Question Regarding Dairy-Free

[MotoMommy]

Hello,

I have now been wheat/gluten free and dairy free for two weeks. (No major changes yet.) My gastroenterologist suggested that I go dairy free for awhile as well as wheat/gluten free.

Wheat/gluten free has been fairly easy for me. The hardest part of my diet is the dairy part!! Many gluten-free products that I would like to have contain dairy. How do I know I really have to go that drastic? Could I have a little lactose-free milk or put lactase drops into something dairy? I have lots of stomach problems...so would lactose-free not be enough and I need complete dairy free? Should I go dairy-free for a certain amount of time and then introduce lactose-free stuff or could I start with lactose-free and if not feeling well then go dairy-free? You get the picture! Aughhhh! Any suggestions on what worked for you is appreciated.

Sonja

[domesticactivist]

When doing a trial I'd avoid the gluten free products anyway. They gave me a lot of trouble and even cross contaminated my son. When we went strictly to whole foods we all did much better. It's also much easier to identify what is giving you trouble that way. We followed the GAPS order of reintroducing dairy. I have been able to introduce ghee and homemade yogurt from raw milk. My partner can handle fresh raw milk and butter in moderation and she and the kids can both eat hard cheese and dairy kefir. I can have gluten free firm gorgonzola but have reacted badly to other cheeses.

[mushroom]

The best way to find out what you can eat (i.e., differentiating between casein and lactose intolerance) is to go totally dairy free, and then challenge after a week or two with a well-aged cheddar cheese, or some yogurt. There is very little lactose in these products but plenty of casein. If you tolerate these fine you will only have to avoid the lactose, like milk, cream, ice cream , frozen yogurt (at least that's all I had to cut out - I could even have sour cream because it's cultured). I initially used the Lactaid tablets but then they were not enough. There are lots of good milk substitutes like almond and hemp, and hemp and coconut ice cream from Whole Foods if you really get a craving. I would recommend staying away from soy or Rice Dream (refined with barley).

[Skylark]

When I go dairy-free, I do it strictly. I agree with Shroomie about challenging, but I'd suggest giving it three or four weeks before you challenge. You want any inflammation to really settle down and that takes at least a couple weeks.

[stanleymonkey]

tofutti cream cheese is gluten free and daiya cheese is also

[MotoMommy]

Domesticactivist, Mushroom, Skylark, and StanleyMonkey,

Thank you all for your input. It is wonderful to be able to ask a question, go about my day, and come home to all this wealth of info in your responses! Thank you, it helped me to make my gameplan on how to go about this. I will try to stick to whole foods and then in a month start challenging to see if I can tolerate some forms of dairy. Blessings to you all.

Sonja

[Reba32]

when you're initially going gluten free, I think it's best to stick with whole natural foods, rather than just manufactured substitutes for manufactured gluteny foods. Go with the foods that Nature made gluten free. Stick with the outside aisles at the grocery store, just plain fresh vegetables, fruits, meats, fish. Plain frozen fruits and vegetables are generally less expensive, especially in winter.

Manufactured foods lack vitamins mostly, and are usually full of added sugars and salt that we just don't need, and don't add anything to our ravaged bodies anyway.

[MotoMommy]

Thank you Reba!

[granolagal]

Hello,

I have now been wheat/gluten free and dairy free for two weeks. (No major changes yet.) My gastroenterologist suggested that I go dairy free for awhile as well as wheat/gluten free.

Wheat/gluten free has been fairly easy for me. The hardest part of my diet is the dairy part!! Many gluten-free products that I would like to have contain dairy. How do I know I really have to go that drastic? Could I have a little lactose-free milk or put lactase drops into something dairy? I have lots of stomach problems...so would lactose-free not be enough and I need complete dairy free? Should I go dairy-free for a certain amount of time and then introduce lactose-free stuff or could I start with lactose-free and if not feeling well then go dairy-free? You get the picture! Aughhhh! Any suggestions on what worked for you is appreciated.

Sonja

Just wanting to say thanks for posting this MotoMommy! I was just diagnosed 3 weeks ago and haven't gone dairy free. I've been struggling with the same dilemma so this post was helpful for me too!

[AVR1962]

You mentioned a recent diagnosis and lots of digestive issues. I would go off both for 2 months to allow time for some healing before trying any dairy and when you do try it, you can take lactose digestive enzymes if you find out it is your issue. To avoid possible CC or getting confused with another possible food allergy at this point, I would avoid the gluten-free products. There's additives in both dairy free and gluten free foods that don't always set well on the stomach. More than anything you want healing before you sart experimenting.

[MotoMommy]

I'm glad this post helped you Granolagal! And AVR1962...thank you!

Sonja

[BeFree]

"The hardest part of my diet is the dairy part!!"

It's hard...I'm doing OK without gluten but I am really craving cheese and dairy products the most. I tried eating dairy for about a week but I just didn't feel right. It was a heaviness and tiredness that built up in my system slowly. I decided to avoid dairy for awhile to give my body a chance to heal. It's hard though.