If you didn\u2019t know what gluten was five years ago, you probably do now.<\/p>\n
These days, it\u2019s nearly impossible to go to a grocery store or out to dinner without hearing someone mention \u201cgluten.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the record (since most of us don\u2019t know what it is, just that we don\u2019t want to eat it), gluten is a group of \u201csticky\u201d proteins found in wheat, barley, rye, spelt, kamut, and their derivatives.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s become one of the latest food trends, as millions of Americans are looking to \u201cgo gluten-free.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite what cynics (and maybe your Uncle Joe) might say, gluten is a cause of pain and discomfort for millions of people and isn\u2019t a \u201cmade up thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
As awareness of the negative health effects of gluten has increased, people who had been previously undiagnosed with conditions like\u00a0Celiac disease<\/a>\u00a0are finally getting help and feeling better.<\/p>\n Other people who may not have full-blown gluten intolerance suffer from\u00a0symptoms of gluten sensitivity<\/a>, which can include \u201cfoggy mind\u201d, depression, ADHD-like behavior, abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, headaches, bone or joint pain, and chronic fatigue. They find that going gluten-free has caused their symptoms to lessen or go away completely.<\/p>\n But what if gluten isn\u2019t the only issue?<\/p>\n What if there is another protein in a food most people eat multiple times a day that is causing even more damage to our bodies?<\/p>\n What if that food has had a \u201chealth halo,\u201d so to speak, since we were kids?<\/p>\n What if that food was\u2026milk?<\/p>\n Stay with me on this one.<\/p>\n When most people hear that I\u2019m dairy-free, they look at me as though I just told them I came from another planet. And it totally makes sense that we\u2019d have such a visceral reaction to not eating dairy.<\/p>\n Milk was the first food many of us ever ate. It reminds us of being nourished and comforted. It connected us to our mother. \u00a0Human breast milk is a perfectly healthy food and there\u2019s nothing better for a growing baby to eat than mother\u2019s milk.<\/p>\n Milk is an\u00a0emotional<\/em>\u00a0food.<\/p>\n It\u2019s rich and creamy and packed with calcium that we need to grow big and strong like Superman\u2026right?<\/p>\n That\u2019s what we\u2019ve been told. \u00a0But what about cow\u2019s milk? We\u2019re the only species that consumes the milk of another animal past weaning. Next to gluten, casein is the second most common food allergen in our diet, yet most of us eat it every day and pass off symptoms associated with it as \u201cseasonal allergies\u201d or common colds.<\/p>\n Casein is one of the primary protein found in many of our favorite dairy-based comfort foods \u2013 from milk and ice cream to yogurt, pizza, and macaroni & cheese.<\/p>\n Symptoms of casein sensitivity include acne, asthma, eczema, abdominal pain, gas, diarrhea, runny nose, congestion, recurrent \u201ccolds,\u201d coughing, sinus infections, irritability, migraine headaches, anxiety, and even ADHD.<\/p>\n Dr. Mark Hyman, Director of the Cleveland Clinic\u2019s Center for Functional Medicine, has written extensively about the harmful effects of dairy products on his website. \u00a0His articles,\u00a0\u201cGot Proof? Lack of Evidence for Milk\u2019s Benefits\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cDairy: 6 Reasons You Should Avoid It At All Costs\u201d<\/a>\u00a0are worth reading if you want to learn more about this topic.<\/p>\n This topic hits close to home for me because I was one of those kids who grew up with chronic ear\/nose\/throat issues \u2013 adenoids and tonsils removed, strep throat, and chronic ear infections. I took more rounds of antibiotics than I can remember.<\/p>\n As a young adult, my symptoms morphed (as can be the case with food allergies), and I experienced frequent post-nasal drip, sinus congestion, bronchitis, and acid reflux.<\/p>\n I took medicine for acid reflux every single day for almost ten years, starting my Junior year in college. I wrote about\u00a0the 8 steps I took to heal reflux naturally<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0this blog post<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fortunately, I learned several years ago about the ill effects of dairy products and cut them out of my diet. My congestion, breakouts, postnasal drip, bronchitis, ear infections, and reflux went away.<\/p>\n All\u00a0of them. I\u2019ve had to experience it myself to believe it was possible.<\/p>\n As a health coach, health educator, and dairy-free blogger, I\u2019ve learned how to enjoy a dairy-free diet and find delicious alternatives to all of the foods we\u2019re told we \u201ccan\u2019t eat\u201d when going dairy-free. Are you curious about how you could feel without casein in your diet?<\/p>\n If you didn\u2019t know what gluten was five years ago, you probably do now. These days, it\u2019s nearly impossible to go to a grocery store…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1880,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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\nWhat if the very food we\u2019ve been told to eat and drink to be healthy is harming us and making us sick?
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\nDespite what many people claim, it\u2019s not just the lactose (the sugar) in milk that\u2019s troublesome. It\u2019s the protein \u2013 \u201ccasein\u201d \u2013 that\u2019s often the source of so much discomfort for millions of people.<\/p>\n
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\nI wish more people knew how significant removing even ONE trigger food from their diet could be.
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\nIt wasn\u2019t until a recent visit to Nava that I was finally tested for gluten and casein sensitivities through their comprehensive wellness testing and found that, sure enough, my body is clinically sensitive to both gluten and casein.<\/p>\n\n