What do I replace dairy with?!?!

[BexyLS]

Hi ladies, I want to eliminate dairy from my diet as I think it's causing me problems. What do I use instead? Soya is out as well as almond milk. Any ideas? Thanks!

[CarolineC57]

I like Alpro Hazelnut milk. I hope that's OK to have with thyroid problems.

[Babette]

I use rice milk (without the added calcium) on cereal. Not tried it in tea or coffee though.

[infomaniac]

I've just recently gone dairy free and use Koko milk. It's made from coconuts and comes in original and chocolate flavours. I mostly take my coffee black but use the chocolate one on cereal and as a hot drink at bedtime and it's very nice.

If you are missing yoghurts please don't do what I did and pay £1.99 for a tiny pot of Coyo coconut milk yoghurt...they are disgusting!

[BexyLS in reply to infomaniac]

This will be the big one for me I love yogurt and eat it everyday. Other options? only soya I think

[infomaniac in reply to BexyLS]

It's a pain isn't it? I love Total Greek yoghurt and have not ruled the occasional one out but I've only been dairy free since May so it's a bit soon yet! I figure a little bit of what you fancy does you good. (This doesn't extend to gluten though-that will remain a no-no forever). Personally I'd rather do without than have soya but that's just my opinion.

[Hidden in reply to infomaniac]

Ha ha, I did the same thing infomaniac, I tried the chocolate one, if you can call it that. It just really needed sugar I thought, or something anyway. I like the Koko milk though, really nice in Smoothies etc. I'm OK with a bit of natural yoghurt, something with live cultures to aid digestion, so if I'm feeling desperate (usually at breakfast) I'll have that.

[infomaniac in reply to Hidden]

I had to ask where they were in Waitrose and the assistant told me they were very expensive but I said it was OK...then I saw the size of the pot! After reading reviews I was expecting something really decadent and boy was I disappointed! I had to put sugar in mine to make it semi palatable

[Starfish123]

Have you thought of trying goats milk, butter etc?

The goats butter is the best butter I've ever tried.

I've not tried the milk so can't comment.

There are other goat products, eg yogurt also available.

[helvella Administrator in reply to Starfish123]

As ice cream, it is fantastic. But I doubt it counts as elimination of dairy - unless the original poster only wishes to avoid cow dairy foods.

Rod

[BexyLS in reply to helvella]

Hi Helvella. Not sure whether to avoid all dairy or just cows. I get very bad migraines and wondering if cutting out dairy will help.

[helvella Administrator in reply to BexyLS]

Well if it is just cows milk, I find that goats milk products are generally very nice. I use the milk on my cereal, have always liked the cheese, and expect the other products to be similarly enjoyable.

So might be worth a go.

It is interesting that this document specifically mentions "cow's milk".

nhs.uk/ipgmedia/national/mi...

Rod

[Hidden]

There's a brand of coconut milk called coconut dream available in sainsburys by the free from section; that's the only one I've found which has no sugar added (it is coconut and rice milk) and tastes sweet/pleasant

[Hidden]

Oat milk is not offensive in tea as much as some other alternatives and it's not very high in fat either which I find a problem with a lot of the nut milks.

[chihiro]

I use oat milk too. It also comes in chocolate flavour and you can also get oat cream which I use when cooking.

[crimple]

I went on dairy and gluten free to reduce my TPO antibodies and it seems to be working! I use lactofree milk for tea as well as 1Litre you can buy a net of small pouches, handy shots for tea. They also do cream, cheese and yoghurts, Waitrose and Sainsbury have the milk and cream, haven't looked for the cheese and yoghurts. I think you have to be a bit careful with too much "nut" milk, almonds can be bad for the thyroid. Also oaty milk contains gluten. I like rice milk for my GF cereal. Often have a better availability online shopping!

[BexyLS in reply to crimple]

Hi Crimple thanks for the info, Is it just the lactose in milk that causes problems? If so I've tried arla before and it's very nice, so would be a great alternative.

[crimple in reply to BexyLS]

as far as I can remember it is lactose and I think goats milk doesn't have lactose. Just got some goats cream from waitrose, which is good, very white!

[helvella Administrator in reply to crimple]

Afraid that goats milk does contain lactose - and a fairly similar amount to cows milk.

goatworld.com/articles/goat...

Rod

[crimple in reply to helvella]

Thanks for that helvella, must not let my hubby buy stuff! He said it was lactose free and I didn't check!

[Hidden in reply to BexyLS]

I've recently tried Lactofree Cheese (mature cheddar) and it's delicious! Morrisons do the milk and cheese.

[finder]

LactoFree milk from Arla, it is just milk with the lactose removed. I have it in my tea and it helps a great deal, and to me now tastes just the same! I think they make lactose free cheeses as well, etc., but have not tried them yet! You can also buy enzyme supplements from Biocare etc, at the health food shop, with lactic acid enzymes to help you digest lactose. I chest quite frequently, and hen I do, I eat organic sauerkraut, which helps with the lactic acid bacteria in the gut. Hope that helps!

[BexyLS]

Thanks everyone. A few to try out

The reason I want to is I had an almighty migraine over the weekend (I take amytriptyline for chronic headaches but still had a break through) and I ate a few things that may have caused it:

1. Mr whippy icecream with a flake and choc sauce and tho I'm gluten free I ate the cone (I know, bad)

2. a Corndog which I have never had in my life and wanted to try (It's a hotdog wrapped in cornmeal and fried, was yummy).

