One reason we want to keep away from dairy is because, after a certain age, you don’t need milk any longer.
The main purpose of milk production in mammals, is to provide human and animal babies with nutrition to help them grow and gain weight quickly. That is the main reason for the composition of milk.
Milk consists of three macronutrients that exist at the perfect ratio of carbohydrates, proteins and fat to nourish a young human or animal in order to gain weight and grow quickly.
The carbohydrates in milk are mainly milk sugar known as lactose. When you are growing quickly, especially in the first year of life, you need this carbohydrate. After a certain age, every mammal (including humans) is not able to digest milk any longer.
The next macronutrient in milk is protein. There are many proteins in milk (actually over 100 proteins and amino acids), but the most common are known as casein and whey. A large percentage of people may not have a true allergy to these proteins where they produce hives, but respond to them by producing inflammation somewhere within their body – mostly in the gut.
Proteins in dairy can create an inflammatory response in various places, like the skin, brain or joints, etc.
Many people and many healthcare workers do not make the connection that dairy is the driving factor behind their complaints. It can be the driving factor behind many conditions, like migraines, eczema, or irritable bowel even up to two days after consumption.
The last macronutrient found in milk is fat. There is actually quite a bit of fat in whole milk, which is the way we would drink it naturally from the mother. This fat is actually the least problematic and most healthy of all the macronutrients in the dairy product, but has unfortunately been falsely demonized.
Certain dairy products, like many cheeses, yogurt, kefir, cream cheese, or sour cream, are more friendly than plain milk.
Because they have undergone fermentation from microbes. The bacteria in the fermentation process end up consuming almost all of the lactose or milk sugar. In the process, some of these bacterial byproducts can alter the protein molecules, making the dairy product less inflammatory and easier for many to eat.
This is why, once you get to maintenance, you can re-introduce some of these products to see how you respond to them. After having them out of your diet for however many months you are on plan, you re-introduce them one at a time in a systematic fashion to see if your body reacts negatively or not. We would not, however, ever advise going back to drinking milk.
Your body needs calcium, your body doesn’t require dairy to get in calcium.
Calcium is found in plenty of foods. You would be surprised to see how much more nutrient dense calcium actually is in grass-fed beef than dairy. It is 10 times higher in vitamin A, three times higher in vitamin E and substantially higher in calcium, magnesium, potassium, and B-vitamins.
There is also plenty of calcium in green, leafy vegetables, which are very bioavailable. A significant portion of the calcium in these foods are absorbed into the body. Such as:
- Kale
- Broccoli
- Brussels Sprouts
- Collard Greens
- Turnip
- Greens
- Chinese Cabbage
Raw spinach, with its many positive sides, however, can actually block calcium absorption because it contains something called oxalates. Oxalates interfere with calcium absorption and can promote kidney stones. You can still eat it, but not make it an every day staple. Yet another reason why we need to eat a variety of foods.
Nuts and seeds also contain calcium, as do oranges, blackberries, and raspberries. Vitamin D3 and K2 are also essential for calcium absorption and preventing bone loss. No one vitamin or mineral is always effective on its own. They work together to keep us healthy.
While there are calcium supplements that can be beneficial for some people, you still are best to obtain calcium and better bone strength by eating a healthy diet as a lifestyle, like the one on your Genesis Health Solutions plan. Calcium alone in a product is not your answer.