Dairy on a Ketogenic Diet: Pros and Cons

Dairy is always a controversial topic when we talk about nutrition and health. Have you ever asked yourself one of these questions?

- Does dairy increase the risk of cancer?

- Is dairy bad or good for me?

- Are there any differences between goats and cows dairy?

Let’s do a review on this and other questions surrounding this topic.

When did we start consuming dairy?

The truth is that we, as humans, only have been eating milk and dairy products since the Neolithic. 

This means that most of the time that we have lived on planet earth we have not consumed dairy.

The official recommendations on milk and dairy consumption are based on epidemiological studies (low evidence) and may also have been manipulated by the industry of dairy, one of the most powerful food businesses in the world.

We have evolved as a specie without consuming dairy for exactly 2.5 millions of years. How the hell have we lived without yoghurts, cheese and milk?

In the Paleolithic Era, we survived as hunter-gatherers, which means we just ate what we could find where we lived: plants, tubers, fruits, fish, meat… We were nomads and animals were not domesticated, so we did what we could to feed our tribes.

In the Neolithic era, humans established the first settlements: we were tired of walking and hunting so we decided to stay in the same place for a long time.

We started domesticating animals, cultivating our own foods and also doing less exercise… This is the beginning of agriculture as we know it and cattle raising.

In Europe, milk consumption became very popular throughout the 19th century, since the pasteurization process facilitates the commercialization and distribution process.

Dairy intake has increased enormously in recent years and there is a huge amount of dairy products in supermarkets, growing more and more every day.

But now, after this history lesson, let’s talk about some problems with dairy.

Dairy cons: lactose, casein and inflammation

Most of us think that the problem with dairy is lactose and this is a half-truth.

We can define lactose as the milk “sugar” because that’s what it is: a carbohydrate.

The problem is that lactose tolerance disappears as we age. That happens because we stop producing lactase, the enzyme we need to “break” the dairy carbohydrates.

When we buy a lactose-free dairy product at the supermarket we are buying a lactase-added product, so we can digest it well. Crazy, uh?

It is important to say that lactose-free products have an increased amount of carbs, so if you are on a keto diet, it may not be the best option.

But the real problem with dairy products is a protein called casein. Have you heard of it?

There are two types of caseins in milk:

• Alphacaseins: (S1 and S2) Cow's milk contains mainly S1, one of the most allergenic. It is present in much less quantity in breast milk and other mammals' milk.
  
  
• Beta casein: (A1 and A2) Cow's milk contains mostly A1 and A2 is present in breast milk and goat's dairy.

What does this mean?

Caseins from cow's milk usually are more problematic than goat’s and sheep’s milk.

Furthermore, caseins are difficult to digest, so they can hurt your intestinal tract and cause inflammation and autoimmunity issues.

Caseins are also associated with increased production of IGF-1, the insulin-like growth factor. It can cause hormonal disorders and some studies suggest that dairy consumption could be an important factor in the development of hormone-dependent cancers such as breast cancer, endometrial cancer , and prostate cancer. 

In Europe, the use of hormones to promote the growth of animals on farms is not allowed, but it is in the United States. In that case, the presence of IGF-1 is much higher. American friends, choose your dairy wisely!

So now you know this... you may have some questions about dairy tolerance, right?

In case you don’t know if you are milk or dairy intolerant I recommend you to do this: stop drinking milk and eating dairy products for a while and pay attention to your digestion (bloating, gas, reflux…), hormones (yep, your menstrual cycle, premenstrual syndrome, acne issues…) and body in general.

How do you feel? Do you think your digestion has improved? No premenstrual syndrome this month?

Ok! Maybe limiting your dairy intake could be a nice option for you.

Anyway, if you have an autoimmune disorder like hypothyroidism, arthritis, coeliac disease, etc. you may benefit from a dairy-free diet.

All autoimmune disorders have the same root cause: inflammation. So limiting or avoiding dairy in your diet could be life-changing. Give it a try!

What about organic dairy?

Organic farming doesn’t allow the use of conventional feeding products or products that have been treated with pesticides or herbicides.

The use of antibiotics is limited as much as possible and growth-promoting substances are not allowed.

Likewise, animals live in natural conditions, so they can spend time on the outside, eating fresh grass and in healthier conditions than stabled animals.

Organic products have less presence of pesticides, antibiotics and other toxic substances for the environment and our bodies.

In a perfect world, we could only eat meat and dairy from grass-fed animals.

( Kefir and other fermented dairy products are best tolerated and work perfectly on a keto diet) 

Dairy pros: calcium, vitamin D and fat.

As you may already know, dairy is one of the best sources of calcium but also of vitamin D.