Harmonize Fitness
Harmonize Fitness

The problem with dairy


Most people have food allergies or food sensibilities or intolerances while some people know about them others don´t and probably the most common are gluten and dairy intolerance.

It´s not only that a lot of people are intolerant to dairy, it causes a lot of problems in most people from weight gain (which can make it easier if you want to gain muscle or bulk) but also allergies, bloating, acne and some research have even linked it´s consumption with cancer.

We can´t deny that dairy especially milk is the most complete food containing all three macronutrients, carbohydrates, protein and fats but there´s no reason to be consuming glasses of it every day and most of us don´t need it. The last time I check the recommendations it were to drink 3 glasses of milk a day, there´s no research to back this up in a positive way but there´s research showing that too much dairy cause problems like acne, bloating, etc. If we add to this that nowadays we can find milk with added flavors and sugars everything gets worse.

The industry has been selling dairy as a healthy food claiming it strengthen your bones but if you search and look for studies it turns out that the countries with the lowest consumption of milk have the lowest rates of fractures and related injuries while the countries with highest consumption of milk have the highest rates of fractures.

It´s been said that calcium is necessary and dairy is the best source of calcium so there´s people consuming a huge amount of dairy plus taking calcium supplements as we´ve mentioned the last paragraph too much dairy may not be beneficial. If you want to make sure you get enough calcium on your diet there are more foods that contain calcium like sardines, nuts.

The problem with most people is not only lactose intolerance what´s also causing problems is all the hormones, antibiotics, chemicals. Industrial dairy is the biggest problem, even when I still won´t recommend to consume huge amounts of dairy every day milk being the lowest in the list if you have access to local products like cheese, yogurt and butter from animals that have been raised without all the hormones and chemicals you can try them out, probably all those issues you have with dairy can disappear making it clear that the problem is not the actual dairy but all the other stuff.

As we mentioned before milk is a complete food, this is why bodybuilders drink it when they´re in a bulking phase, they know it´s a great option, but if you´re not in a bulking phase or you´re not trying to grow there´s no reason to consume it, for the rest of dairy products like cheese, yogurt and butter there are some cheese that are better than others and there are some that aren´t cheese like American slices, those yellow slices that we normally use on burgers are not cheese so it´s better if you skip them, there are different types of cheeses some of them are higher in fat, some of them have a little more protein some are lower in carbs while others are a little higher in carbs, hard cheeses are the best option if you´re on a keto diet, yogurt is a great way to get probiotics some people consider yogurt or kefir to be the healthiest dairy option but you need to be aware too, some yogurts are high in sugars and added flavors, the best option here is to go natural Greek yogurt full fat and add some cinnamon, nuts, coconut, maybe a little honey depending of your preferences.

What I recommend is if you have access to local products and you´re sure they´re free from hormones and others chemicals then try them, if you still have problems with it like feeling bloated, ance, constipation, etc then you can try dairy free versions which are made with coconut, oats, nuts, etc. just be aware that the ones you buy don´t have unhealthy seeds oils.
