Everyone becomes a nutritionist if you say you plan to eliminate dairy from your diet. I have been trying for a while to do this without success. But twelve of us would-be dairy-free converts are sitting in an evening class, intellectually poised to change our eating patterns but realistically challenged by this very thought. We are beginning a four week course. Tonight the focus is on the sins of dairy because our teacher feels the most powerful thing you can do for your diet is eliminate dairy, even above eliminating sugar. My thought is “What will I do without my macaroni and cheese.” Jessica Jarmer, our coach and teacher, spent the evening trying to convince us to never drink anything from a lactating mammal ever again by making the dairy/health/food connection. These are the reasons she gave for eliminating dairy:
Bone Health
If cows do not eat cheese, where do they get their calcium from. A cow is not a calcium producer. In fact, cows eat grass which is the source of their calcium. The excess calcium that cows do not need goes into their bloodstream and into their mammary glands. Milk drinkers get calcium second hand. Therefore, as Jessica urged, why drink milk. Why not go straight to the greens.
Cancer
Dairy contains growth factor help turn a calf into a cow in months.This growth factor will grow both a good and a bad cell. Further a mammal produces hormones when it lactates and these hormones are secreted into the milk we drink. What is unbelievable is that dairy cows are milked about 300 days a year and most of that time they are pregnant.
Contaminants in Milk
There are more contaminants than I care to mention in milk that range from pesticides to drugs. I have heard of recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) but never knew what it was. According to Jessica, this is a synthetic hormone used to increase milk production. But, and this is a big but, the over production of milk leads to inflammation of the mammary glands (mastitis). When the utters get inflamed the cows get antibiotics and those antibiotics have been found in the milk and other dairy products. To top that off, pus due to mastitis and other issues has been found in milk and dairy products.
After making us totally question our lifestyle choices, Jessica prepared mac and cheese to prove that once can enjoy mac n’cheese without dairy. She prepared cheese with raw cashews. I want to share her recipe with you because this mac n’ cheese tasted like a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10. And I think I can make it taste even better now that I have a baseline recipe to bring that taste up to an 8 or 9. My secret is that I will bake rather than prepare a stove top version so that I get a little crunch.
Cashew Cheese Sauce
2 cups water
1 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup roasted red pepper
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 Tbs. lemon juice
2 tsp sea salt
1tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp mustard powder
Place all ingredients into a blender and mix until smooth. Heat to thicken.
Jessica made a strong case for eliminating dairy. I have heard anecdotal cases of people reversing diabetes by eliminating dairy and weight loss cases that positively reduced blood pressure. I would love to hear if you have any experience with this to support or contradict these claims.
Shay says
I don’t eat much dairy and stopped drinking milk years ago, but, like you I’m a Mac and cheese elitist. I’ve tried a few vegan versions and they were not good. Please share your version. I only make the dish 2-3 times per year.