Discover Your Nutritional Style. Holli Thompson

      But dairy is one of the first things I look for when a client tells me she can’t lose those last ten or fifteen pounds. She’s often eating cheese or some kind of dairy on a daily basis, and it shows. Cheese is her snack of choice before dinner, or she needs to add a splash of milk to drink her morning coffee. Been there, done that.

      If you’re sensitive, eating dairy can show up on your beautiful face. I’ve learned to recognize excessive or even daily dairy consumption as an overall puffy appearance in some people. I’ve seen clients who gave up dairy develop a gorgeous set of cheekbones and that toned look to their face that they always coveted, but never knew they could have. Remember, you are what you eat, and who wants to look like cheese?

      For those of you who crave and need the dairy fix, there is relief. Most people with lactose intolerance can handle small amounts of dairy every now and then, especially if you have it as part of a larger meal. So yes, you can splurge on a small scoop of ice cream at your birthday dinner. You may find that dairy products with less lactose, such as yogurt and hard cheese, are OK in small amounts. Soft goat cheese and sheep cheese have a fat structure somewhat different from cow cheeses, so you may find them more digestible. You can also try lactose-free and reduced lactose milk and dairy products—these products have the lactase enzyme added to them. Milk alternatives, such as almond milk, coconut milk, and hemp milk, are good alternatives to regular milk. Over-the-counter lactase enzyme drops or tablets help some people.

      None of the above will help much if casein sensitivity is the issue. You’re probably better off just swearing off the dairy, especially cheese. Every type of cheese has casein in it.

      If you do drink milk or eat any dairy products, including cheese, yogurt, and butter, make sure it’s organic. Factory-style large-scale dairy farms give cows growth hormones and antibiotics. Hormone additives seeping into dairy products have been linked to early puberty and sexual development in children who consume them. Antibiotic resistance in patients suffering from bacterial infections is a side effect linked to consuming products from cows treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics.

      The calcium connection

      You’re probably wondering how you’re supposed to get your calcium if you don’t eat dairy products. Don’t you need plenty of milk now to avoid thinning bones later in life? And what about your kids? Don’t they need lots of milk for their growing bodies?

      I get asked these questions all the time. The idea that drinking cow’s milk is the best way to get the calcium you need for strong bones and for growing kids is myth. All around the world, most people can’t digest milk and don’t eat a lot of dairy products, yet the kids are healthy and the women have good bone health. In fact, a lot of scientific studies show an inverse relation between calcium and osteoporosis: Women in the countries that consume the most dairy have the highest osteoporosis rates. Despite how much milk we drink, American women over age 50 have one of the highest levels of hip fractures (an indicator of osteoporosis) in the world. The rate is exceeded only by Australia and New Zealand, where dairy consumption is even higher than in the United States.

      Despite how much milk we drink, American women over age 50 have one of the highest levels of hip fractures, an indicator of osteoporosis, in the world.

      It’s possible that a diet high in protein from dairy foods offsets the calcium in them by causing an acid imbalance in the body. To neutralize the acidity, your body uses the calcium that normally circulates in your bloodstream; if that runs low, it pulls some from your bones. When you need a lot of calcium to counter acidity, you have less left for keeping your bones strong.

      Bone strength comes from much more than just calcium, however. You also need to keep physically active, get enough vitamin D, and avoid alcohol and tobacco.

      But back to dietary calcium. Lots of plant foods are rich in calcium, including beans and all those green leafy vegetables, like kale, spinach, and broccoli. Nuts, especially almonds, are another good source.

      People who need to avoid dairy often ask me about taking calcium supplements. It’s always better to get your nutrition from food, not pills, and some recent studies have linked calcium supplements to a sharply increased risk of heart disease in women. Better to fortify your bones with absorbable calcium from plant sources, so load up on kale and other dark, leafy greens every day. If you feel you still need a supplement, look for one made from plant sources such as kale and algae.

      Soy

      Although this Bad Boy is one of the most highly recommended foods for women, soy is another common offender when it comes to food intolerance—and despite the recommendations, it might not be good for women.

      If you’re soy intolerant, you don’t produce the enzymes your body needs to break down the proteins in soy. That leads to symptoms such as cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, and diarrhea. A sure sign of soy intolerance is heartburn after eating soy foods. A lot of people are allergic to soy, although it usually takes a large amount to trigger a reaction. If you’re allergic to soy and drink a big glass of soy milk, for instance, you might get hives, an itchy skin rash, or abdominal pain along with nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. A small amount of soy sauce, however, probably wouldn’t kick off a reaction.

      Soy is often touted as a healthy plant protein that’s a good substitute for meat or dairy foods. Today, soy is one of the largest agricultural crops in the United States. Unfortunately, most of the soy grown here is also genetically modified and highly subsidized. So, we now have a lot of cheap, genetically modified soy in our food supply. Soy is used in thousands of processed foods, often in hidden ways you’d never suspect. Unless you read the label very carefully, for example, you’d never know that soy is an important ingredient in a lot of energy bars, breakfast bars, and “nutrition” bars.

      Soy is also the darling of many people who are eating a vegan or vegetarian diet or who want to avoid the cholesterol and saturated fat in meat. They buy soy products in place of animal protein. But are tofu (bean curd) hot dogs, sausages, burgers, and cheese really any better for you than their animal counterparts? Maybe not. Even if these products are made with 100 percent organic soybeans, the ingredients label sometimes shows that they’re heavily processed and loaded with additives. Read your labels and buy products that contain only organic ingredients that you recognize.

      There’s a bigger problem than just the chemicals and taste of processed soy foods.

      Soy contains phytoestrogens, meaning plant-based substances very similar to estrogen, the female hormone. So, if you eat a lot of soy foods, you’re also getting a lot of phytoestrogens—and that may not be good for you. If you’re a breast cancer patient whose tumor was estrogen sensitive, the last thing you would want to do is add something that mimics estrogen to your diet. If you’re in perimenopause or menopause, soy phytoestrogens in the form of soy isoflavones are sometimes recommended as a natural treatment for hot flashes and other symptoms caused by your body’s own diminishing supply