Learn how to kickstart a dairy-free diet with expert guidance on beginning your journey from a Nutritionist. Whether you have recently been diagnosed with a milk allergy, dairy intolerance, or simply wish to eat a more plantbased diet for the health benefits, this guide is the perfect place to get started.
What Is A Dairy-free Diet?
A dairy-free diet is an eating style that fully excludes any, and all, dairy products like milk or yoghurt from the menu. By eliminating dairy, many people experience positive health benefits that range from improved digestion and reduced bloating, to clearer skin and weight loss. The dairy-free diet is often something people do when adopting a more plantbased lifestyle but, it can also be due to food allergies.
You may decide to go dairy-free because of a lactose intolerance, whey/casein sensitivity, or dairy allergy, which requires eliminating any, and all traces, of dairy products from your diet. On the other hand, you might just find that your body feels, and simply functions better without dairy included in your meals—less bloating, IBS, or weight gain issues. Many people also choose to go dairy-free because they are into veganism, and it is for more ethical reasons, such as concerns about the treatment of animal in the dairy industry, or for environmental sustainability.
Regardless of your motivation behind going dairy-free, this Nutritionist's guide is going to help you understand the benefits, and share how to get started on a dairy-free diet for beginners.
Why Go Dairy-Free?
As I already motioned, there are numerous reasons why people choose to go dairy-free. For a lot of my clients, it is due to food allergies or a newly diagnosed intolerance, and for others it is part of a shift to a plantbased or vegan lifestyle. There are many reasons why people choose to ditch dairy, but here's the common reasons why it can be beneficial:
health conditions: if you're lactose intolerant, allergic to dairy, or have food sensitivities, eliminating dairy often helps to reduce bloating, gas, or skin breakouts.
digestion: dairy contains a natural sugar called lactose, and requires an enzyme lactase to break down. Those people who are lactose intolerant, may not produce enough lactase, which can trigger bloating, IBS and indigestion.
energy levels: milk products contain the amino acid tryptophan, which can trigger brain fog, leave you feeling lethargic, and sleepy.
healthier gut: the protein, casein, found in milk can cause gut inflammation and digestive issues in some people; dairy can also ferment in the stomach depending on which foods it has been consumed with, leaving a person with bloating, tummy pains or diarrhea symptoms
skin health: dairy can lead to skin issues such as acne, eczema, and psoriasis. This is due to the hormones and bioactive molecules found in milk; elimination can work wonders and help clear the skin.
Depending on how severe or mild your sensitivity to dairy is, the side effects from dairy consumption can be subtle or very noticeable. Reducing or switching to dairy-free, plantbased alternatives can have a big impact on your health and in a relatively short span of time too. In the case of bloating, digestive, and bowel issues, you may notice a difference within a day or two; while other conditions such as inflammation, skin, gut health, and weight loss may take several weeks to a few months to adjust and become your new normal.
What Can I Not Eat When Dairy-free?
Dairy-free doesn’t need to be drastic, or disrupt your entire diet. You can ease into a dairy-free diet by simply reducing, or avoiding the more concentrated dairy products such a full cream milk, yoghurt, cheese, cream and ice cream. Other dairy products like butter or milk solids are usually found in baked and pre-packaged goods, but are not necessarily as potent, especially if your dairy sensitivity is only mild.
Here's what to consider eliminating from your diet in order to go dairy-free:
dairy products: cow's, goat or sheep milk, butter, buttermilk, cheese (all), cream, condensed and evaporated milk, custard, icing, ice cream, pudding, sour cream, whipped cream, and yoghurt.
milk ingredients: artificial butter or cheese flavouring. casein or caseinates, diacetyl, curd, ghee, hydrolysates, lactalbumin, lactalbumin phosphate, lactose, lactoglobulin, lactoferrin, and lactulose.
To become dairy-free, you will want to avoid the items on this list (above) and swap out any dairy staples for plantbased alternatives. When you have found the substitutes you can tolerate, carry on to eliminate the other dairy-based products in your diet until they have all been removed. To become fully dairy-free, it can usually take a few weeks, and unless your allergy is severe, don't rush the process. Take your time to consciously replace your main meals and favourite recipes with non-dairy ingredients. be sure to give yourself time to taste success before overloading yourself with the pressure to eliminate dairy all in one week!
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What Is The Best Way To Go Dairy-free?
As a Nutritionist, I've taught countless clients on how to reduce, and safely eliminate dairy from their diet using many different approaches and methods. The method usually depends on how severe the dairy allergy or intolerance to dairy is, and the overall health of the individual. You can start slowly, which is great for beginners, or those newly diagnosed with an intolerance. Begin by reducing the amount of dairy products you consume each day, and start looking for healthy swaps that are non-dairy and perhaps plantbased.
A word of caution, I encourage you to only make one dietary shift at a time, this way you can track the body's response more effectively than if you make a heap of changes all at once. Keeping a food and mood diary is highly recommended for this very reason, and can prove very helpful in tracking your progress, or if you need to reach out the a profession for further guidance.
