A lot of people are reducing milk products from their diet due to many factors.
There is a lot of evidence to show that dairy products are not the healthy food we were taught to adore when we were young.
We were taught that milk is a prime source of two vital nutrients: calcium and potassium.
Calcium is one of the most important minerals for the human body as it helps form and maintains healthy teeth and bones. The weakening of bones due to low levels of calcium and potassium leads to osteoporosis. However, there is growing evidence that consuming a lot of milk and other dairy products has little effect on bone density because much of the calcium (75%) in dairy milk is not absorbed by our bodies.
Research shows that dairy products may contribute to osteoporosis and other health problems, including heart disease, cancer, and more. I talk more about this in my article here: https://www.theguerrilladiet.com/7-reasons-to-remove-dairy-products-if-you-wish-to-lose-weight/
Furthermore, mammals, including humans, lose their ability to digest lactose (the sugar found in milk) after infancy. Cheese is lower in lactose. However, this does not solve our problems with dairy products since the protein in cow’s milk is also different from the protein found in human milk. Cows have casein as their major protein, which is a much bigger molecule than whey protein found in human milk. This big molecule causes damage to our digestive tract lining.
Human milk has a very different composition than cow’s milk. Human milk is very low in overall protein and calcium but rich in carbohydrates and fats, which shows which foods we should be focusing upon. Brain tissue consists mainly of fat which insulates nerve fibers. Human breast milk contains high levels of cholesterol which is needed to make nerve tissue in the growing brain. The fats in breast milk are also practically self-digesting since breast milk also contains the enzyme lipase, which breaks down the fats. Fat in human milk has large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids that are important for brain development. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in much higher concentrations in human milk than in cow’s milk.
Cow milk also contains high levels of growth factors, especially IGF-1, vital for growth during the childhood years but are less suitable for adult consumption when growth is less dominant. High levels of IGF-1 often lead to cancer in adults.
Overall, the biochemical makeup of cow’s milk is ideally suited to turn a 65-pound newborn calf into a 400-pound cow in one year. It contains three times more protein and seven times more mineral content than human milk. In contrast, human milk has ten times more essential fatty acids, three times the amount of selenium, twice as much taurine (involved in brain function), and half the calcium of cow’s milk.
Some people also choose to avoid dairy due to a concern over potential contaminants found in milk and dairy products, including hormones, pesticides, and antibiotics.
So, if there is so much research showing that dairy products make us more prone to so many diseases, it would be wise to avoid them.
Now, I know it is not easy to reduce dairy products from the diet since they are so tasty, mainly due to their high-fat content, which we have in our genetic makeup to absolutely love since fats are necessary for human survival. And the fact that they are addictive due to their casomorphine content which is there to ensure that the calf returns to its mother to feed and ensure its growth.
There are great milk alternatives found on the market today, and there are less good alternatives.
What to look out for:
Many dairy alternatives are highly processed foods with a very similar taste to real cheese due to the unnatural flavoring added to these cheeses. They are also rich in added sugars to mimic the taste of milk rich in sweet lactose. Additives are also common in non-dairy cheeses and yogurts to mimic the texture of dairy products, and often the first ingredient is oil to mimic the fatty taste of dairy products.
You should avoid heavily processed cheese alternatives at all costs, and instead, whole plant-based dairy alternatives are recommended.
You can find sugar-free milk alternatives and often also oil-free soy, oat, almond, flax, hemp, coconut, quinoa, and teff milk. Many will need to get used to them; however, oat milk has a similar sweetness and taste to dairy milk and is often well accepted by people making a move to plant-based milk alternatives. However, oat milk does have much less protein content, so mixing it with soy milk is a great way to boost protein intake from the milk alternative.
There are plenty of yogurt alternatives to choose from, including coconut, hemp, almond, and soy yogurts. These will often have fillers and additives, as often do dairy yogurts. Therefore these should be consumed sparingly.
The best cheese alternatives include nut cheeses like cashew, macadamia nut, almond, and even Brazil nut cheeses. Search for cheeses with as few ingredients as possible, and all should be recognizable.
Hard cheeses are more difficult to make from plant-based sources, so often, these products are rich in starches, protein isolates, and vegetable oils and are less recommended.
You can easily replace butter, creams, and oil with tasty 100% nut butter in all recipes and sandwich spreads. I especially like almond butter for rosè pasta dishes and as a butter substitute on a sandwich. It is delicious and healthy as well.
You can use nut butter and coconut oil instead of dairy products in cake recipes.
You can also prepare dairy alternatives easily and simply at home.
Here are two recipes for dairy alternatives: One is the recipe for making oat milk, which looks like skimmed cow milk and has a great taste. This is an excellent alternative for milk in your coffee and recipes requiring milk.
The second recipe is for a cheese made from cashews, which can be used as a spread on sandwiches, in a toast, or as a pizza topping:
Oat Milk
Serves: 4-6
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking and baking time: 60 minutes
A very cheap and healthy milk alternative that can be flavored as you wish. Enjoy.
Ingredients
1 cup rolled oats
3 cups filtered water
Optional Ingredients
2 tsp vanilla extract
or 2 tsp stevia liquid
or 1-2 tbs Silan (pure date honey)
Instructions:
- Pour all ingredients and chosen optional ingredients into a blender and blend until consistency is very smooth.
- Sieve the milk through a cheese cloth directly into a pitcher. Squeeze the milk through the cloth as much as possible until no more milk comes out. Discard the remaining oat pulp.
- Refrigerate and enjoy!
Cashew Cheese
Serves: 4-6
Preparation time: 6 hours
Cooking and baking time: 25 minutes
A great dairy alternative that is also tasty and also nutritious.
Ingredients
1 cup cashews
1 clove of garlic
Pinch of Himalayan salt and pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp beer yeast
Instructions:
- Cover cashews with water and soak for at least 6 hours
- Blend cashews to a smooth consistency (add 1/2 cup water if required) and add garlic and spices. You may also add different spices to create different tastes depending on the use you plan for the cheese. For example, you can add basil for Italian dishes, olives, chili, or even dried tomatoes are a few more ideas.
Now that the cheese is ready. To make it into a variety of different cheeses follow these instructions:
- To make into a feta or other harder cheese, simply place the cheese into a round oven proof dish and bake in a low heated oven for 25 minutes
- To make into a soft cheese, allow cheese to strain overnight and add some olive oil to it if you enjoy the taste.
- Enjoy!
One more important remark, when you choose to reduce dairy products from your diet, you also influence planetary health for the better. You are reducing the release of greenhouse gases through reduced animal farming. You spare more forests from being converted into farmland. You reduce world hunger. You spare water, air, and soil from excessive pollution and spare so much unnecessary animal suffering.
By choosing to reduce or remove dairy products from your menu, I can personally not think of a better way to influence society, live more consciously and healthily, and positively impact the world at large.
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