Aside from the fact that coconut milk tastes WAY better, why do Paleo-People usually avoid dairy?
There are a number of reasons…
1. Dairy has alot of growth-promoting properties. It turns on the “replication switch” in almost every cell in your body, which could be very bad thing if you have any potential cancer cells, etc.
2. Dairy causes a gigantic insulin spike, which relates to weight gain, among other issues. Many people think that lactose is the cause of the spike, so grass-fed, raw milk may be a decent option, but it is very hard to find.
3. Dairy causes acne for many people (including me!). This is a result of the growth promoting hormones mentioned above.
4. Dairy causes sleep apnea in many people.
5. Dairy is often a major cause of digestive problems. Many people are lactose-intolerant, and don’t even realize it! Take all dairy products out of your diet for 30 days, and see if some of your stomach issues clear up. This was definitely the case for my husband.
6. We are not genetically built to tolerate milk from other mammals. To quote from this website: “we are not supposed to drink the milk from other animals. We are the only mammals who do it. This often translates to intolerance or allergy to one of milk’s proteins, casein. It’s believed, though, that the casein in goat of sheep’s milk, the A2 form instead of A1, causes less or no problems. Some breeds of cows also produce A2 casein, but those are not bred very much in North America.”
7. Issues arising from ill-kept cows. As with beef, cows from mass-production farms produce a low-quality milk product. Most of these cows are fed growth-producing hormones and antibiotics. We don’t want to drink that stuff, do we?
What about whole whipping cream and butter? These foods may be okay for those without autoimmune disease. They have no carbohydrate or protein content from the dairy, so they will not cause an insulin-spike. If you can get grass-fed varieties of these items, they may be excellent items to include on a consistent basis.
As I mentioned above, I think it would be extremely beneficial for you to remove all forms of dairy for at least 30 days… find out how this food may be affecting your body! It your health and performance does not improve, gradually add it back in and see how you do.
For more information on dairy, listen to Robb Wolf’s excellent podcast (#5).
Also, check out this website: http://paleodietlifestyle.com/place-of-dairy-on-paleo-diet/
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