MS Diet: Watch out for dairy detox!

I managed to go dairy-free for almost a week before Easter.  That day I decided to indulge in some foods that had cheese, were probably made with milk, and yes, some Easter candy.  Oy, never again.

Up until that point, I had made a pretty gradual cut of dairy, going from cutting out milk, which I didn't drink a whole lot of, to cutting out cheese, which was in/on A LOT of things I ate.  Well, on Sunday, I ate dairy, and Monday I didn't eat any.  I woke up Tuesday morning with what felt like some morning allergies.  Except, they didn't go away.  In fact, they got worse as the day progressed (still eating no dairy), to where I had the chills by Tuesday night...no fever though!  I had a feeling, and did some research...sure enough, I was going through dairy detox.  Here's an interesting article.

The fact that I did my first major strength training session yesterday (before I felt too bad) didn't help either.  With the achy muscles, it felt like I was in the middle of a bad cold.  I definitely feel better today, although I'm still achy from the exercise yesterday, and I'm still stuffed up...it's very obvious my body is trying to get rid of all the extra mucous brought on by my completely unnecessary indulgence on Sunday.

So, lesson learned!  No more dairy indulgences for me...it's just not worth it!

MS Diet: Hidden dairy ingredients

I'm happy to say that yesterday, I went completely dairy-free!  I feel great about the changes I'm making for my health.  It's important that if you're going this route, make sure and add things like more fruits and veggies, and supplements that will replace what you're missing in dairy, such as calcium and vitamin D.  I have also found that magnesium really helps with feelings of irritability and stress.

Today, I will get the rest of the ingredients I need to make dairy-, soy-, and gluten-free cheese.  I will post that after I make it and try it.  ;)  I have also replaced any butter I use with either coconut oil or olive oil, whichever is more appropriate to the situation.  I am still looking for something to replace cream cheese, so if anyone knows any good resources for that, let me know!

For now, I have found a very thorough list of hidden dairy in ingredient lists.  This list also includes ingredients that may contain some proponent of dairy, but is not usually a concern for those with a dairy sensitivity or allergy.  It also includes ingredients that may *look* like they contain dairy, but really do not.  Click here for the link.

MS Diet: Yogurt

Since rice milk was a pretty easy transition, I've decided to move onto yogurt.  This one was bit more tough, since I LOVE yogurt (don't want to give it up completely!), and I needed to find something with neither dairy NOR soy.  Yikes.

After searching (LOTS of searching), I finally landed at a local co-op, where they have...get this...coconut milk yogurt!  Well, that certainly sounded good.  So, of course, you know I had to go right down and buy some.  ;)  Wow, it's definitely more expensive than regular yogurt, at $2.45 per 6-ounce container.  But, I did have a $1.00 off coupon, and I figured if I kept it down to a few a week, that would fend off my yogurt cravings.  Here's the yogurt I bought:  So Delicious

The texture was a little different than dairy yogurt...more like the full fat version with a VERY slightly grainy texture.  The taste was just awesome!  So far, I've tried vanilla, in which you can definitely taste the yummy coconutiness (is that a word?  I love making up words!) of it all.  The only other flavors this store has is mango (which I also bought) and plain.  Perhaps later on, I'll try and get them to stock a few more flavors. ;)

So, there's two of my major dairy items replaced.  :)  Next I'll be on a cheese quest, which, besides ice cream, will complete the most obvious forms of dairy.  After that, I'm going to have to dig a little deeper and start learning what mystery words mean on food lablels.  Fun stuff to look forward to!

MS Diet: Milk

After much research on autoimmune disorders and diet, I have decided that I'm going to be giving the MS Diet a try.  This is something that I'm going to be integrating very slowly, as we cannot afford to do otherwise.  Also, hubby and the kids will be able to continue eating foods that I cut out for myself for the time being, although, they WILL be eating the meals I make.  ;)

The very first thing on the list of foods to eliminate is dairy products.  The protein that is found in milk (both cow milk and goat milk) is not good for the immune system of someone with an autoimmune disease...it can contribute to a "leaky gut."  So, the first thing I am doing is switching myself to rice milk, and at least cutting down on all other dairy products, eventually replacing them with dairy-free things.  I don't drink a lot of plain milk anyway, so this is a nice, small baby step.  :)

I tried to make my own rice milk, but it seems really watered down.  I like the stuff from the store better.  If anyone knows any good recipes, please let me know!