How to Go Dairy Free and Eliminate Dairy in Your Diet

How to Eliminate Dairy from your Diet + Best Dairy-free Alternatives

Everyone seems to be cutting things out of their diets lately and it can be hard to keep up! I am gluten free and mostly dairy free because of food allergies and have been since college. Now it’s becoming more common for people to cut things like dairy out of their diets because dairy can cause a lot of problems for people. I have a few friends who are currently cutting dairy out of their diets at the direction of estheticians and nutritionists because it is causing issues in their bodies. A few of the most common reasons that I find people are going dairy free for are to clear up their skin (it can cause acne and exacerbate existing hormonal acne), to feel less bloated/have healthier digestion, and to reduce their exposure to hormones/antibiotics/pesticides that are in dairy milk products.

Why I Eliminated (Most) Dairy From My Diet

I’ve shared about my food allergies before, but I’ll share a little background information for those who don’t know. My whole life I would get hives on my arms from the desks at school and occasionally on other parts of my body, but we could never figure out what caused it. Then my freshman year of college I got so sick. I was getting hives everyday basically, all over my body. They were uncomfortable and annoying because I still didn’t know the cause. I was also getting sick after I was eating, basically everything would upset my stomach causing sharp pains and bloating. I went back home to Boston multiple times that year to see a GI doctor, an allergist, and finally a holistic doctor after getting no accurate answers from the other doctors. I was misdiagnosed with IBS and acid reflux before I got tests back that said I had food allergies. When I was diagnosed I had to do an elimination diet where I eliminated soy, dairy, corn, grain, and could only eat brown rice, chicken, and certain vegetables. I felt so great!

This was the first time I cut out dairy and gluten from my diet. I ended up being allergic to both so I had to commit to it. I have been gluten free for eight years now and I am mostly dairy free (like 95%). I don’t drink milk or cream, or eat dairy yogurt, but I do still eat some cheeses that don’t bother me. Gluten and dairy free products have come a long way in eight years. When I was first starting the options were slim and not so tasty. Now the replacements are endless and you have so many options and brands to choose from! I feel so much better being off dairy and now the taste of actual dairy products repulses me (occasionally the barista screws up and I can smell the dairy all over my latte). I’ve tried all the coconut, rice, almond, and soy milks that are out there. Oat milk is relatively new to the scene and I haven’t tried it yet so I cannot speak to it. Personally, I try to stick to almond or coconut derived dairy-free replacements. I have found that the rice ones aren’t bad, but they’re not always great. You should also know that soy milk is something you should have in small doses because of the hormones in it. Below I will share all my favorite brands and specific replacement products because half the battle is knowing what to buy. I shop a lot at Sprouts, Publix, Whole Foods, and The Fresh Market. They all have great dairy-free options!