When you eliminate dairy, you'll likely replace the dairy products in your diet such as milk, cheese, butter, and yoghurt with alternatives and plantbased options. Here are some healthy, non-dairy swaps:
milk: try unsweetened almond milk, oat milk, soy milk, coconut milk, or cashew milk.
cheese: dairy-free cheeses are vegan, and usually made from cashews, coconut or soy beans; nutritional yeast is a nutritious vegan swap, and adds a cheesy flavour to foods.
butter: try plantbased butter/oil options like avocado, coconut butter or olive oil based spreads.
yoghurt: there are many dairy-free yoghurt options these days, most made from coconut, almond, or soy milk; look for low-sugar brands, and those with live cultures for probiotics.
cream or ice cream: you cannot get any better than coconut cream for a dairy-free substitute; also try oat cream, or cashew cream; these work well in most recipes and replace milk-based ice cream.
If dairy-free is something you are ready to kickstart, then keeping the above things in mind is going to help you make the journey a lot easier. There is perhaps only one other thing to consider, aside from finding recipe alternatives, and that would be cravings and dairy withdrawal symptoms.
Dairy Cravings & Withdrawal
Both gluten and dairy can be addictive, and often trigger an opioid response in some people. For others, dairy foods just taste so darn good that you can feel hangry at the thought of having to give them up. This can make the elimination a challenging time. Dairy products, particularly cheese, ice cream, or milk, are often associated with comfort foods and are relied upon in emotional eating. The craving can be psychological or habitual, and yes, even physical. Oftentimes, when your body is sensitive to a specific food, it can crave it because it is sensitive to it. So if your body is protesting like a three-year old when it is removed, this could be why. The good news is that if you ride it out, you WILL move past it, and the symptoms will fade quickly enough.
When reducing or detoxing from dairy, you may experience some, or all of these common symptoms:
headaches: as with many types of food withdrawal, headaches can happen when your body adjusts to not getting the same nutrient or chemical compounds; hydrate and ride it out
digestive changes: bloating, constipation, and changes in bowel movements are common; focus on high fibre foods and lots of water to ease through this stage
mood swings: detoxing from certain foods can reduce or stimulate a dopamine release which results in highs, or irritability and mental fatigue; you might be comforted to know this is temporary
fatigue: if you feel sluggish or tired, it is your body adjusting to less sugar and fat, and a sign of effective detoxification
When attempting to go dairy-free, I highly recommend slowly decreasing your dairy intake rather than quitting cold turkey, and all at once. This can make the task easier on you, and help your body adjust gently, while reducing the intensity of withdrawal symptoms.
Dairy-Free Meal Ideas & Substitutions
Did you really think I'd let you scroll away without sharing some quick and easy dairy-free meal ideas? Not a chance, give these dairy-free suggestions and recipe ideas a go:
dairy-free food choices: fresh fruits, vegetables, grains (like rice, quinoa, oats), legumes (beans, lentils), nuts, and seeds are all naturally dairy-free and provide your body with many essential nutrients. Experiment with dairy-free cooking to find new flavours and textures you enjoy.
dairy-free milk: experiment with plantbased milk in place of dairy for your cereal, desserts, cakes, porridge, smoothies and pudding recipes. Coconut provides a creamy texture; soy is often very similar to dairy milk in texture and flavour, while almond or cashew milk is more watery but a 100% plantbased option.
dairy-free desserts: there are lots of healthy desserts that taste amazing and are also completely dairy-free, click here. Try making delicious dairy-free desserts like chocolate avocado mousse, creamy vanilla chia pudding, vegan ice cream, raw chocolate bark, or a yummy vegan edible cookie dough.
dairy-free breakfast: you can still make creamy breakfast recipes without any milk, just try overnight oats or chia pudding, smoothies, creamed wheat or rice pudding made with almond, coconut, or soy milk instead.
dairy-free cheese: you may need to try a few, but these days there many vegan cheeses on the market that taste just as good as brie, feta or cream cheese; use them in salads, pasta bakes, or as gourmet treats.
These ought to get you started, but you'll also find heaps more recipes and dairy-free support across the blogs and inside my free Facebook Community, click here. Lastly, be mindful to look for dairy-free swaps that provide essential nutrients like calcium and vitamin D which are often found in dairy products. Foods like leafy greens, chia seeds, and fortified juices can help you consume enough of these nutrients without the dairy. Eat these wholefoods in abundance, they have other health benefits too!
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Nutritionist's Note
If you have a newly diagnosed dairy allergy or intolerance, you'll need to start learning how to read and understand nutritional labels to help you avoid dairy and all its hidden names. You might be surprised to learn that dairy can hide in unexpected places, and under names such as "casein," "lactose," or "whey." If you'd like help with this and to chat about what dairy-free means for you, book an into clinic session here.
Emma Lisa, Nutritionist & Women's Practitioner
Emma Lisa is a Nutritionist & Women's Health Practitioner with over 14+ years experience in wholefood nutrition, meal planning and health coaching. She is a published cookbook author, passionate food recipe creator and lifestyle blogger, and an advocate for women's health and anti-diet culture. When she's not in clinic, Emma is mum to five kids, always in her test kitchen and garden. She lives in Sydney, Australia.
Healthy + happiness,
Emma Lisa xx
HEALTH & NUTRITION PRACTITIONER
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