I eat dairy everyday and don't get headaches everyday but thought it could just be it anyway as I am gluten intolerant and didnt know til I gave up gluten and now have noticed a huge difference. I'm thinking the same may happen with dairy, but I love my yogurt The corndog I won't eat again ever as it was a fair that came to town.

Other possibilities: everyone seems to have a migraine at the mo. Is it the weather? I also have really bad hayfever and don't know if being blocked could antagonise a migraine, seems a stretch but you never know.

So I guess I'm asking is there a good food intolerance test out there that is reliable and won't cost the earth?

Thank you!

[Ritaritarita in reply to BexyLS]

I love love love corn dogs!! But they don't love me. Mmmmm. State fair? Are you in the USA?

[BexyLS in reply to Ritaritarita]

I'm in Ireland. There was a food fair with entertainment. A guy from Minnesota had a corn dog stall. They were lovely! but it may be the offender. Don't the dogs have lots of nitrates and stuff in them?

[Ritaritarita in reply to BexyLS]

Oh bexylS, they are the worst of the worst as far as being nutritious, and of course they are hot dogs, I think they scrape up left overs and form them into hotdogs. And the batter I think is corn meal, but prob something else in there to wreck your health, but I still love to eat them. I am from Dallas, Texas, home of BIG TEX, the huge man that waves you into the state fair of Texas!! I moved to,the UK 20 years ago and have not had a corn dog for all those years. Boy this is bringing back memories....mostly of feeling sick on the rides and eating junk, but what fun. thanks for that. X

[BexyLS in reply to Ritaritarita]

Anytime! Any chance you have a healthy recipe for corn dogs?

[Ritaritarita in reply to BexyLS]

No chance!! Ha ha!! They are just plain ole unhealthy.

[mado]

I have gone gluten free and will be reducing my levo after testing. I am also sensitive to milk as get loads of mucus, sinus problems and congestion. I have tried all sorts if milk, the nut ones cause allergy and the others either don't suit or I don't like the taste. For a life long dedicated tea drinker this is not good, so I drink water but probably not as much as I should. But I feel much better and that's perfect at the moment

[Hidden]

Just a thought, have you had all your vits and mins tested? If these are low they can cause migraine, particularly the B vitamins (folate, B6, B12). I don't think there's any definitive evidence linking them, but lots of speculation. Although I haven't looked that hard to be honest! Here's one such paper:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/240...

I used to be plagued by migraines but haven't had a single one since sorting out my many deficiencies. I went gluten free months before they stopped, and I went dairy free only recently, so for me anyway food wasn't the major factor that I thought it was in the migraines. It was a factor in the stomach and gut issues however, and they've mostly gone as well.

H x

[BexyLS in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Hamster1, need to be tested again so will include the B vits. Can all the Bs be done by bloods? I was very low on Vit D (to level of osteoporosis) and need t be retested could this be a factor?

[Hidden in reply to BexyLS]

The best test would be Homocysteine, as this can point to a deficiency in B12, B9 (folate), B6 or B2. Not generally done on the NHS, however, so just start with B12 and folate which your GP can order. Ferritin also a good idea as low iron can also cause headaches.

I'm sure the vit D is a factor too, there is another article here about the Bs and migraine, which also mentions vit D:

articles.mercola.com/sites/...

"Just last year, researchers presented results of an observational study at the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Headache Society, showing that nearly 42 percent of patients with chronic migraine were deficient in vitamin D. The study also showed that the longer you suffered from chronic migraines, the more likely you are to be vitamin D deficient."

Did you have your calcium tested when your vit D came back low?

H x

[BexyLS in reply to Hidden]

don't know will have to look. why is that?

[Hidden in reply to BexyLS]

Low vit D plus high calcium can be a sign of hyperparathyroidism, so you should always test calcium before supplementing vit D. x

[RosamundG]

The newest and best tasting dairy alternative is 3-Omega-6 Flax milk which is made from flax seed oil and really high in Omega 3. I have an under active thyroid and I find this really helps my dry hair and skin. According to the label a 240 ml glass will give you 70% of your recommended daily allowance of Omega 3. Also contains calcium and vitamins K & D so it's great for bones and teeth. I love it and use it to make all sort of things -- did a creme caramel last week -- great for rice puddings, smoothies etc.

[Silver_Fairy in reply to RosamundG]

Where do you buy yours Rosa?

[Pooh10]

I did the York food test (but expensive) and it highlighted three things for me - dairy, eggs and buckwheat. They advised to cut out all dairy (inc. lactose free, goat etc), eggs (check ingredients!) and buckwheat for 6mnts then gradually reintroduce at a much lower level. I did notice an improvement. However, I later did an elimination diet and realised I felt better off gluten, caffine, onion family as well. My point being I found doing an elimination diet gave me a much better understanding of what agrees with me (wish I'd known earlier!).

[BexyLS in reply to Pooh10]

Thank you. I'll eliminate dairy then and see what happens

[Ritaritarita]

I switched to goats milk and never looked back. Tastes the same a cow's milk.

[ging]

You may just be allergic to cows milk etc. I am- but I am OK with goats and sheeps milk products.Worth a try or you can be tested. Let me know if you need more info. Ging