Anyone feel different switching to soy/almond milk?
Several months ago I decided cow's milk was meant for baby cows. I am not a baby cow. I'm not at all militant about this. My children drink milk and I still love regular ice cream and Greek yogurt! But for drinking or making my protein shakes, it's all soy or almond.
I ran out of almond milk last night and made my shake with half almond milk and half 2% regular milk. I felt blech and gassy. A few weeks ago this same scenario happened and I'm just beginning to connect the dots.
It made me wonder if I was lactose intolerant to begin with and didn't know it? Maybe I feel better all the time now and didn't know it? Or maybe we're all able to tolerate milk because our systems have gotten used to it and maybe mine's not used to it anymore?
I noticed the gassy feeling as well. I have switched to Blue Diamond unsweetened almond milk for my high fiber cereal. I seldom buy cow's milk anymore. In fact, I have powdered butter milk in the fridge and will make some of that when I need a small amount of milk in a recipe.
Normally, an adult mammal would not have the enzymes to break down lactose after weaning. Some humans, over centuries have developed the ability to break down lactose into late childhood and adulthood. The ones that haven't are lactose intolerant. If you stop drinking dairy, then your body no longer makes the enzymes to break down lactose.
I've had the same thing happen since I gave up dairy over 3 years ago. I went to Starbucks one day, asked for a soy latte but turned out it wasn't soy. I had one of the worst stomach aches ever.
I haven't noticed a physical change since switching to almond milk. I joined my lactose intolerant son in abstaining from dairy because it was always too hard to only order or make food for one of four people with a food issue. So, I joined him--in solidarity. I am from a dairy state and my family could never live without. However, I'm married to a man from Asia and he never willingly has dairy. My older son still drinks 3 glasses a day. I do love my almond milk and my son prefers soymilk. These days my younger son isn't lactose intolerant and he can have anything he wants but prefers soymilk for his drinking. I do eat low-fat cheddar cheese on lots of my meals (for my calcium/protein need). I don't think I'm suffering negatively.
I've notice a change. I switched to soy at the beginning of my weight loss and now if someone mixes up an order of mine or if I have to resort to even 2% milk, I feel the effects all day long. Just like if I eat a fattier meal than usual, if I drink 2% milk, I get bloating and a general bleh feeling. I was diagnosed lactose intolerant in my teens, but I just reduced my intake of full fat milk to skim and 2%, which eased it some. Now I don't drink it if I can help it.
Wish it was on some higher moral grounds than just preferring not to feel miserable after consumption.
Growing up my parents had milk. I never liked to drink it. It always gave me an upset stomach. I switched to soymilk once I turned to an adult about bought my own food. Best choice ever!! I love soymilk light.
Cow's milk doesn't really make me feel bad or give me gas, but it definitely makes my skin break out in zits. My skin would be clear and great-looking for several weeks, but then the day I had a glass or two of milk I would break out all over my face, chest and back. This happened multiple times, and there were no other changes in my diet, hormones, skincare routine, etc. so I became quite sure that milk was the culprit. Once I removed milk and most other dairy from my diet (I still eat yogurt and some cheese, but no other dairy), my skin cleared right up. Personally, I don't really drink soy milk because since I'm a vegetarian I already get a lot of my protein from soy products in the form of tofu, tempeh, etc. and I don't want to be consuming copious amounts of soy each week. I will have soymilk if I'm eating out or at someone's house and that's the only non-dairy option, but I don't buy it for myself. So I'm unsweetened vanilla almond breeze all the way!! It's delicious and I love the fact that it's shelf-stable. You can stock up on it a month beforehand and it won't go bad.
I'm a little lactose intolerant but have been consuming Whey protein, which works for me just fine (I think). I mix 1 scoop whey with 2c water and 1c vanilla almond milk for a 24 oz 'milkshake' that is 25g protein, 160 calories, and utterly delicious.
And yes... I was tempted by steak at dinner today, but the memory of the last time I ate steak kept me away. Ditto on ice cream. So it's all good
Dairy doesn't do this to me, but SOY does. I think I'm soy intolerant, but it's hard to avoid in just about anything prepackaged. When I was breastfeeding my youngest, I was off both soy and dairy due to his allergies, and it was a huge PITA to find things that didn't have either one!
