How would you know if you have a reaction to a goitrogen like almond milk? Are there specific signs other than poor blood test results?
I may have a dairy sensitivity due to chronic sinusitis, but want a milk alternative. I have tried all of them, but either cannot tolerate them or like them apart from almond milk in limited quantities.
I am a little apprehensive of almond milk due to it's issues with thyroid function. If almonds are inflammatory inducing like dairy, I would rather have a little dairy than almond milk. I don't know which is worse to take. Dairy is more nutritious. I know the obvious answer would be to cut out both, but I only like milk in my hot drinks and I like cooking with it.
This is a reply I gave to someone a little while ago, on the subject of goitrogens:
The Goitrogen Myth:
Someone told you spinach and chickpeas are bad. Someone else might tell you that broccoli and Brussels sprouts are bad. Or it might be cabbage and walnuts, or kale and strawberries... All these fruit and veg - and a hell of a lot more besides - fall into the group called Goitrogens.
So, what are goitrogens? They are fruit and veg that contain a certain substance that has an unwanted effect on the thyroid.
What this substance does is impede the uptake of iodine by the thyroid, meaning that the thyroid can make less hormone. In order to get more iodine, the thyroid enlarges into what we call a goitre - hence the name goitrogen.
So, if you were to react to a goitrogen, it would be like going hypo again, because there would be less thyroid hormone in your system.
However, what no-one ever tells you is that you would have to eat one hell of a lot of these things for them to have any effect - like cabbage soup three times a day for years and years and years. Normal consumption of these foods, normal portions, won't have any effect unless you happen to be sensitive to them for some other reason.
Also, goitrogens are highly unlikely to affect anyone taking thyroid hormone replacement, because once you're taking that, your thyroid stops making hormone, so doesn't need the iodine anymore.
So, cutting out a list of about 30 or so foods on that basis is a pretty illogical thing to do, and really isn't a good idea. And is pointless, anyway. So, enjoy what you enjoy, and don't listen to people who don't know what they're talking about!
What I've done, so as to be able to continue enjoying my milk, is switched to goat milk. Have you tried that? You can also get sheep milk, I believe. They're not the same as cow's milk, don't have the same effects. Worth a try.
I've never tried goat butter, we don't have that in France. But, goat cheese is something else! Phew! lol No, you have to know that not all goat cheese is created equal. There are many differnt kinds of goat cheese, just as there are cow cheeses. It's just a matter of finding one you like.
But, the milk is different. I can't tell it apart from cows milk. Tastes just the same to me.
I tried the 'blindfold' test on my stroppy daughter then aged 11.... I kept buying goats milk because i believed it's easier to digest than cows, but she insisted she didn't like the taste. I suggested she couldn't tell the difference and was just being a PITA, I put goats milk in a clean cows milk bottle for a few days, and no comment was made.
I then did a cow's milk bowl of cornflakes next to a goats milk bowl of corn flakes without saying which was which, and asked her to try both and say which was nicer..... she preferred the goats......... to this day she believes i cheated , but i didn't.
Regarding the 'oily goat' taste in some goat milk ... i used to believe all goats milk tasted like that , but have since discovered that it depend s totally on what you feed the goats on.
The goats milk i got fed as a child was from goats living in an orchard , supplemented with kitchen veg peelings... tasted horrid and really strong.
Was later given goats milk from animal fed only on grass, and couldn't tell the difference from cows milk to be honest.
So the lesson would seem to be 'don't let your goat eat onions and cabbage'
If goats butter and cheese tastes the same as the goats milk which would seem obvious, I don't think I would bother to try it as I didn't like the taste of the butter and cheese at all.
Not in any way trying to persuade you which to consume! But goat milk has almost none of the taste of goat cheese. And goat butter, I think, varies. Goat ice cream - that I have very much enjoyed.
The discussions about casein are more complex than initially appears. I certainly know little - so here is a link which goes about two billion kilometres further than I could:
Thank you for asking the question, MapleMouse! I also wonder if I have some issues with dairy, having just had um, quite a drastic reaction to a GF pizza! On my case I think I tolerate cheese less well than I tolerate milk, which seems counterintuitive to me... something about big globules of fat, according to Dr Google!
Anyway, I use coconut milk in coffee sometimes - one of the ones which also contains rice. Cashew milk is also OK, in my view. I use a brand without other nasties, as I have a pile of unidentified intolerances and think there are a few E numbers on the list. I should try cashew milk in tea and maybe see if it works... it’s finding something to put in tea which is my bugbear!
I am not sure about goats milk. I have not tried it because I cannot stand goats cheese. I think it tastes like plastic bags. Not that I have eaten plastic bags... at least not knowingly!
Ha Ha 😅, dig your sense of humour! I agree, goats butter left a foul greasy residue in my mouth for several days. Even the thought of it turns me a little green now 🤢. I have been having lacto free skimmed milk which does not give me wind cramps, but I have regular sinus headaches and I've heard dairy can give you sinus issues. I went gluten free a couple of years ago and that was bearable to do that, but giving up dairy totally is a real, and I mean real struggle. I love barista style coffee which I've switched to decaf, so milk or an alternative is needed. I've never been into nuts much & as I've got older, I seem to have a reaction when I eat more than a few. Coconut is out for me, as is soya and oat. I had a bad reaction to Hemp milk and rice milk is horrible in coffee (for me anyway). I really have exhausted my options. I suppose I need to try and get a milk allergy test when this pandemic is eventually over, but I'm not sure sure how accurate they are. In my less than youthful years, I seem to be getting sensitive to everything, which is a total pain. By the way, there are GF & DF pizzas out there depending on where you live. Good luck on that, I tried one & it was a chemical bath of slime 😄🤢.
