Whether or Not
When should you start a dairy-free diet? The answer will be different for everyone. For some of you who face lactose intolerance alone, perhaps you will choose to reduce your intake, or increase lactase supplements. For many others, like myself, you suffer from dairy intolerance, the simple answer is as soon as possible after you figure out what is going on in your body! Look closely at what you eat, since dairy products and derivatives are commonly found in places you would hardly suspect. Be careful to read labels, and know when the label really means dairy-free. For years I continued to find items, dishes, and products that contained some dairy product (especially casein, the dairy protein that makes me the most ill).
What to Eat
The hard lesson I learned that helped me the most was that you will feel much better and get sick less often from dairy intolerance symptoms if you learn to make your own meals. Here are some tips for starters:
- Cook from scratch.
- Shop around the perimeter of the shopping mart.
- Try more and more veggies– really revel in the produce section.
- Start making a master list of items that are safe for you. In the beginning I had rice and veggies and not too much else, and over the years, I have added hundreds of recipes and products .
- Web search and order from online suppliers
- Look for manufacturers with dedicated dairy-free facilities
- search tips: kosher parve, vegan (a number of producers of these products will have facilities free from cross-contamination)
NEXT: My favorite dairy-free products!
- First up: chocolates and cheeses!