• Do we need it? No.
• Do people struggle to stop drinking it? Yes.
• Have you ever tried putting coconut milk in your tea because someone told you cow’s milk was bad, and then thought ‘this tastes horrendous’? Probably.

Gut issues associated with dairy products are becoming very common for many people nowadays, but the main culprit, due to its high amounts of lactose (milk sugars) actually comes from cows. From IBS, to headaches, skin allergies and a host of other irritating symptoms, they are all linked with an intolerance, sensitivity or allergy to dairy.

Many people ask me how to move away from milk, what to replace it with and the best substitutes. The simple method is to just cut it out; milk is associated with many foods/meals/drinks that probably aren’t overly healthy for you anyway. But if, like me, you want to continue having some of these, but with a more suitable alternative then I’ve listed some of the most popular substitutes for different common foods/drinks.

Tea - Unsweetened soy milk (recommended brand - Provamel)

Coffee - Unsweetened soy milk (recommended brand - Provamel)

Granolas and cereals - Coconut milk (recommended brand - Alpro)

Smoothies - Almond unsweetened or coconut milk (recommended brand - Alpro, click on the link above for coconut.

Protein Shakes - Almond unsweetened or oat milk (recommended brands - Alpro or Oatly)

Unflavoured Protein shakes - Low sugar chocolate oat milk (recommended brand - Oatly)

Baking - Coconut milk (recommended brand - Aplro)

From a personal standpoint I would use coconut milk as a staple replacement for many food/drink items and have the unsweetened soy milk for the teas and coffees. Many think rice milk tastes the closest to dairy and works best in drinks but due to it’s original source, rice milk can spike blood sugar, so if you’re looking to control this, it’s best to go for a different alternative.

If you have are experiencing reactions to dairy, or you’re not sure what’s giving you some uncomfortable symptoms, then click here to book a skype session (dietary analysis) specifically aimed at analysing the diet and providing structured feedback, to help you understand the link with health, wellbeing and weight or disease management. Alternatively, if you live locally, feel free to get in touch on the contact form to book one of the specialist services available to you.

Thanks for reading :)