I don't have any side effects from drinking cow's milk, however, cow's milk isn't something I have in my house in any great quantity. Two of my three children are lactose intolerant; one of which has a lactose free formula as he is fed via a gastronomy tube, so it has been much easier if we all drink soy milk. I do keep a small carton of cow's milk in the fridge for visitors who have taste buds that are not acclimatised to soy milk/products.
I started drinking the so delicious coconut milk. It is in the natural/ organic section at my food store. It comes in vanilla which is 90 calories/1 cup ( not bad) and then regular which I think may have a few less calories. I have read alot about the benefits of coconut milk so I gave it a try and it really tastes great!!! not coconut at all( although I personally would love that). An added beenfit: I started making my morning oatmeal with this stuff and it prevents that annoying "milk burn" and "skin" that seams to form with regular milk. So delicious makes yogurt and ice cream as well. all dairy free and super yummy!!! give it a try I think you will enjoy it and hopefully not react like with regular dairy
I am interested in making the switch from cow's milk to one of the non-milk options out there. I have trouble getting enough protein, to the point where when I was a strict vegetarian, my period stopped for 3 months. I haven't gone to the doctor to address this problem, but becoming a vegetarian was the only thing that I had changed in my routine. How do you gals address your protein needs without regular milk?
(btw, lackadaisy, adding whey protein sounds like a great idea. I wish it didn't bloat me up like crazy)
Hey therex. I've been a vegetarian my entire life, and have done stints as a vegan, but I'm obviously not a medical professional so please only take my advice with a grain of salt. Personally though, I think the amount of protein that a person needs is totally variable depending on their lifestyle and is often exaggerated by nutritional recommendations and food guides. I'm not bashing high-protein diets, because if that works for any individual then I think that's fantastic. For me though I only get about 25-30% of my daily calories from protein (mostly beans/legumes, lentils, nuts and eggs). Sometimes I even go as low as only 20% of my calories from protein, and I've never had issues with lack of energy, period irregualirty or anything like that. Again, I'm not a doctor, but I'm wondering what your iron levels were like? It's possible that your period stopping was as much related to anemia or even a slight iron deficiency as it was to protein intake. A lot of new vegetarians struggle with anemia. A really good-quality supplement or vitamin is absolutely vital to new vegetarians who are still in their transistional stage of figuring out what they need to eat and what nutrients they need and how to still get enough iron, B12, etc.
Regarding the milk, most brands of soy milk have about the same amount of protein as cow's milk, so if you decide to go with soy then decreased protein shouldn't be an issue. Almond milk doesn't have much protein, so if you wanted to go with that you would need to make sure you were incorporating other sources of protein in your diet. Are you planning on cutting out all dairy and animal products, or would you still be ok with something like yogurt? Greek yogurt, which everyone is always talking about on these boards, is super high in protein and can even be used with some cereal or granola as a replacement for milk. I still eat two eggs (organic free-range, because I do care about how the chickens are treated) almost every day, and those are full of protein. You probably also need to like beans/lentils, nuts and nut butters if you're going to be a vegetarian. Quinoa is a whole-grain that also has a high-protein content. I've avoid getting attached to too many of the overly-processed, chemical-laden vegetarian products like faux deli meats or veggie dogs, but plain old tofu and tempeh are both great. I find that tempeh has more of a meaty, chewy texture so it's great in salads, stirfries and sandwiches as a meat replacement. Let me know if I can be of help in any way!
You are very right, cows milk is made for baby cows and we have no right drinking it just like baby cows have no right drinking our breast milk.
I actually prefer the taste of almond milk over soy milk. I find soy products in general mess with my body, it makes it very hard for me to lose weight, so I tend to steer clear of them.
But perhaps you do have a soy intolerance... it is actually very common.
Love, Love, LOVE unsweetened Almond Breeze. It's very creamy AND low calorie too. I have it on my Joe's O's each morning. Don't like it in coffee though. Have to have powdered non-dairy creamer in that.
Anyone feel different switching to soy/almond milk?
I am not a baby cow. I'm not at all militant about this. My children drink milk and I still love regular ice cream and Greek yogurt! But for drinking or making my protein shakes, it's all soy or almond.
