It's been more than one year since I first started introducing soy in my diet. Before this last year, I knew nothing about non dairy products, simply because I had never had issues with dairy and knew no one who was lactose intolerant or allergic to milk.
WHY I STARTED TAKING SOY?
I have always had my milk (although not daily because I wasn't into breakfast), cheeses and butter (although I ate as little as I could to lower my calories intake as these can be very fattening). I never noticed any gas, bloating and diarrhea problems until 2 summers ago. Once I finished my studies I started eating more healthy and exercising daily because I wanted to work on my body now that I had the time and was free from time and deadlines pressures. I started having some milk daily for breakfast, eating more yogurts (which I had never really liked before as they made me feel nauseated). I also loved having cottage cheese, philadelphia, ricotta cheese or mozzarella for lunch with few wholemeal rusks and sliced tomatoes. I never really had any problem since I started taking more dairy except after eating fresh mozzarella (the ones which come in water). Those caused me diarrhea. And the Activia yogurt made me feel nauseated and filled me with gas. Slowly, I started noticing I was suffering from gas and bloating. And when I also started having breathing problems after eating, I started blaming various types of food, including dairy. So I decided to try and replace dairy in my diet with other alternative products. That's when I discovered soy which changed my life......
MY PROBLEMS WITH MILK....
Now, if I look back and think about it well, I know I was never into certain dairy products. Milk, yogurt, mozzarella, ricotta and certain cheeses especially very white ones cause me nausea. However, I used to like richer cheeses every now and then and I have always loved processed sliced cheese (the ones which come in pre-packaged individual slices). And if I remember correctly, when I was about 3 or 4 years old I was suffering from severe gas, bloating and constipation. It was so bad they even told my mum I needed to be operated. However, after seeing a second doctor I started feeling better thanks to his advice of replacing whole milk with skimmed milk. Today I wonder how my life could have been if they had replaced dairy with soy at that time. I am sure it would have been boring because I would have missed on so many foods I loved as a kid......
For the first few months, since I first realized I might be intolerant or even allergic to dairy, I stopped taking any sort of dairy. I replaced cow's milk with soy milk. I stopped taking yogurts since the soy ones tasted so bad. I limited my cheese intake to soy butter and soy cheese slices every now and then. I started using soy cooking cream. I also bought soy grated parmesan which tasted very bad. However, I started feeling less bloated and my bowel movements started improving. And I was eating soy ice cream rather than the dairy one. And of course I also bought packaged food which contained no dairy.
HOW I INTRODUCED SOME DAIRY BACK IN MY LIFE.......
After few months (because my breathing problems still persisted even if I was taking no dairy), I reintroduced some kind of dairy in my diet. I started taking sliced cheese (the ones individually packaged), grated parmesan, packaged besciamella sauce, regular ice cream and processed food containing dairy (like biscuits and cakes). However, I tried to limit the intake of the latter.
AND NOW......
Today, I can say I am still loving my soy milk and have no intention to switch back to dairy. I always buy soy for me and dairy for my husband and when I can I cook separately so he can have his dairy while I have my soy. But whenever I bake I will only use soy and he always likes the end result.
I am still using soy spread instead of butter and I love it because it tastes so much lighter and doesn't nauseate me. Most importantly, soy butter has half the calories when compared to extra extra light butter.
Lately, I have also discovered a cheaper, healthier and more tasty soy spread and I am loving it.
As you can see above, I am mixing soy and dairy products in my cooking now......
The only dairy I am having is grated parmesan which I take almost every day (one to 2 tablespoons for lunch) and sliced cheese which I take about 2 to 3 times a week. Sometimes, I also use dairy besciamella in my cooking. However, most of the times I use soy cream in my recipes. So far I have had no problems apart from some bloating. I also like to have my regular ice cream during summer although I still have the soy milk option every now and then.
I have completely cut all other types of dairy including yogurts, cottage cheese, cheese spreads, ricotta, mozzarella and all the high fat cheeses like cheddar, emmental and all the others.....
WHY SHOULD YOU REPLACE DAIRY WITH SOY?
- To eliminate your bloating problems if these are being caused by dairy products.
- To eliminate nausea caused by dairy
- To reduce the bad cholesterol especially if you suffer from high cholesterol (this is possible thanks to certain plant chemicals contained in soy).
- To reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke thanks to lower cholesterol levels
- To limit your fats intake if you want to lose weight and achieve a leaner body (since soy has less saturated fat than dairy)
NO WORRIES.......
Although, cow's milk has much more calcium than soy milk you shouldn't be worrying about your calcium intake since most commercial soy products offer fortified versions which include more calcium and extra vitamins to keep you covered. And if you think you need more calcium or extra vitamins you can always take your supplements or eat more of those foods which are rich in those nutrients you lack.
STAY FAB & HEALTHY
0 comments:
Post a Comment