Dairy is a huge part of your life.
Don’t believe us? According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s research, each American consumes 154 pounds of milk per year (nearly 20 gallons!) just through drinking cow’s milk. This doesn’t include the amount of dairy that is consumed through other dairy products like butter, cheese, and ice cream. Milk is produced in all 50 states and from 2004-2014, the United States is the world’s third-largest dairy product exporter.
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There are also 270 million dairy cows in the world, per the World Wildlife Foundation.
Dairy, in the form of cow’s milk, is often one of the very first foods introduced into an infant’s diet. But it’s also one of the most common food allergies among children and nearly 75% of the world’s population has some degree of a lactose intolerance. What’s the best way to treat either issue? … with a Dairy Free Diet.
What is a Dairy Free Diet and why should you consider one?
A dairy-free diet is a diet that is free of milk and milk products. To go completely dairy-free means that you are eliminating primary sources of dairy from your diet including milk, cheese, butter, cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, custards, puddings, ice cream, gelato, sherbet, whey, and casein.
If you’re allergic to milk protein or if you have a lactose intolerance, going dairy free might be the best option for you.
What are the benefits of having a Dairy Free Diet?
- Less Bloating
- Better Respiratory Health
- Improved Digestion
- Clearer Skin
- Reduced risk of developing cancer
- Decreased oxidative stress
- Prevent milk allergy and sensitivity reactions
How can you get your nutrients on a Dairy Free Diet?
By excluding dairy products from your diet, you are putting three critical nutrient intakes at risk: calcium, potassium, and magnesium.
One of the very best ways to ensure that your body is getting the amount of calcium that it needs is by consuming calcium rich foods. You can supplement your diet with leafy green vegetables like collard greens and kale, with vegetables like broccoli and okra, and with oranges. You can also choose to drink a milk substitute like goat’s milk, coconut milk, or almond milk.
1 cup of Collard Greens contains nearly 25% of the recommended Daily Value nutrition intake.
Now what?
Now that you know what a Dairy Free Diet is and why someone might choose to go dairy free, here are a few recipes to help get you started on adding more calcium rich foods into your daily diet:
- Dairy Free Creamed Kale - with coconut milk, kale, and sliced almonds, you’re getting plenty of added calcium to your diet with this recipe
- Vegan Cooked Collard Greens - collard greens are a wonderful source of calcium
- Fruity Broccoli Salad - both the broccoli and the mandarin oranges are providing you calcium in this recipe!
If you’re planning to explore a Dairy Free Diet, there are a multitude of benefits, especially if you are allergic to milk protein or if you are lactose intolerant. Just make sure that you are adding calcium rich foods into your diet to make up for what you would typically receive from dairy!