The Dairy Debate

There are many different beliefs around dairy and whether or not it is good for you. It has been cited as being good for your bones, but it has also been found to contribute to menstrual pains, asthma, brain fog, mucus and a wide range of allergies. Sally Fallon, founder and president of the Weston A. Price Foundation, which promotes wise traditions in food and farming, believes that dairy is an important part of a healthy diet. She argues that we’ve relied on milk to meet our needs for protein and fat. She states the problem isn’t in dairy itself, but rather the way it is processed today and believes that we should consume raw dairy products.

Yes, humans have been consuming milk for thousands of years, but if you think about it humans are the only ones who continue to consume it into adulthood. Mammals nourish their babies with their own milk, but stop after a brief period of growth. After this, mammals don’t have any interest in it, nor do they have access to it. The truth is we don’t need to live on an all dairy diet in order to get adequate protein, calcium and fat. You can get valuable nutrients from non-dairy foods as well.

If you know you consume a lot of dairy products like cheese and ice cream, experiment with some non-dairy types. You might find that your health improves after decreasing the amount of dairy in your diet.

If you want to experiment with cutting out dairy, but want to make sure you’re getting enough calcium you can try these foods:

• Sesame seeds
• Sardines
• Kale
• Chickpeas
• Mustard greens
• Almonds