"cow's milk was made for baby cows"

My favorite quote from the first holistic doctor I ever saw, Dr. Loewe. She made such a good point that humans aren't really meant to drink cow's milk, so it's no wonder most people can't digest it. I figured this out for the first time when my newborn daughter was projectile vomiting on me from the minute we brought her home. At the time I was familiar with food allergies, but it took me awhile to remember the wise advice of Dr. Loewe and completely cut dairy out of my diet. A few days later, the spit up was gone.

It's so frustrating to hear from new mothers who tell of the same reflux stories only to follow it up with how their babies are on prescription medicine for their reflux. It's common sense - if your body can't digest something, don't eat it! I think the whole idea of kids drinking milk as part of a healthy diet is a bit overdone. My daughter never started drinking milk on a regular basis and she's perfectly healthy. She eats yogurt and cheese occasionally and will drink the random glass of milk, but I just don't understand who thought it was such a good idea to start giving our kids a lactose overdose the day they turn 1?

I know everyone has different opinions on holistic medicine and I'm certainly not a doctor, but I just want to share my experiences from being a natural minded mother. I'm hoping to update this blog on a weekly basis to discuss different natural remedies and give some good advice to people who are interested in this approach to parenting.

So here are a couple tips if you are going to cut dairy out of your diet...

~ Whey and casein are found in so many processed foods - so beware!
~ Eggs are not dairy, contrary to popular belief.
~ Cocoa butter is not dairy as well, so if you are having a sweets craving, grab some dark chocolate, just make sure there is no milkfat in it.
~ Almond and Rice milk are great milk substitutes, I especially like the Silk Pure Almond milk in the refrigerated section.
~ Goat and sheep cheese are easier to digest, so there are some people with milk allergies that can have goat and sheep cheese.