Dairy/Dairy Alternatives

The science on the dairy protein butyrophilin inducing the MS equivalent in rats (EAE) seems contradictory. There is research saying that the molecular mimicry may actually protect or even suppress disease. Has anyone read these articles? I wonder if it is not so clear cut that all dairy should be avoided? I have trouble accepting a problem with 1% dairy, especially in light of these other studies. Food is complex. There are a whole range of chemicals in foods like salicylates, amines and glutamates, and cutting out whole food groups could shift the balance and increase the intake of salicylates which in turn could stir up people's intolerances.

Would anyone like to comment on the dairy research? The main problem I have is basing a mandate on dairy exclusion on rat studies when the results are contradictory. And I don't think the epidemiology links between dairy intake and MS account for the questions regarding the possibility of skimmed dairy being not as inflammatory as full-fat dairy.

I know I'm in a much better place for no longer consuming dairy.
Not only is my health better, and that of my partner's too, I feel liberated from it.
Dairy has massive funding behind it promoting our continued inclusion of this product. Dairy has a major food group label because of the money behind it I don't think it deserves this label and people are sick from consuming it when they don't need to be but are brainwashed into consuming it.

Thanks "Veg" for your reply. May I ask how do you get a dairy free yoghurt substitute in your diet for a source of probiotics? Also, if you eat porridge or homemade muesli, what do you use as a milk substitute? And on bread as a spread? And what do you have for dairy free desserts & treats? If you drink coffee, what do you use instead of milk.

To Veg,
I am aware of the plethora of substitutes for dairy available, but I would like to hear opinions on taste etc from others. To me, soy has an awful metallic taste. Almond milk is too high in salicylates and amines. Coconut milk is too high in saturated fat and salicylates and amines. Rice milk is watery, and oat milk just doesn't appeal.

I've changed my lifestyle I do things differently now and have broken the sweet treat reward cycle but in response to your specific questions.
Oat based start to the day with a rice drink for the wet stuff I don't analyse the taste too much as by the time I have the oats, dried fruit and sliced fresh fruit, whole and milled linseeds I can't taste the rice drink and I never do a plain glass of the stuff.
Don't drink coffee here it's either green tea or peppermint tea or water.
Being wheat free I don't have bread but I do make a chickpea flat bread.
For spreading perhaps it might be hummus, mushed avocado or almond butter.
There is a thread on here on making your own sauerkraut so that could replace your yoghurt concern.
We eat filling main mills maybe a little later I'll pop a slice of my carrot slice in the toaster. But we don't do puddings, perhaps just a handle full of times but easy things are blend mango with banana put in silicon 6 muffin pan drop in some fresh raspberry and freeze, that's my pudding for guests.

I want to add that taste buds do change and making changes gets easier.

Hello Cherish,

Like Veg, I prefer to eat differently, rather than rely on substitutes. I've never enjoyed milk on muesli / cereal / oats but always used a good fruit juice instead (current favourite is pressed apple & mango).

Kombucha is supposed to be a really good probiotic that you can make yourself. I am about to try this so I'll be able to report backroad the forum in a few weeks.

As a spread on bread, extra virgin olive oil is good (that's what they use all over the Mediterranean) but as Veg says, if the ultimate topping is moist (hummus, Baba Ganoush / jam, marmalade) you might need nothing at all?

As for a whitener for coffee, like you, I struggled a bit to find one I could cope with. I've settled on Alpro's Simply Mild which is soya based but much more acceptable to my tastebuds than the regular soya milk. Might it be worth experimenting with different brands, or variations within brands. As as last resort, I suppose we could wean ourselves onto black coffee? II'll sometimes opt for a ginger tea instead - it gives a lovely warm 'kick' and does not have the same liberating effect on my bladder that coffee can do!

I had a great craving for treats and sweet things when I first started OMS, and got through an unconscionable quantity of dates. I baked small mountains of amaretti (good recipe in Antonio & Pricilla Carluccio "Complete Italian Food" and huge fluffy meringues (there's a brilliant recipe for cinnamon and hazelnut meringues made with muscovado sugar in Ottolenghi: The Cookbook) I made Panforte (Italian Christmas treat stuffed full of nuts and dried fruit that I could happily eat all year round), a million times better home-made than shop-bought, again from the Carluccio book.

