Wellness

[LilacTree]

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@Lucky Charm wrote:

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@LilacTree wrote:

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@on the bay wrote:

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@LilacTree wrote:

I have been reading many articles and books about food lately.  After reading how milk is produced, I have sworn off all milk and milk products.  During the process, they have to cook the milk at very high heats in order to kill all the bacteria and pus that forms during the milking process.  They also milk pregnant cows.  Those poor animals are used as nothing but machines.  That is enough for me.  Dairy is not good for us anyway.

Since my gastroparesis diet is almost all milk-derived, I have no idea what to eat now.  I am eating less and less and losing weight at a pound to half a pound a day. 

My daughter brought home almond milk and I will be using that from now on.

All because of horrific dairy farm practices.  

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so true and I bet a lot of vegetarians don't know how cheese is made. I have stopped too.

I tried almond milk with cereal and I can't taste it that much which is a good thing. Because it and soy and coconut plain I just don't like.

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And I have a half a pound of provolone in the fridge which I now have to throw away.

I also don't mind the taste of almond milk, and it is almost undetectable in homemade foods made with it.  However, no ice cream anymore, no yogurt, no cottage cheeses, actually hundreds of foods are made with milk.  I can make puddings with almond milk, I haven't tried anything else yet. 

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Okay, this is the little devil on your left shoulder speaking.  If you like a bit of ice cream now and then, SO Delicious brand is made from coconut milk.  It's dairy free and soy free.  Non-GMO certified label, too.

I agree about the poor cows.  And I'm well aware of rennet in 'most' cheeses (bleck).

I can't get into store bought almond milk, (or coconut) and wasn't happy with what I made in my vitamix. 

But I LOVE the cashew milk I make, a handful of raw cashews and some filtered water and I have milk I can handle. 

Sometimes I'll make extra and put it in a lidded glass dish, add a half cup of rolled oats, some frozen fruit, chia seeds, maybe some chopped pecans, stir it up and let it sit overnight.  I HATE oatmeal, but cold uncooked oatmeal, I can handle.

 ETA:  So Delicious is NOT organic, but Non GMO certified.

Also, I can't really detect a coconut taste in the chocolate, but maybe a bit in the vanilla.  I don't mind coconut, but some people do.  Haven't tried any of the other flavors, but there's lots!

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I forgot to mention the almond milk my daughter bought is organic.  She doesn't eat anything that is not organic.

Thanks for your good ideas for alternatives to milk.

[sidsmom]

@LilacTree

Gastroparesis is not the way I wish for you to discover this, but the end result is the same.  Yes, you made a brave move, a WISE move, to eliminate all forms of dairy from your diet!  You also might discover pleasant side effects...your Arthritis & joint inflammation should reduce, as well. 

We are lucky to have a multitude of plant-based milks to choose from in this current time.  But trying not letting the perfect to be the enemy of the good, I do have to say "carrageenan" and various additives/chemicals are added to many plant-based milks.  Those innocent additives might be a cause of discomfort, if consumed regularly.  Just something to be monitor.

I did Google what a Gastroparesis Diet is.  I couldn't believe in Stage 1, Gatorade & soft drinks were recommended, Stage 2 they were saying eggs, skim milk & peanut butter is OK...then Stage 3 saying fish, chicken, ground beef is OK.  Those items in Stage 2/3 are the slowest digested foods...and fatty, to boot.

Does eating BRAT bother your stomach?  This is the go-to menu when having a bout of stomach flu. Bananas, rice, applesauce, toast. (Stage 2/3, of course)

Also, does your doctor approve of smoothies? 

Drinking several glasses full of water/banana/spinach would help with hydration, as well give you a few extra calories throughout the day.  Or any blended mix of fruit/greens...as long as it's blended thoroughly.

What about white rice?  Or mashed potatoes without the skins?  

[sidsmom]

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@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

The ADA has certainly done a good job of programming people into thinking they should drink milk ....  I'll give them that.

