How to Be Fine Without Dairy

"The never-ending alfredo pasta bowl from Olive Garden is evil."

Dairy is defined as products that come from or containing the milk of mammals. This primarily comes from cattle, goats, sheep, camels and humans.

Yep. HUMANS. This is UTTERly one type of human secretion. SECRETION.

We all know why mammals produce milk. Production is needed to feed newborn babies so they grow healthy and strong. But yet somehow humans have convinced themselves that they need to continue to consume milk (mostly from cows) well into adult age.

I know what you are thinking. Milk makes cheesy, creamy, delicious dishes that I cannot imagine living without. Why do I need to read any further when I can enjoy the never-ending alfredo pasta bowl from Olive Garden that hasn't done anything to me?

Au contraire mon frère.

Dairy is the Mean Girl of your diet. She makes you feel good when she is in your face. She gives you immediate satisfaction but behind your back; she is wreaking havoc. Dairy is wrecking havoc on your digestion, weight, skin and overall health.

• Digestion-75% of the world's population is genetically unable to properly digest dairy. The enzyme we need to digest milk properly lessens after we are weaned from breast milk. This makes it more difficult to digest the milk and most often creates an intolerance to dairy. This intolerance can be displayed in many forms-bloating, diarrhea, and other IBS symptoms.

• Weight-Carrying excess weight is a reality due to bloating and the difficulty in digestion. Your body is made to consume food, remove and retain nutrients and then discard waste. Ideally this should be done after every meal. However; if your body is fighting to digest the dairy and you continue to consume the next meal; these meals then stack on top of each other waiting to go through the digestion assembly. Trust me. You should never want to be BACKED up. Do not carry yesterday with you. 

• Skin-Your body's main organs used for detoxing and filtering toxins out include the kidneys and liver. When these organs are overworked or taxed; they rely on the next organ to assist. This is where skin; your largest organ comes into play. Toxins being expelled is displayed in the form of acne, eczema, or psoriasis to name a few. We all know someone suffering these ailments. This is their skin is expelling toxins because their liver and kidneys are busy. AND THEY ARE BACKED UP. Dassit. Skin conditions like eczema didn't choose you. You chose eczema when you decided to eat that mac and cheese. (Don't make me rant further. I will end that here.)

• Overall Health- Dairy creates additional thickness and accumulation of mucus in the body. Mucus. MILK-US. Keep in mind mucus wreaks havoc and creates that gross wet cough, chest or nasal congestion, and/or earaches. Now add on the fact that you are backed up and haven't removed toxins in two days (or 6 meals worth) and a skin ailment like eczema. How is this healthy? How are you happy?

Why are we still consuming this cow secretion? 

We hold on to the idea of consuming dairy mainly due to TASTE and the belief we NEED it. Dairy is addictive. Let's just lay that out there. Pizza, pasta, party dips, casseroles, even salad/taco toppings containing dairy taste so DAMN good. I understand this. Trust me. The argument that we need it is very much up for debate. So many studies have shown that dairy harms more than it helps. Do you know the process of obtaining milk from the cows? The female cows are artificially inseminated to become pregnant to produce milk. That milk is secreted, processed (cleaned of pus and blood within the product) and sold in every grocery store around town. If you took another woman's milk and drank it as an adult you would probably be arrested. 

Every glass of milk, every creamy sauce, or cheesy dip you have consumed has been derived from a pregnant cow. 

The argument that we need it for calcium for bones is an old myth. You can get calcium from other plant based sources. Sources such as almonds have 100 mg of calcium per ounce, spinach contains 145 mg of calcium per cup-sized serving, and sweet potatoes contain 40 mg on average per potato (medium serving). There is the belief that yogurt has healthy probiotics and we need it for gut health. This is not a fake claim however; the amount of fermented bacteria provided by yogurt is no longer beneficial once you factor in the sugar and dairy side effects that come with it. The analogy I use with this is ordering hot wings from a restaurant. The order comes with fried wings but approximately 4-6 carrot and celery sticks but touts the benefits of the order based on the nutritional value of the carrot and celery sticks. You should seek kombucha, kimchee, or sauerkraut when you want healthy/plant-based probiotics without adverse effects. Stay woke, people. 

In summation; humans should be weaned off breast milk around age 1-2. Our bodies no longer produce the enzyme needed to break down the lactose as we age. 75% of the world is currently lactose intolerant. The consumption of dairy has negative effects on your digestion, weight, skin and overall health. We can obtain the calcium and probiotics needed from plant based sources. We often hang on to the facts that benefit us like the 4-6 carrot and celery sticks that come with hot wings and ignore the overall effects. 

I challenge everyone to give up dairy for 60 days. Your skin cells will regenerate during this time so you should be able to see and feel all the effects of being dairy free. You should feel lighter, regular, and less lethargic in addition to glowing skin.

Now get out there and be fine without the cow's secretion! Namaste.

-T. Singleton