For desserts, consider sorbet, or a fruit salad served with a couple of fresh amaretti on the side. Drizzle a bit of liqueur over the amaretti to make them even more delicious. I seem to remember there being a recipe for a meringue roulade on the Ottolenghi site. The recipe, I think, suggests a dairy filling but I remember musing that I might try it with a filling of chestnut purée and slightly squashed raspberries.

A site run by an OMS team member has a recipe for some delicious sounding granola bars that I have been meaning to try - https://laughinglemon.ch/category/recip ... ergy-bars/

The same site has a recipe for a chocolate chip olive oil cookie that I am sure would be just as good with dried cherries plumped up in lemon juice and perhaps some ground almonds instead of the chocolate:
https://laughinglemon.ch/chocolate-chip ... l-cookies/

You might also like to have a look at http://www.henriettainman.com/ She is a trained pastry chef who has recently published a cookbook called 'Clean Cakes' with all sorts of delicious-looking things in it - all dairy and gluten free. The one problem with Clean Cakes from an OMS point of view is that Henrietta does use a great many coconut products - and coconut is a no-go area on an OMS diet. Substituting coconut oil is tricky as she uses it because it sets solid at room temperature, which is precisely why we don't have it! Although this means there are recipes in the book I won't be using I still think it has a lot to offer in terms of inspiration for a life without dairy!

Filo pastry is made with olive oil (it's not hard to make your own, and thus ensure that the oil is EVOO) so that's a good substitute for puff pastry. So you could make strudel? If you really wanted to go to town, you could make your own honey & pistachio baklava!

Listing all these goodies quite makes me want whip out my apron and get baking, but generally I have found the craving for sweet things to have largely disappeared over recent months. Perhaps because the OMS diet has had a positive effect on the fatigue - with fewer energy dips, the urge for treats has diminished?

If cheese is high on the list of things you miss, you might like to check back in the diet forum for a post called "Cheese . . . I miss cheese'. It contains links to nut based alternatives that are OMS compliant (a lot are not) as well as to recipes for vegan cheeses and yoghurts.

Bon appetit!

Jette

PS if you'd like the recipes mentioned above, and can't lay your hands on the books, send me a private message with your email address and I'll send you a scan of the relevant pages.

Thanks for a very helpful and informative post Jette.
How has the most programme helped your ms symptoms so far?

Fatigue greatly reduced.
Energy to be positive, look forward and try.
Liberating, very liberating breaking the mould best thing I've done for my overall positivity.

On the milk / protein questions, have you thought about making your own nut / seed milk?

I am not fond of the flavored milks, so now I make my own. Soy beans can make a passable substitute milk, there are lots of Youtube videos, and soy beans are cheap compared to commercial manufactured product, you can also drop a lot of the additives and extra ingredients.

If you don't want to go with soy, (I'd give it at least one attempt, but a long simmer will help greatly in the beany - metalic taste), try looking up Almond milk or oat milk.

On the symptom side, the OMS program has given me a diet that is becoming easier to stick to, and the more recipes I read and the more I look at common OMS substitutions, the simpler it is to make fun & enjoyable food. The biggest aid for me has been taking responsibility for my health back into my own hands.

By working at the whole program since last November, I have dropped 60 lbs, I still have balance and fatigue issues when I over do it on the day, but I'm a lot better at listening to what my body is telling me, and I'm more willing to say enough is enough.

I have supportive friends who help me get out in the open air, fishing and gentle walking, and I feel free now to tell them when I've done it long enough, and if they want to go further, I'll be happy to sit and await their return, (sometimes they go on sometimes they don't), but I feel good about giving them their own choices too.

A number of folks say that the hardest part of hhe program is the meditation, if that is difficult take it one small bite at a time, if it wasn't for the meditation, I would find it harder to hear what my body is suggesting, and much easier to slip into a depressed state, spending too buch time on the "why me" questions, and not enough on the "what's next" questions!