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YES!  

The Dairy Council has been very profitable thorough many decades of  this mis-information.

I would also add the public has been brainwashed throughout many decades about "Protein" & all its glorious 'miracle' attributes.  The Beef Council & Fish/Chicken farming is so incredible profitable from this mis-information how we need meat. 

ETA:  Many people think as long as animal products are grass fed, organic, free ranged & tucked in at night w/ a kiss on the forehead (!), they are 'healthy' or 'good for you'.    It could be Unicorn milk sprinkled with fairy dust....it's not good for you.  All that extra $$ spent on false advertisement.  Wow. 

[LilacTree]

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@sidsmom wrote:

@LilacTree

Gastroparesis is not the way I wish for you to discover this, but the end result is the same.  Yes, you made a brave move, a WISE move, to eliminate all forms of dairy from your diet!  You also might discover pleasant side effects...your Arthritis & joint inflammation should reduce, as well. 

We are lucky to have a multitude of plant-based milks to choose from in this current time.  But trying not letting the perfect to be the enemy of the good, I do have to say "carrageenan" and various additives/chemicals are added to many plant-based milks.  Those innocent additives might be a cause of discomfort, if consumed regularly.  Just something to be monitor.

I did Google what a Gastroparesis Diet is.  I couldn't believe in Stage 1, Gatorade & soft drinks were recommended, Stage 2 they were saying eggs, skim milk & peanut butter is OK...then Stage 3 saying fish, chicken, ground beef is OK.  Those items in Stage 2/3 are the slowest digested foods...and fatty, to boot.

Does eating BRAT bother your stomach?  This is the go-to menu when having a bout of stomach flu. Bananas, rice, applesauce, toast. (Stage 2/3, of course)

Also, does your doctor approve of smoothies? 

Drinking several glasses full of water/banana/spinach would help with hydration, as well give you a few extra calories throughout the day.  Or any blended mix of fruit/greens...as long as it's blended thoroughly.

What about white rice?  Or mashed potatoes without the skins?  

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Thank you for a great response.  Yes, I've been eating white rice and large baked potatoes and eat the insides only, of course.  I have to get a better blender (can't afford the Vitamix unfortunately).  I do drink smoothies, but not until late in the day, actually they are often my dinner.

 I eat bananas and applesauce separately, never thought of blending them, so that's a good idea.  I am not a meat eater so I don't eat that part of the diet.  I also eat eggs hard boiled, and almond butter.

I'm new to the no dairy thing, so your suggestions are helpful.  Thank you so much.  I will google plant-based milks.  Hopefully they won't be the veggies I can't eat, e.g, cruciferous (that I've always loved).

I do drink Gatorade even though I don't like it, and Pedialyte as well since I have a tendency to dehydrate easily.

[ID2]

Sorry the only milk available to you is store bought. Now that I moved and live in a rural area I am finding a much healthier way of eating. I only buy and drink milk from my local dairy farms. I know the cows practically by name (some I do know their names). I am happily eating so much better since I moved from the big city where I lived the first 60 years of my life.

[sidsmom]

@LilacTree

You're welcomed.

I'm thinking 'blending' is the key, yes?

For instance, the cooked cruciferous veggies....could you blend them after they are cooked?

I'm thinking a blended 'cheese' sauce for your potatoes made of cooked potatoes/carrots/onion/nutritional yeast.   Another way to get more calories & B12. 

Also could cooked beans/lentils be blended into a soup? 

Soups might be your go-to...as long as they are blended, yes?

[LilacTree]

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@ID2 wrote:

Sorry the only milk available to you is store bought. Now that I moved and live in a rural area I am finding a much healthier way of eating. I only buy and drink milk from my local dairy farms. I know the cows practically by name (some I do know their names). I am happily eating so much better since I moved from the big city where I lived the first 60 years of my life.

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That's lovely.  How lucky are you.  Cows milked by hand I assume.

