The Real Meaning of Dairy-Free For Bekah Sikora

When I was told that I have an allergy to dairy products, I had NO idea how much of the foods I ate that included. I was completely ready for the challenge, though a little horrified at the thought of giving up chocolate.  But soon I found that not only was I ignorant of why people are allergic to dairy, but I also didn’t have a clue of how many foods are excluded from a dairy-free diet.
First of all, I have to point out that when I say I am dairy-free, I am using the better-known and more general term. I am really CASEIN-free. Okay, I’m guessing I just lost you, but hold on and let me explain. Casein is what causes the allergic reaction. So when a label doesn’t say “Contains: Milk,” casein still may be there, and that food may be off-limits for the person on this diet.
So you may be thinking at this point (especially if you are neither on a dairy-free diet nor have come across anyone that is), “What’s the big deal about dairy-free? I mean, how hard can it be to not drink milk or eat cheese?” Well, that’s what MY first thought was when I found out about this sudden change I needed to make in my eating habits. I was pretty excited about taking on this new task and about seeing how it would improve my health. THEN I found out exactly how many of my favorite foods I would have to throw out altogether. Don’t get me wrong. I still am very much committed to my diet, but change is usually hard, especially when one has been consuming milk for her entire, incredibly long life of seventeen years. ;-)
Now I was completely surprised to find out about a few things that I couldn’t eat and was a little appalled at some foods that I had just never thought about containing milk. I knew right off that I would miss milk in my cereal; cheese as a topping on a LOT of things, especially pizza; chocolate, though I did find some dairy-free dark; and yogurt. Not so bad at first look, except the chocolate and pizza, of course. But then I started “researching” almost every food I ate by reading the ingredients labels. HUGE shockers! Remember the factor that I am really on a casein-free diet. This means that the food I am consuming can’t contain milk OR whey OR lactose OR casein-containing artificial flavorings. And if you really set your mind to it, you can probably think of multiple foods in which is milk, even if only in small amounts. Some examples are mashed potatoes (contain milk and butter), cake mixes (contains whey), and many non-chocolate candies (contain artificial flavorings).
And that’s the overview of my new diet that will last who knows how long. I guess we’ll just have to see how it goes.