sufferers, like foods that contain hidden lactose. Anyway Stick to the soya milk and soya products and I am sure you will be amazed how much better you feel.

Good Luck

Jane:D

[Pen]

One point that may help you loose weight even more, is goats milk products contain as much lactose as ordinary milk products. I swapped my daughter over to goats milk when she was 3 and her eczema disapperared. But when she had a genetic test she was found to have severe LI. So I don't know why goats milk reacts less to some LI symptoms. All mammals milk contains lactose except seals and walruses milk. This fact I got from the Tony's lactose free cookbook. It contains lots of facts not generally Known to LI sufferers, like foods that contain hidden lactose. Anyway Stick to the soya milk and soya products and I am sure you will be amazed how much better you feel.
Jane:D
I found this chart of lactose levels of different animals' milk: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/stevecarper/zoo.htm

And the quote below from http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/GoatsMilk.htm may answer the question of why goats' milk works for some people. Casein is the main protein in cows' milk that I have most problems with (in my case, determined by hair analysis) and so goats' milk works for me.

"I did find out that goat's milk contains slightly lower levels of lactose (4.1 percent versus 4.7 percent in cow's milk), which may be a small advantage in lactose-intolerant persons. It is thought that goat milk is more easily digested than cow's milk, mainly because goat's milk does not contain casein, the protein found in cow's milk. Goat's milk cheese will have about the same amount of lactose as cow's milk cheese or sheep's milk cheese: very little. All aged cheeses are low in lactose. Substituting one for the other shouldn't make a bit of difference."

[rebecca c]

I read somewhere that goats milk forms a finer emulsion smaller globules of protein and this is why it can cause less resistance but I cant remember the source so it may not be reliable info.

[Copper]

I can only tolerate the smallest amount of lactose in my diet now, so substituting goats milk for cows would not work for me :(

[Elaine]

I'm interested in the hair loss part, as my hair has been very thin since I had a spell as a vegetarian, which lasted about 10 years. I've been back on the meat for about 5 years now, but hair shows no sign of improvement. As I've just tested positive for diary and wheat intolerance, I'm really hoping things may improve - although I haven't seen hair loss as a symptom anywhere else. Has your hair improved since going diary free. Or anyone else have a similar problem?

[Pen]

Elaine

Have you had your thyroid checked? Hair thinning is one of the symptoms of hypothyroidism.

[Elaine]

Hello Pen

I had a quick look at some sites about hyperthyroidism, but it doesn't tick any boxes for me apart from the thinning hair! It could be a sensitivity to testosterone (I'm such a sensitive soul ...), or genetic or bad luck or .... I'm just clinging on to a hope that going dairy and wheat free might help.

[pinkfairy]

My hair used to come out in handfuls when I washed it. Now I am dairy free I have noticed that it isn't quite as bad, but I have noticed alot of short hair so hopefully in 6 months my hair may be back to normal? I have only been dairy free since Jan 05. so it is probably early days yet. I would imagine if takes a while for your body to adjust after 41 years of posioning. I have certainly noticed my hormones and the feeling my sugar levels aren't quite normal.

Jane

[Pen]

My hormones are imbalanced too--probably as a result of being on those nasty steroid inhalers for 17 years (now off them completely). So as a result, my adrenals are drained, thyroid is underactive which has affected most of the other endocrine glands in my body. I started getting problems with symptoms of hypoglycemia last December, but I sometimes get elevated glucose levels too, especially if I eat grapes! The hypoglycemia (not sure about the hyperglycemia) is a symptom of hypothyroidism. Many of the common symptoms of PMS and Menopause occur as a result of ESTROGEN DOMINANCE and can be helped by using NATURAL progesterone cream (I use it and it works wonders). Anyone with PMS or premenopausal/menopausal symptoms is likely to benefit from reading "What Your Doctor May NOT Tell You About Premenopause," and "What Your Doctor May NOT Tell You About Menopause," both by Dr John Lee (see http://www.johnleemd.com/ (http://www.johnleemd.com/)). The majority of doctors are not informed about this information and are inclined to prescribe synthetic hormones such as the birth contol pill or HRT (these have a different molecular structure to those that the body produces) which are not good for the body. It is up to women to get knowledgable about natural hormone therapy and to educate their doctors--maybe buy them a copy of those books (I lent my books to my family doctor as well as my dentist [who, incidentally now uses natural hormone therapy])!! Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now!!

Elaine, I was wondering what you meant about a 'sensitivity to testosterone.' Do you mean your body is producing either too much or too little testosterone? If you are producing too little (and for those of you who weren't aware, testosterone is a women's hormone as well as a man's--and has an important role to play) you can get (certainly in North America) natural testosterone cream (produced in a 'compounding pharmacy,' usually in transdermal cream form, but I don't think you have those pharmacies in the UK, which is very unfortunate for anyone wanting to use natural hormones). A great book for any woman with low levels of testosterone (could be you if you have diminished vital energy, diminished sense of well-being, or decreased sexual desire, or other things I won't mention here:yucky: ) is "The Hormone of Desire" by Susan Rako. Low levels of energy can also be as a result of low levels of the hormone DHEA, which is one of the hormones that the adrenals produce.

The other thing is, women need to get their blood tested regularly for hormone levels--progesterone, estrogens, testosterone and DHEA (I get mine done at least twice a year) especially if they have any symptoms that could be hormone-related [that is a from a long list of symptoms], or if they have reached the age of perimenopause (which could be ten years prior to the onset on menopause, when anovulatory cycles can occur).

Sorry to go on a bit, but informing women about this important subject seems to be one of my missions in life. Pen steps down from her soapbox once again.:o

[Pen]

Wow! I have just found out some brilliant news.

My 18 year old daughter who moved back to the UK in September was prescribed natural progesterone cream (for her PMS, and like me, she is estrogen-dominant) by our integrative doctor who specializes in 'bio-identical (produced in a laboratory, derived from natural sources, but has the same molecular structure as the hormone that the body naturally produces) hormone therapy.' Our concern was that now she is back in the UK where it appears that there are no compounding pharmacies, she would not be able to get any of the cream.

I just rang our compounding pharmacist here and he tells me that the cream can legally be shipped to the UK. She will be so pleased when I tell her the news.