Reintroducing Dairy

[Marilyn R]

I've avoided dairy for more than a year because it made me every bit as sick as gluten.

Friday evening, I tested hard cheese (cheddar). I didn't have a single repercussion.

I daydreamed and night dreamed about dairy the last two days and nights. I dreamed about whipped cream on meringues or gluten-free biscuits, ice cream, all cheeses (ranked them in order of importance.)

Here's my quandry. I wonder if I would have been willing to challenge dairy earlier if I would have been ok. I hate to try things mid week and have to call in sick, but I hate to screw up my weekends, which is when I do my necessary household stuff, and relax.

It was just a piece of hard cheese. I keep reminding myself of that. I never felt the problem with dairy was with lactose, it was the protein. So today at the grocery I decided that the one thing I missed the most was whipped cream. When I saw Carragean (sp?) in the list of all of the heavy creams (even the ones you whip yourself) I shut down and bought a container of Greek Yogurt.

I didn't used to be food focused like this.

I've seen tag lines of posters who could tolerate dairy awhile and then becane intolerant again. If you have any insight, I'd appreciate hearing from you.

Meantime, I'm skeptical but delighted, even if it's short term.

What would you have first if you could finally have dairy?

[Wenmin]

ICE CREAM

[WinterSong]

Pizza! And really good locatelli romano cheese. I'm Italian, and my pasta dishes just aren't the same without good cheese.

I'm looking forward to doing a dairy challenge in October. Good luck with yours!

[burdee]

I've avoided dairy for more than a year because it made me every bit as sick as gluten.

Friday evening, I tested hard cheese (cheddar). I didn't have a single repercussion.

I daydreamed and night dreamed about dairy the last two days and nights. I dreamed about whipped cream on meringues or gluten-free biscuits, ice cream, all cheeses (ranked them in order of importance.)

Here's my quandry. I wonder if I would have been willing to challenge dairy earlier if I would have been ok. I hate to try things mid week and have to call in sick, but I hate to screw up my weekends, which is when I do my necessary household stuff, and relax.

It was just a piece of hard cheese. I keep reminding myself of that. I never felt the problem with dairy was with lactose, it was the protein. So today at the grocery I decided that the one thing I missed the most was whipped cream. When I saw Carragean (sp?) in the list of all of the heavy creams (even the ones you whip yourself) I shut down and bought a container of Greek Yogurt.

I didn't used to be food focused like this.

I've seen tag lines of posters who could tolerate dairy awhile and then becane intolerant again. If you have any insight, I'd appreciate hearing from you.

Meantime, I'm skeptical but delighted, even if it's short term.

What would you have first if you could finally have dairy?

I would NOT reintroduce dairy, because I was diagnosed with casein intolerance (IgA antibody reaction to casein). Since that's an immune reaction, I don't think my body is going to forget that it considers casein protein foreign bodies. So my body won't ever forget to create antibodies in response to casein. I've had accidental contamination (consumption) of my diagnosed allergens, months and years after I'd abstained from those. I ALWAYS react as strongly (if not stronger) than I originally reacted with cramping gut pain, bloating, constipation and/or diarrhea. So I'll stick to my safe dairy substitutes for milk, cheese, yogurt, butter and ice cream. Why would I risk unnecessary pain, when I can eat tasty, safe substitutes?

[cahill]

When I reintroduced dairy ,I chose to start with cheese.When that went well I added yogurt then cottage cheese and milk.I still have not tried ice cream,no real desire for it .

I made sure that when I reintroduced dairy than I changed nothing else in my diet until I was sure about dairy.

I love the fact that I can currently tolerate dairy

[Skylark]

I was off all cow dairy for a year. I could tolerate goat dairy but I'm not fond of goat yogurt or milk, only cheese. I couldn't quite get used to goat milk in coffee so I was drinking it with a gluten-free brand of rice milk.

When I reintroduced cow dairy, I went straight for CHEESE! I had been eating goat and sheep's milk cheese and some of them were really good, but I missed sharp cheddar so badly. I also finally got to put real milk in my coffee again.

[kwylee]

I would NOT reintroduce dairy, because I was diagnosed with casein intolerance (IgA antibody reaction to casein). Since that's an immune reaction, I don't think my body is going to forget that it considers casein protein foreign bodies. So my body won't ever forget to create antibodies in response to casein. I've had accidental contamination (consumption) of my diagnosed allergens, months and years after I'd abstained from those. I ALWAYS react as strongly (if not stronger) than I originally reacted with cramping gut pain, bloating, constipation and/or diarrhea. So I'll stick to my safe dairy substitutes for milk, cheese, yogurt, butter and ice cream. Why would I risk unnecessary pain, when I can eat tasty, safe substitutes?

Your post got me thinking because in June 2010 I tested with an IgA reaction to casein of 29 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units). I know I'll always have the intolerance to gluten but since my inquiring mind wanted to know, I called Enterolab just a few moments ago, and was told that it actually IS quite possible to reintroduce dairy after 6 to 12 months, even with my IgA reaction to casein a year ago.

I've been strictly gluten/casein/soy free since my initial tests so it could be time for me to try. Really, all I want is to sprinkle a scant handful of mozzarella cheese onto a crispy gluten free pizza crust, even just once every couple weeks. I'd honestly be so happy with just that!!!! So I'll give it a try soon and hope for the best.

[Marilyn R]

ICE CREAM

I daydreamed that if I went for Ice Cream, it would be HaganDaaz 5 ingredient. I was afraid this tolerance to dairy was too good to be true and wanted to test the waters with what I've read are kind to our tummies.

P.S. I haven't tried the yoghurt yet. I'm scared! I'll try it Wednesday I guess.