Similar here. I had low level sinusitis and tonsillitis for a yr+, which went away within a week of being GF and DF, before even taking any levo. Massively miss dairy, and haven’t found anything that comes close to a replacement in coffee - I find things that are further away from dairy milk more palatable, like tiger nut (not actually nuts) milk, or chocolate hazelnut milk, both mainly rice-based, by Rude Health. But I can’t drink too much of either, think it’s the sugar. Nothing works in tea! Similarly not a fan of goat or sheep milks or cheeses (physically sick). And cheese substitutes are atrocious! Sigh.
I also use the Rude Health ones. I haven’t given tiger nut a go yet, but they stock it locally so I shall give it a try when I brave the ‘Trose tomorrow! I also have the sinus issues with dairy Some tummy ones too, I think, and I suspect it if possibly contributing to joint ache, but I am less certain about the latter...
Gosh, we're on the same page here 😄! I can tolerate very weak black tea, but coffee definitely no. I will have to try DF for a while to see if it makes a difference. I am already gluten free, but dairy free I will be going out kicking and screaming 😅. Oh, I 'm craving my lattes already 🙄😊.
I think I read somewhere that the problem can be related to gluten problems, but that in time you maybe can have dairy again. That could be nonsense I made up to give myself hope though! Do make sure you enjoy a blow out of all the nice dairy things!
😅! Yes, I've just had fresh cream on a gluten free Christmas Pudding I had left over in the cupboard & ended with a cream floater coffee 😋. I might regret it in the night if I need dynamite to clear my passages 🤣! It was lacto free cream though, we shall see. I am already gluten free and my issues are sinus rather than cramps. If we weren't in lockdown, I would have done a cappuccino crawl at all the coffee shops, oh I hope to God it's not a total dairy ban 🤞😢.
Oh no! I feel your pain with the barrista style coffee situation. I can get away with coconut, so not the end of the world for me in most coffee shops... are you currently going with almond milk for those?
I have done an intolerance test, which involved sending off a few strands of hair for the princely sum of about £25. I suspect it is likely a load of bunkum, but at that price, I’m willing to take my chances. I haven’t had the results yet and I feel as if I will kind of know what I think of the test when I see them as I have my chief suspects!
Oh good luck there! Coconut is a definite no no, as I have never liked it and I did try it once at Starbucks and had a weird reaction, so I guess I'm allergic or intolerant to it. I felt a bit funny with the almond milk yesterday and so I think I better not. Seems nuts are an issue now for me too 🙄.
Hi, I’ve switched to using cashew milk in hot drinks and find there is little difference in tea from dairy milk.
I read an article about research carried out by Twinings, the tea people, who did a blind tasting panel test. Cashew was by far the favourite replacement milk. My husband has it too with no complaints. I buy Plenish in boxes of 8 from Amazon. Great that it’s long life so reduces my need to shop frequently.
I’ve got some cashew yoghurt in the fridge to try today. You can get cashew cheese too. However I find that Jersey cows’ milk doesn’t hurt my stomach so I buy that yoghurt at my local farm shop. All cheese is ok for me as I react to the lactose not the fat.
Have you tried Lactose free milk. It doesn't taste any different to normal milk. I love it. I don't know though if I could be sensitive to lactose or casein. Cashews are out for me. I have researched A2 dairy milk (Jersey is one I think), they say people with standard milk sensitivities seem to tolerate A2 protein milk. Our supermarket used to sell it years ago and stopped and I can't seem to buy it anywhere, even online (UK). It has to say A2 milk to verify it is, apparently not all jerseys are A2. I don't know why it has been stopped. I would love to try it to see.
Yes, I was good on A2 milk but the business went bust so I moved on to Jersey milk. That was fine for a while. Suddenly I started to react. I think it depends on the herd, as you said not all Jerseys are A2. Luckily the local herd is ok. At the moment!
I find cashew milk absolutely fine although we haven’t cooked with it yet. Apparently it thickens when heated without flour so we must experiment soon.
Depending on where you live, I have just come across a farm in the UK that does 100% A2 raw milk. I have contacted them for more details. If they will deliver to my area, I will give it a try. I think I am probably sensitive to the milk protein rather than lactose so this may help as A2 refers to the protein and there has been evidence of milk intolerance sufferers being able to tolerate this A2 protein. The farm's animals are also 100% grass fed with no soya, gm or grains given.
Hi MapleMoose. I took a food intolerance test last year with Blue Horizon. I found out I was intolerant to dairy (whey and casein not lactose) and also goats and sheep’s cheese. Sadly I lived on it!!! After trying every single fake cheese and milk out there 😂 over the last 8 months I’ve settled on a gluten free dairy free organic simple alternative called Plenish. One of the only ones I can find that are guaranteed gluten free. You can get 10 for £11 on Amazon. They have no additional rubbish in them and are really creamy. I’ve found I need to add more than I did with milk though. Work a treat for hot chocolate (vegan) and in coffee. Also they don’t split like many do in hot drinks.
Planet Organic and others sell some pretty good vegan cheeses. My favourite for a Greek salad is violife Greek style cheese. Apart from a difference in texture it tastes the same to me. They also do some nice Camembert alternatives. They’ll never be the same but I enjoy them and no longer feel I’m missing out. Just searching for a Roquefort alternative now!
I get reactions when I eat or drink certain things. I lose my voice for a while for example when I eat spicy food. Sometimes with red wine. Not that it stops me!! 😁
I had horrible sinus problems and IBS etc before I gave dairy up. My IBS went within 3 weeks and has not come back. My sinus problems vanished too. I decided to go GF anyway as a precaution and this was the only decent priced natural oat milk I could find without anything like oil added. X
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Some tummy ones too, I think, and I suspect it if possibly contributing to joint ache, but I am less certain about the latter... 
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