Farewell Bessie, hello dairy alternatives.

I’ve made a lot of changes to my diet over the past few months, but among the most dramatic is the elimination of dairy.  For milk and yogurt, I don’t miss it because there are non-dairy substitutes that I like just as well such as soy, almond or rice based products.  Cheese, I’ll admit, I miss!  The fake cheese substitutes are nasty and don’t really qualify as “real food” so I consider them special treats for special occasions (read: Amy's Rice Macaroni with Non-Dairy Cheeze, AKA “mac and cheese” is delicious!)

So why the drama?  The first time I considered the removal of dairy was at The Block Center for Integrative Cancer Care in Chicago, where my mom decided to seek a third opinion.  To the dietician there, it seemed so obvious, and yet not in an arrogant way, that dairy was simply an unnecessary, maybe even harmful, part of an adult diet.  Shortly after that visit, we started taking a nutrition course offered through The Cancer Project and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine which supported the notion that dairy can be bad. 

There are, as usual, plenty of dissenting (and informed) voices out there, and understandably so.  We’ve been drinking milk for years and plenty of milk drinkers are perfectly healthy. 

With that caveat, here are some of the reasons that I decided to go dairy-free:

• According to a one study, Harvard researchers found that adult males who consumed more than 2 servings of milk per day had a 60% increased risk of prostate cancer compared to those who generally avoided milk.  Check out this Harvard article on Milk and Calcium intake for osteoporosis, cancer of the prostate and ovary, and other fun facts.  
• The Harvard Nurses Health Study, one of the largest, longest running studies of women's health on record, found an increased risk of breast cancer in premenopausal women who had higher levels of IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor, found in cow's milk as well) in their blood. 
• For those worried about osteoporosis, there are countless other (and by some counts better) sources of calcium!  More on non-obvious sources of calcium in later post, but think leafy greens, nuts, and beans.
• In people who are prone to mucus, eliminating dairy can help lessen the load.  Ask my hubby Paul, the snottiest man I know, what the elimination of dairy has done for him! 
• There are lots of tasty and readily available alternatives that don’t come with the above concerns, so I thought why not give them a try?

Shopping tips for those interested in giving Bessie's alternatives a try:

• Silk is a great brand for soy or almond milk that is pretty easy to find and they never use GMOs, even in their non-organic products.  We use Silk Organic Unsweetened Soymilk regularly.  See picture below for a comparison with dairy milk, right off the side of the carton of Silk.  We also do Rice Dream organic rice milk.
• Wildwood makes an organic unsweetened soy yogurt that works nicely with granola and fresh fruit and in recipes that call for yogurt or sour cream. 
• Amande makes a good almond based yogurt, and better yet, they use fruit juice rather than sugar to sweeten it.  It’s not organic, but I think that’s because organic almonds are ridiculously expensive…ever bought organic almond butter? 
• Stoneyfield makes a nice organic soy yogurt, though they do sweeten with sugar. 
• Earth Balance makes a great (non-hydrogenated) vegetable oil spread that we use as a butter substitute.  Works well for spreading and baking alike.  We like the soy original version, which is a yellowish container.
• Not very healthy, but almost healthy (maybe) and good for the transition period: Daiya brand shredded soy cheese, which you can buy standalone or on your Tofurky brand pizzas. Be on the lookout when you’re fake cheese shopping.  “Casein” is milk protein and hides out in a lot of “non-dairy” items, so make sure to read the label.

Some meaningful caveats below. 

• Kids.  For kids, dairy is likely an important part of a well-balanced, growth-promoting diet.  But organic is definitely worth the investment to avoid incorporating extra hormones (rGBH) and antibiotics that come from conventionally produced milk.
• Breast cancer.  Soybeans contain phytoestrogens, which fall into the category of “confusing” in my opinion.  Some physicians and nutritionists consider them to be cancer fighters and others consider them carcinogenic.  At least for breast cancer, it seems safer to avoid soy until studies can be more conclusive. 
• Availability of dairy alternatives in small towns.  I know it can be challenging for those living in smaller cities and towns to find some of these dairy alternatives.  Unfortunately, ordering online is even tricky because most of them require refrigeration.  If you can't find these products at your local grocer, ask!  They may be in non-obvious places.  Call around to other nearby stores to see if anyone else is carrying the products.  In time, they will be more readily available.  I'm sure of it!  And in the meantime, don't stress.  Consume low fat dairy in moderation and be well.