bye bye sweet cheese
Yesterday I sat in the foyer of our church resting my head against the wing of the typical foyer wingback chairs. My eyes closed- I was hoping passing parishioners would assume I was deep in prayer, when really I was trying to sleep and hoping my pounding head would stop pounding. A couple sitting across the foyer from me, called me on my sleeping! I had to fess up to the pounding headache. The husband asked me if I knew why I had a headache- I thought this an odd question until the brain synapses started firing again and I remembered the man was a natural-path (is that how you spell it?). I told him I suspected it was sinus related as I have had sinus problems all of my adult life, and did he have a cure? “Yes”, he replied. I happily crossed the foyer for more on this magic cure….
Dairy. He told me if I cut dairy out of my diet I would notice a tremendous difference. I’ve read that before and have known for years that milk increases mucus production. However I am a huge connoisseur of cheese- sharp Cheddars to be exact (Canadian sharp cheddar takes the cake!), and I also indulge in cavorts with fresh mozzarella, blue cheese, edem, goat cheese, and brie. His wife looked at me and told me that she too felt like me and he had bugged her for years to give up dairy- finally she took the plunge and she said she noticed a HUGE difference in her sinuses.
Considering I have spent every morning for the last 2 weeks or so with a pounding headache I decided I would try anything at this point. So with the exception of a small amount of blue cheese on my salad last night I am now dairy free. I already miss my ice-cold glass of milk this morning. After hearing not so stellar things about soy milk I am going to switch to Rice Milk- which I have actually never tasted before.
People, I’m scared. I love me my diary…. a lot. I’m willing to try it for a month and see how I feel, then slowly introduce dairy back in to see where my bodies threshold is.
Have any of you tried this? Do you live dairy free? Do you miss the cheese, sweet milk and whipped cream? Tell me I can do this! So…..anyone know any tasty ways to get calcium and vitamin D?
July 27th, 2009 at 7:43 am
wait, I just realized I live in Arizona. I probably get more vitamin D than the average woman…so let’s hear some Calcium suggestions?
July 27th, 2009 at 8:35 am
Practically half our ward is dairy free. : ) April also suffered from the same sinus issues, and she’s cut out most dairy in her life, and it’s made a HUGE difference. You’ll need to devote a full month to being dairy free before you know for sure that it’s working. Clint actually told me last week that he’s considering the change as well. There are so many different milk substitutions that it may not be such an ordeal, just a bit more expensive.
July 27th, 2009 at 9:04 am
I’ve had sinus problems most of my life as well, bad enough that the headaches made me quit my job. I tried so many different diets (dairy, bread, caffeine) and the only one that worked at all was cutting out caffeine. I spent years going to different doctors and trying so many different treatments that didn’t work. I eventually ended up at an ENT, who had me get a sinus CAT scan, which showed that I had a deviated septum (the bridge of the nose), which was blocking air flow to one side, and a couple of cysts in the bottome of my front (cheek) sinus cavities, along with some scar tissue build up. I had surgery to correct the septum, laser out the cysts and scar tissue, and they drilled the openings to my sinus cavities so they would drain better. It was a very painful and afterwards very bloody and uncomfortable surgery, but totally worth it. Now I only get the occassional sinus headache and have mild sinus discomfort most of the summer/allergy season (and when it is really windy here). I would say I feel 90% better than I did before. Three weeks after the surgery I was on my knees saying so many tearful, grateful prayers for how much better I felt. Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to pass on everything I went through, as your story sounds so familiar. Feel free to contact me if you want to with any questions and know that there is someone out there with the deepest sympathy for you.
July 27th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Let me know how it goes. I’ve also been having pounding headaches for three weeks straight. I keep telling David I must have a brain tumor..he laughs of course and said it’s all in my head..no pun intended. We only drink Rice Dream in our home,but we do love our cheddar cheese and eggs!!
July 27th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Here’s a handy link (excellent, very good and good sources of calcium): http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=45#foodsources
July 27th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
ohh I couldn’t give up my cheese. Or chocolate milkshakes in spite of the dairy coughs afterwards. Perhaps you should try reading some vegan cooking sites or books just for pointers even if you’re keeping meat in your diet.
July 27th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
I throw frozen chopped spinach in just about everything. Try almond milk- vanilla- I like unsweetened & my husband likes sweetened.
July 28th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
I had to go dairy-free for my nursing baby who we found was allergic to milk. Very hard, because there is “hidden” dairy in a LOT of food. I found the following websites helpful:
http://utahfoodallergynetwork.googlepages.com/
http://www.speedbumpkitchen.com/
http://www.godairyfree.org/Alisa-s-Blog/Alisa-s-Milk-Free-Blog/
Costco has good soy milk by the case…I had to have the vanilla version. You can substitute chicken stock for milk and butter when making mashed potatoes. Another help was grinding white beans into a flour. 1/3 c. bean flour to 1 1/4 chicken stock is a great substitute for canned cream of chicken soup.
…thank you for sharing some great ideas, and I hope some of this info is helpful to you.
I’ve been stalking your blog for a while
July 29th, 2009 at 1:40 am
My husband can’t tolerate much cow’s milk but he can still have a little goat’s or sheep’s cheeses – the sheep’s is better – though less common
Give it a while to make sure you’re making a difference to your headaches but maybe something to play with??
July 29th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
YEA for you! I hope you notice a difference. We are a rice milk family. (thanks for not doing soy!) If you are looking for some extra oomph to your milk try adding some flax oil. It gives you all sorts of good things.
YOU CAN DO THIS!!
We have also tried almond milk, but with 4 people consuming large amounts of it, we had to seetle on the cheaper alternative of rice milk.
Good luck!
July 30th, 2009 at 8:56 am
We dont do a lot of dairy in our house because Cailin is sensitive to it. But we love Almond milk!! Try that on your cereal.
Plus soy isnt that great of thing, it can mess with your hormones a bit.
August 2nd, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Hi Heather,
Sorry to hear about your losss ( dairy that is). I too love cheese. I was allergic to milk as a kid. My ears bear the scars of many ear infections. Lucky for you there are many more tasty alternatives out there now than 20+ years ago. I don’t drink milk, but I eat lots of cheese and yogurt. I’ve been able to add it back into my diet, but I am pretty sure it shouldn’t be there (asthma and sinuses) It’s just so hard to give it up a second time.
Calcium- brocolli, dark green leafy vegetables, almonds, I’m sure there’s more, but I’m blanking. Most of the world doesn’t eat the amount of dairy we do, but they still consume lots of calcium.
A little hint for potato soup or broccoli soup, blend half the broth adn veggies and put back into the soup rather than add milk to thicken.
I know you have a sweet tooth, so let me share a little secret with you. Coconut milk. Yumm! It can be used to make ice cream, pudding, popcicles,in place of cream (albeit runny), and frosting. It won’t cook like milk because it has less protein in it, but you’ll find a solution for that. You could add it to soups w/ an asian flavor- think coconut milk soup. I like it in curries too. If you cook w/ it either add all at the end or half during cooking and half at the end to preserve the full flavor. Get the good stuff it will run $1.50-$2.00/ can. The only ingredients should be coconut and maybe guar gum. I like Thai Kithchen, Taste of Thai, and the Whole Foods brand, I think you could also get it at Lee Lees.
August 8th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Almond milk is also very good! And the little calcium taffy chews satisfy a sweet tooth and give you calcium. Lastly, greens greens greens for calcium!
Good Luck!!