Does a Dairy-Free Diet Work? Not for Me!

I tried, really. Several books and research articles made me think this diet would help with my systemic hormonal imbalance, inflammation, GI upset, and acne. Going dairy-free, while still a way to benefit the environment, is not a way to benefit my personal health. I had zero improvement in my digestion, pain, and acne. Going forward, I'll restrict but not eliminate my consumption of dairy products and eggs (i.e., my breakfasts and baking will be vegan). If you're thinking of making any diet change while chronically ill, you have to talk to your health care professional first and ease into the change. For more background on why I tried this challenge, see my previous post.

I am grateful for the products and resources I used during my dairy-free challenge. Coconut Cloud cocoa mix and Ghiradelli Twilight dark chocolate bars were my chocolate replacements. One of the resources I'd  recommend to people considering changing their diets to benefit their health is The Complete Acne Health and Diet Guide by Dr. Makoko Trotter. His book is full of research, skincare ingredients to avoid, patient testimonials, and recipes. However, he recognizes that cutting sugar and dairy might be too much to ask and kindly summarizes the best course of action: Reduce sugar! The second is Alisa Fleming’s godairyfree.org, the companion site to her book. Various tabs cover health conditions the diet can ease, FAQ, product reviews, and guidance for baking and dining out. In short, too much dairy promotes hormone imbalance because of the hormones naturally and unnaturally appearing in milk. 

It's frustrating to still have my digestive system be malfunctioning. If you have an idea as to why this well-researched diet didn't work for me, let me know in the comments! 

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Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to help other patients and enlighten health care professionals about our experiences. If you’d like to receive quarterly updates from her, sign up by emailing darla.nagel{a} gmail.com.