One of the questions Paleo eaters often have is, “is dairy Paleo?”
Dairy, and specifically cow’s milk certainly seems to be a grey area when it comes to Paleo.
Whilst human milk (mother’s milk) is full of nutrients, saturated fats, good bacteria, proteins and essential fatty acids, cow’s milk is very low on micro-nutrients & could increase the risk of some chronic diseases (Ref Dr Loren Cordain, PhD, Professor Emeritus).
On the other hand dairy, in the form of yogurt or kefir, does offer a reasonable dietary method to introduce beneficial bacteria into your gut to improve gut health & strengthen the immune system.
Interestingly, humans are the only mammals that drink the milk from other species – no other mammal does this.
5 Reasons To Avoid Dairy
- Dairy, in the form of cow’s milk, is one of the main contributors to developing food allergies.
- Consumption of cow’s milk has been linked to autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, type-1 diabetes, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
- Most people do not respond well to lactose as they lack the gut enzyme (lactase) which is necessary to breakdown lactose to avoid gas & gastric distress. Therefore removing it from your diet can have a marked improved in your health.
- In large epidemiological studies published by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health, the consumption of cow’s milk has been linked strongly with acne.
- Dairy is high in carbohydrate & therefore triggers a strong insulin response which could cause weight, insulin resistance & diabetes issues.
If you insist on drinking cow’s milk make sure that it is of the organic variety.
Milk purchased from the grocery store will probably contain all sorts of antibiotics & growth hormones which could elevate the IGF-1 in the bloodstream leading to certain cancers.
Historically dairy & milk has been promoted as a healthy food with many benefits when in actual fact scientific data has shown that there are multiple issues associated with the consumption of dairy & cow’s milk.
I have heard so many contradicting things re soy. Is it bad for you or is it good for you??? The Banting crowd says its bad… but vegans and other health gurus says its good….
I have been banting for a year now, whilst I am healthy I have lost NO weigh. On the other hand my husband is going from strenght to strength. When we started to bant he lost 10kg in the first 10 weeks, not that he needed to loose any weight… he runs stronger and his health improved – He is a real “stallion” at age 52!!!!
So now I am considering doing Paleo and cut dairy…although that is scary…
Hi Renate
Soy, or Soya as it is also known, is neither Paleo nor Banting approved.
Unfortunately for me my parents were vegetarians & as a result our diet consisted largely of Soya products (for the protein) as it was deemed a healthy substitute in those days which could’ve been the cause of me suffering so much with allergies & illness.
I’m only now starting to get the health benefits of a proper diet, which for me is the Paleo way of eating which I prefer to Banting as I’m also not too good on dairy
For instance Soya contains high levels of goitrogens which are compounds that inhibit the thyroid’s ability to utilize iodine correctly which could lead to hypothyroid problems.
Read more about the dangers of Soya at the link below;
https://paleopower.co.za/soya-banting/