CUTTING OUT DAIRY: WHY I'VE DONE IT & WHAT I'VE NOTICED SO FAR.

When it comes to how we should and how we shouldn't eat, there is just so much information out there, it really can be difficult to, well, digest (please excuse the pun). If we all listened to every single thing we heard and read, there's probably very little that we would actually eat - perhaps besides blueberries and kale. I'm incredibly passionate about healthy eating and I pay very close attention to what I put inside my body. And whilst I don't believe every single thing that I see in the media, there is one thing that I am totally getting on board with at the moment - cutting out dairy.

Cutting dairy out of my diet is still very new to me, and my reasoning behind this decision is a personal one. I've read a lot recently about how dairy isn't essential to our diet as full grown adults, but in all honesty, I do believe that if we genuinely enjoy eating/drinking something, then there's nothing wrong with doing so - after all, everything in moderation, right?

The Reason I Cut Out Dairy

Okay, so I'm not going to claim to be an expert in this field or anything, as this is still very early days for me, but I would like to share the reason why I have decided to do this. So, in short, recently I have been suffering from what feels a bit like a rash under my jawline. The 'rash' has been made up of small bumps under my skin, and whilst other people haven't really been able to see it, it's been driving me mad. So, I decided to do a little bit of research and a lot of the articles I read online suggested that a breakout of this nature could be caused by a mild dairy intolerance.

Now, besides lattes (which have always been my vice), I've genuinely never really consumed much dairy at all. I tend to steer towards almond milk and soya milk for things like porridge and cereals, but I have always stuck with traditional cows milk with my lattes - and I guess, when you think of how big a latte is, is actually quite a lot of milk...

Anyway, after becoming increasingly frustrated with the situation at hand, I decided to cut my ties with all things dairy and see if things improved.

And they actually have.

It's still very early days - I'm approximately 9 days into this 'experiment' to be exact, but already I am noticing a huge difference. The problem has almost completely vanished, and I'm absolutely amazed. So, does this mean I am dairy intolerant, or could the issue still be a result of some other cause?

The Reason I Won't Be Able To Completely Commit To This Diet

As I say, this is all still very new to me and it could actually be a complete coincidence that the problem seems to be disappearing, but if I really am dairy intolerant, and if my skin is reacting to dairy, this could actually cause me a few problems. Why? Because I love chocolate!

Whilst I do eat healthily every day, and I intend to continue doing so, I do love a little bit of chocolate every now and again, and I would be truly gutted if I was unable to indulge in the occasional packet of chocolate buttons anymore. I know that there are dairy alternatives available, but these can be quite privy, so before I begin to make any drastic, lifelong decisions regarding my diet and my approach to dairy, I'm going to continue with my little investigation and see how things pan out over the next few weeks.

Are You Dairy Intolerant?

For those of you that are dairy intolerant or have experienced something similar to me, I would love to hear from you! Have you tried any of the dairy free chocolate options available? What dairy free alternatives would you recommend? Please comment in the comments box below - I feel like I need more information about all of this, so don't hesitate to share your own experiences.

Until next time my lovelies!

Lots of love,

Grace x