Chatty Madie: My Dairy-Free Life
I have been lactose intolerant pretty much my whole life. I would get severe stomach aches, gas, bloating and um.. bathroom troubles (if you catch my drift). However, that never stopped me from digging into cheese, ice cream, or a glass of milk if I felt like it. But, this past Thanksgiving, that all changed.
I admit, my self-control around my mom's clam dip (which is essentially all cream cheese) is pretty much, well, none. I decided that it would be a great idea to polish off almost half of the dip by myself; because that's a great idea, right? I quickly found out that I had made a terrible mistake.
As you'll see in the photo below, my body decided to retaliate in a big way after consuming so much dairy. I broke out into a horrendous rash all over my neck. You see that redness there? That's all hives-- red, itchy, burning hives.
That allergic reaction lasted two and a half whole weeks. Everyday I had to take allergy medicine to stop myself from scratching and everyday I regretted porking out on clam dip.
Once the two and a half weeks were up, and my rash was gone, I decided to test the theory that it was, in fact, the dairy that set me off. So, I had about four Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and waited. Sure enough, the rash came back and lasted two full days. Although it was not as bad as the first outbreak, it definitely was not pleasant.
Since that day, I have been avoiding dairy like the plague. I have learned that I cannot even eat products that "may contain: milk" or are "made in a factory that produces milk products." And, let me tell you, it is so unbelievably hard to find foods that do not have those statements on their labels.
But, it hasn't been all bad going dairy-free. I have lost weight, my skin has been clearer, I do not get bloated (unless Aunt Flow is in town) and I am sleeping much better than when I was consuming dairy.
In the end, I don't know why my body decided to switch up this allergy on me but I am sort of happy it did. I feel so much better without dairy in my life and it's kind of fun finding foods that can fit my new diet.
Whether or not you're lactose intolerant like I am, I would definitely suggest weening yourself off of dairy for at least a few days. See how you feel. I know eating dairy-free is hard but I really do feel, and look, so much better without it.
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Side note: No, taking lactase pills does not help-- I still get a rash with or without taking them before consuming dairy.