[LilacTree]

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@sidsmom wrote:

@LilacTree

You're welcomed.

I'm thinking 'blending' is the key, yes?

For instance, the cooked cruciferous veggies....could you blend them after they are cooked?

I'm thinking a blended 'cheese' sauce for your potatoes made of cooked potatoes/carrots/onion/nutritional yeast.   Another way to get more calories & B12. 

Also could cooked beans/lentils be blended into a soup? 

Soups might be your go-to...as long as they are blended, yes?

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When my gastro doc diagnosed the gastroparesis, he referred me to the Internet for the various diets.  Since I am losing weight (he told me to make an appt. if I started losing weight) I will make an appt. and ask him if it's ok to eat some of the verboten foods as long as they're blended.  Gastroparesis patients do get to the point where they have to eat everything blended or in liquid form, since the digestive system cannot be turned around once it has reached the point where it can no longer digest food in the stomach.

I mentioned it elsewhere I think, but what helped put me on this path was taking Prevacid every day for many years.  My stomach now produces hardly any acid at all and it needs acid to digest food.  I never knew what I was doing to myself.  Thing is the doc knew I was taking it (he was refilling the prescriptions).  I can't believe he just forgot how long I was taking it, but maybe he did.

[Ane1Care]

I've been wanting to slack off on dairy for a while. I've known for decades how it was produced, how all milk is allowed to have so many ppm of pus and blood, etc.  I'm addicted to drinking a large glass, 20oz right before bed. I want to find an alternative. 

Sorry for the length, just explaining the addiction.....

I have an eating disorder. I developed it as a teen and it's only gotten stronger as an adult. I don't eat regular meals. A day for me: Breakfast:  a 11.5 Oz low sodium V8, Lunch: a few thin slices of deli BF ham sometimes with Boars Head American cheese, Snack: a handful of potato chips or kippered herring with a 6oz apple juice, Dinner (normally 5 hrs before I go to sleep since I have insomnia): about 4 cups of organic lettuce mix, a little rotisserie chicken or a small can of salmon, Final meal: a can of broth, rice and chicken soup, and 20oz+ milk. Yeah, you read that right, I chug over a quart of milk. Starving all day, basically binging at night. The over fullness is comforting, yet a punishment for being so fat.

I starve during the day, only eating when my blood sugar is dropping quick. So there aren't set times to eat, and meals are never balanced. I tell myself every day I'm going to eat "normal" but, I just can't when I go to prepare a "meal". I only drink water, sometimes a small apple juice, the morning V8, and milk. To me, milk is my addiction. Just like others smoke, drink, party, mess around; it's my vice. Since I am a goody-two-shoes, my mind says it's OK.

I deal with a boat load of food sensitivities, I'm certain lactose is one due to GI issues, the list is ever growing, and there are few foods I eat, and panic disorder. Milk has been a "safe food" for so long, I don't know if I could go off of it. You'd think that I was slender with only eating what I do....but I'm not. I have a muscular build, and extra pounds. I honestly think the extra weight comes from milk. So, my ed is trying to convince me to drop it. But my over anxious mind, who worries about waking with low blood sugar, and being jittery, resulting in a panic attack... which happens if I don't drink the quart plus of milk, just can't. I've tried chugging water or half water, half apple juice thinking those sugar carbs will replace the milks carbs, but they don't. 

[hckynut]

Animal lover as far back as I can remember. Lact-ovo vegetarian since mid 1970's. My choices of what I eat and drink is not, nor has ever been for reasons other than my personal health.

If some choose to do so because of the treatment of animals? I do what I can, directly, to keep animals from suffering. I have no illusions that my choice of food/drink or wearing apparel is going to have any impact on how industrial animals are treated. 

Everyone obviously can make their own choices for their own reasons, I choose to help and save animals by dealing directly with the animals, but always putting my own health as my top priority.

hckynut(john)