I gave up dairy about two years ago when I was tired of dermatologists prescribing me antibiotics and harsh topical creams for my skin when they clearly did nothing but rack up my medical bill. So, I took matters into my own hands and did a few hours of research on a rainy day and boom, much clearer skin and I'm overall much pickier about what I consume.
I am a major advocate for a holistic approach to health. My philosophy is simple: if you're good to your body, your body will be good to you. If you put bad food inside you, your body will reciprocate that through the way you feel, and in many cases, the way you look.
When I removed this food group from my diet, I noticed a few things that you may find interesting.
1. Clearer skin...within three days.
Most dairy these days is not necessarily dairy, it's a synthetic copy, like a junk-food version of the real thing. For starters, milk is homogenized which stops it from ever separating and then pasteurized which kills virtually all of the bacteria it contains. A lot of cows that provide us milk are fed hormones and antibiotics which end up in our body. Hormones affect your skin. Antibiotics kill the good bacteria in your body, which affect your skin. All the cheese, milk and ice cream you're consuming contain high levels of lactose, which your body converts to glucose after you consume them. That glucose then raises your blood-sugar levels and causes an insulin spike, all of which triggers low-grade inflammation and hormonal imbalances that can screw up your skin.
2. Less inflammation
Dairy is one of the most inflammatory foods in our modern diet. Essentially what that means is many dairy products are processed, adulterated, refined or changed in some way. And the reason for that is to have a longer shelf life; most of its beneficial anti-inflammatory components have been lost and salt, sugar and bad fats and preservatives have been added.
When I consumed heavy amounts of dairy I would feel bloated, lethargic and just gross. When you consume something that is processed, your body produces an inflammatory response to protect and heal itself. Because most of the dairy we consume contains hormones and antibiotics, it causes inflammation. Overall, less dairy means less inflammation.
3. Slimmed down
When I remained consistent on the non-dairy kick, I lost eight pounds in about a month. When I looked further into it, I had an "aha" moment. The dairy I normally consumed was ice cream, creamy pasta sauce and coffee creamers - all heavy and more than likely processed dairy selections. It did not take a rocket scientist to see how those were contributing to excess sugar, fat and calorie intake.
Giving up dairy is not easy - no diet alterations are. This is coming from someone who loves pizza and is always in the mood to have dessert, but when I saw the difference in my health, giving up dairy was completely worth it. If I can give any piece of advice to the next guy: start small. Our bodies need time to adjust to any type of change. Be patient with yourself. You got this.
