Confused about dairy :-S

Hi Faizah

I am not sure if there is a magic pill that will stop you craving dairy and instantly have you craving something else instead.

Are these cravings only after class? Or do they happen throughout the day? Maybe it has something to do with the foods you eat the rest of the day and the resultant post-class drop in blood sugar levels and strong cravings.

What I might do is look for something with a similar consistency. Buy or make almond milk or sesame milk, I just recently bought coconut yogurt. Anyway you get the idea. A handful of nuts might fill you up, but if you’re craving the dairy mouth-feel then maybe something more creamy will do it.

I have no idea if you like juicing but a beautiful nutritious juice satisfies me amazingly. And as a result I feel like super-healthy options after that. Have you tried a smoothie, or an avocado? Yep a creamy avocado sounds great. I’ll just go get one. 😉

A question you can ask yourself is “Is this the most healthy thing I could be eating right now?”

There are supplements one can take to help with cravings. You could go and see if your system is balanced before running off to the store. Yes, moderation is important. And one way to rid yourself of a craving is to eat less and less of that thing and replace it with the good stuff. You may be craving sugar and that mouth feel from the fat in dairy. So replace it with non-dairy wholefoods and high quality fats.

Experiment!!!

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

I also love milk and dairy, although it seems to be not so healthy. For that reason I tried to reduce the amount of dairy and even stopped taking dairy products completely for a while. But it was very difficult for me. I eat mostly vegetarian as well and found out that I feel much better when drinking some milk and eating cheese and yogurt (it is really different from soy milk products, which I also like every now and then). I try to eat cheese that contains less fat: ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese. Some people feel better when not taking dairy at all, but I really feel better when taking dairy products and try not to exaggerate the amounts. Try to use organic milk products, they shouldn’t contain the additional hormones. By the way, I used to live in Europe where adding growing hormones is prohibited, but still I would have some acne/pimples. It is true that they nearly disappear when I don’t take dairy at all. But as long I am careful and don’t take too much high fat dairy products, I am fine and don’t bother too much about the pimples. I just love dairy products and decided I am won’t give up taking them completely(meat was an easy one for me as well).

OK, here’s my take on it…I have experienced the exact same issues as you have, and this is what seems to be involved for me.

I personally believe that while dairy intake may have an impact on your skin, there are other things involved here. The reason I say this is because you have had a history of eating dairy without any skin issues. When you started Hot Yoga, your intake of dairy did increase but your usual exercise habits have changed and these will affect your skin. You have to consider this as a factor. I personally think this is more likely than the theory that cow milk hormones are giving you blemishes.

Now, I understand that the instructors will often say “Bikrams will flush your skin of toxins and your skin will get better” but I personally have found otherwise, simply because the increased sweating will flush your sweat glands but it also will increase skin cell turnover at your skin surface. You need to remove these skin cells through exfoliation otherwise your skin will “clog up” and you will see an increase in the number of blemishes that you have. The same goes for your sleep habits — if you sleep with a hand or two propped under your chin, this is where you will experience greater outbreaks. If you like to read at night and find your forehead resting in your hand, this is where you will experience greater outbreaks. And don’t forget that during class, although we are sweating, we lie on our stomachs and place our left and right cheeks alternately on our sweaty towels. Usually for most people, this puts their jawline and cheek in contact with a damp sweaty surface that you’ve also had your feet on! And I’ve noticed that those students with a number of blemishes (especially on their back and chest area) actually don’t shower after class for whatever reason…

For me, I’ve had to really revamp my skin routine because of this…I exfoliate every day with microbeads and use a strong toner, and oil-free moisturizer every day. I don’t use a facecloth or anything to exfoliate: I use the microdermabrasion stuff sold by Dr. Brandt. It took me a good 2 weeks of effort, but my skin looks awesome. And yup, I still enjoy my dairy. If I slack off on my skin routine, I wind up with serious skin congestion. For me, it has waaaay less to do with the dairy than it has to do with keeping my skin clear of excess dead skin cells.

Just an alternate view and take it for what it is worth, and remember that I’ve assumed a surface acne and not the deep cystic acne — that form of acne is best dealt with through a consult with a dermatologist.

🙂

For a related read, see http://www.acnemilk.com
Lots of real science and advice.