Navigating the Store Part 2: Dairy
Here is the second post in my guide to navigating the grocery store and understanding the ingredients in your food
Navigating the grocery store is never an easy task. In a world of information overload and nutrition labels as confusing as reading Latin, it can be hard to know where your food comes from and how it’s made. I’ve decided to do a series of posts to help make navigating the grocery store easier. Today we discuss dairy.
The truth about dairy!
There is nothing wrong with dairy! The food industry has so many alternative milk options these days, some people begin to assume milk must not be as healthy. However, that is a misconception. Well-sourced dairy from properly raised cows (more on this below) is full of healthy minerals and vitamins to build strong bones and support a healthy body. However, many people are lactose intolerant or have trouble digesting dairy products (myself included) so milk-alternatives are important for them.
Milk is a good source of calcium and B vitamins, especially B12, B1 (Thiamin), and B2 (riboflavin). In the US, milk is usually fortified with vitamins D and A. Milk is also naturally low in sugar and free of added gums, emulsifiers and preservatives that are often found in non-dairy milks. However, when possible, you should opt for organic milk from cows that have been pasture raised without rBGH (growth hormone) and without antibiotics (more on this later). A great option is pasture-raised Organic Valley milk and dairy products. Better yet, get to know a local dairy and find out how they produce their milk. If they are grass fed/pasture-raised and organic, you’ve found a winner! It’s really great to support local business and give back to community through our food purchases.
Should I buy skim milk? Is whole milk bad?
There is nothing wrong with full fat diary. In fact, new research has found that, in moderation, whole milk may be healthier than its low-fat counterparts because the higher fat content makes you feel fuller for longer, and is associated with both a lower risk of mortality and major cardiovascular events. Read more here, here, and here.
I need a milk-alternative. Which one is the best?
When choosing a milk alternative, beware of added sugar. Opt for no added sugar when possible. Many nondairy mills have emulsifiers, thickeners and gums added to thicken the liquid and decrease separation of the fat and water. Opt for fewer additives and ingredients (~5 or less). You can also make your own nut milk with just nuts and water. Here is my recipe for homemade nut milk.
These are my personal favorite milk-alternatives:
Oatly
Trader Joe’s fresh almond milk (just almonds and water)
Trader Joe’s Oat milk (just oats and water).
Do I have a milk intolerance?
If you get digestive distress, headaches or rashes/bumps on your upper arms after eating dairy, try eliminating it from your diet for a few weeks and then slowly re-introduce it, one product at a time. When reintroducing dairy, I don’t recommend jumping right into an entire pint of ice cream or a fondue dinner. It’s best to start slow: don’t consume too many other foods at the same time that might themselves be the culprit instead of the dairy.
Try this sequence. Start with a small glass of milk (1/2 cup or less), see how you feel within the next couple hours. Try not to eat anything else at this time so you can better identify your symptoms. If that goes alright, try yoghurt and then cheese. If you are continuing to feel fine, that is great, and dairy likely is not your issue. However, if after any of these reintroductions you start to feel digestive distress (cramping, bloating, diarrhea) or abnormal headaches, listen to your body. It might be telling you that it is having trouble digesting dairy.
What is my body having trouble digesting?
When people say they are “lactose-intolerant” it means that their body has trouble digesting the lactose sugar (another type of sugar like glucose), the sugar unique to milk: cow, goat and even human breast milk. In order to breakdown lactose, you need the enzyme lactase. As we age, we produce less and less lactase. Some cultures are genetically predisposed to a lower lactase level. This is one common intolerance to milk. You can also have trouble digesting the proteins in milk, whey or casein.
If you have trouble digesting dairy, does this mean you have to stop eating it?
No! I still consume dairy in moderation. In fact, it’s better to continue to eat small amounts, in moderation, to maintain production of the lactase and protease enzymes needed to breakdown the sugar and protein in dairy, respectively. To ease discomfort, try not to consume dairy on its own or on an empty stomach. Instead, consume it with a meal.
To help support your body, you can take an enzyme supplement just before (30 mins or so) you consume dairy. One that I like is a combination enzyme from Pure Encapsulations called “Digestive Enzymes Ultra”.
Why are cows given antibiotics, why is this bad, and how do I avoid it?
If a cow is certified organic, label regulations require that it not be administered antibiotics. If an animal gets sick and needs antibiotics, it is taken off the organic market. Therefore, if you buy organic dairy, you can rest easy that no antibiotics were used.
According to WHO and the FDA, more than 70% of all antibiotics sold in the US are given to livestock. (Read 2018 FDA report). The overuse of antibiotics in livestock and other agricultural animals is a major cause of antibiotic resistance. When antibiotic resistance becomes widespread, lifesaving antibiotics become ineffective (Read more here).
Antibiotics are given to livestock for two main reasons:
1) Antibiotics cause animals to grow faster and put on weight more efficiently. In the world of mass meat production, this means less time from birth to table, more animal turnover per year and ultimately more money made. This use of antibiotics in agriculture animals for non-therapeutic use was technically banned by the FDA in 2017 but is still largely unregulated.
2) To fight infection that occurs when conventionally raised cows (feedlots, etc.) are fed corn, soy, and grains instead of their natural diet of pasture grasses. Cows are ruminants and their digestive system is built to break down grass. When given corn or soy, their rumen and digestive system becomes overly acidic. The abnormally high acidic environment causes damage to the stomach lining and often leads to infection. Raw soy also contains the enzyme, urease, which breaks down urea into ammonia. A build up of ammonia is toxic to the cow’s liver. As a result, cows (and many other animals raised conventionally for meat: pigs, chickens, etc.) fed this diet get sick (Read more here).
Why does organic and grass-fed matter?
I go into this in more detail in my post on meat. I recommend consuming products from organic, pasture-raised beef because the cows are healthier and it is better for the environment. Pasture-raised beef also typically has:
Lower fat, leaner meat
More heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids and a better omega 3: omega 6 ratio
More conjugated Linoleic acid (CLA), a type of fat that's thought to reduce heart disease and cancer risks
More antioxidant vitamins, such as vitamin E
Lower risk of E. coli infection and antibiotic resistant bacteria
Stone Barn’s Center did a great report on this here. I also recommend that anyone interested in this read Michael Pollan’s chapter on dairy and feedlots in The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
*Side note on supplements. Be sure to purchase supplements from a reputable brand that does regular testing on their products. The FDA does not regulate supplements in the US. This means there is no regulation or oversight of the supplements sold on the market (to learn more, check out the book Vitamania). However, there are many responsible and reputable brands that conduct very rigorous testing on their products to test for safety and efficacy. Check out supplement brand websites to see if and where they test their products.
References:
Title image from: https://www.realorganicproject.org/what-food-do-we-want
http://www.milkfacts.info/Milk%20Composition/VitaminsMinerals.htm