[Marilyn R]

When I reintroduced dairy ,I chose to start with cheese.When that went well I added yogurt then cottage cheese and milk.I still have not tried ice cream,no real desire for it .

I made sure that when I reintroduced dairy than I changed nothing else in my diet until I was sure about dairy.

I love the fact that I can currently tolerate dairy

Yay! I used to LOVE cottage cheese. You were smart not to add anything else to your diet. I added chick peas on Sunday evening (no dairy) thinking that my AI system had finally rested. I didn't have a bad reaction, but I'll be avoiding legumes again for awhile.

[Marilyn R]

Your post got me thinking because in June 2010 I tested with an IgA reaction to casein of 29 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units). I know I'll always have the intolerance to gluten but since my inquiring mind wanted to know, I called Enterolab just a few moments ago, and was told that it actually IS quite possible to reintroduce dairy after 6 to 12 months, even with my IgA reaction to casein a year ago.

I've been strictly gluten/casein/soy free since my initial tests so it could be time for me to try. Really, all I want is to sprinkle a scant handful of mozzarella cheese onto a crispy gluten free pizza crust, even just once every couple weeks. I'd honestly be so happy with just that!!!! So I'll give it a try soon and hope for the best.

Hey Kaylee,

I hope it works for you!

And I went to a natural food store today, even the organic cream has carageean in it. Oh well for whipped cream, hope you get to enjoy your pizza soon!

[Marilyn R]

I was off all cow dairy for a year. I could tolerate goat dairy but I'm not fond of goat yogurt or milk, only cheese. I couldn't quite get used to goat milk in coffee so I was drinking it with a gluten-free brand of rice milk.

When I reintroduced cow dairy, I went straight for CHEESE! I had been eating goat and sheep's milk cheese and some of them were really good, but I missed sharp cheddar so badly. I also finally got to put real milk in my coffee again.

Thanks for responding skylark, I have learned so much from your posts. I've tried every alternative dairy product (rice, almond, goat, lactaid free, coconut milk) and the all made me sick, probably from the soy additives. I'm finally used to drinking my coffee black, I may just stick with that. But I understand how wonderful it is to be able to finally enjoy a good cup of coffee just how you like it.

[organicmama]

Hey Kaylee,

I hope it works for you!

And I went to a natural food store today, even the organic cream has carageean in it. Oh well for whipped cream, hope you get to enjoy your pizza soon!

Is carageenan bad for you?

[domesticactivist]

I've been really wanting sharp cheeses. Maybe blue cheese, or asiago. I'd also love a cup of good coffee with heavy whipped cream in it. However, coffee is out of the picture, too.

I can usually ditch the cheese cravings by getting some strong, salty, savory flavors going. Avacados with pork drippings, anyone?

[kwylee]

Is carageenan bad for you?

I think carageenan is one of those additives that are considered "natural" but some people have problems with, like annatto. I figure if I can't buy fresh carageenan somewhere, it's got to be a processed substance or some sort of extraction from something else. I generally stay away from it but the few times I have ingested something with those types of things in it, I don't seem to react. I also do that rarely, so perhaps I have a tolerance to a degree.

[Skylark]

Carrageenan is a jelly-like polysaccharide made from red seaweed. It upsets some people's stomachs. If you poke around on the Internet a bit, you can find some info that carrageenan might not be the best thing to eat.

Open Original Shared Link

[Marilyn R]

Carrageenan is a jelly-like polysaccharide made from red seaweed. It upsets some people's stomachs. If you poke around on the Internet a bit, you can find some info that carrageenan might not be the best thing to eat.

Open Original Shared Link

Thanks for the link, Skylark! That was interesting reading.

I had a tablespoon of cottage cheese at the hospital cafeteria today as the next step of my challenge (still haven't tried the yogurt). Now I'm wondering if there's carrageenan in cottage cheese! Oy vey.

Whatever happens, we've all been through worse and survived, trudging on to conquer our food challenges/journey.

[Maggie Mermaid]

Plain yogurt. We're trying right now. I made a batch of plain yogurt and let it sit for 24 hours to break down all the lactose. DH was really missing the probiotics. I'm really hoping it works for his sake. We eat rice yogurt but it'd be nice to have something less processed.

[Marilyn R]

I didn't know rice yogurt exists! Good luck with your trial. If that doesn't work I know there's a way to make coconut milk yogurt if you don't react to coconut. I don't have it at my fingertips, it would take some digging to find it...

[the.gf.bf.]

I've been really wanting sharp cheeses. Maybe blue cheese, or asiago. I'd also love a cup of good coffee with heavy whipped cream in it. However, coffee is out of the picture, too.

I can usually ditch the cheese cravings by getting some strong, salty, savory flavors going. Avacados with pork drippings, anyone?

Be careful with adding blue cheese back into your diet. Blue cheese is made from mold. There are two ways to make the mold: either from caves, or from wheat-based cultures. Do your research and make sure the brand of blue cheese you're buying is not from wheat cultures.

Enjoy the cheese!

[psawyer]

The question of blue cheese, and similar cheeses, has been discussed many times. We know of no credible current source that says to avoid them. Search this board to find the discussions.

[squirmingitch]

Marilyn, make your own whipped cream. It's easy. Only takes a few minutes.

[lucia]

Some forms of lactose are easier to digest (no matter who you are), so I started with those. In order, it goes: strained (i.e., Greek) yogurt, regular yogurt, goat milk/cheese, hard cheeses such as parmeasan, cheddar, gouda, and then soft cheeses. Ice-cream is one of the hardest foods to digest for anyone, but especially for people who have issues with lactose (due to fat content and according to some modalities, temperature). I added back dairy slowly and in small amounts. I didn't eat much to start, and that worked out well so that now I can eat all dairy (although I don't eat much soft cheese and rarely eat ice-cream).