Dairy and all it's multiple personalities

Dairy has many names, and it is important to know these names when reading labels at the store.
Obvious Sources of Dairy
*Milk
*Cheese
*Butter
*Yogurt
*Sour Cream
*Buttermilk
Not so obvious names
•Beta-lactoglobulin
•Casein, rennet casein
•Caseinate (ammonium caseinate, calcium caseinate, magnesium caseinate, potassium caseinate, and sodium caseinate)
•Delactosed or demineralized whey
•Dry milk, milk solids
•Hydrolyzed casein and hydrolyzed milk protein
•Lactalbumin and lactalbumin phosphate
•Lactose
•Lactoferrin, lactoglobulin
•Milk derivative, fat and protein
•Modified milk ingredients
•Whey and whey protein concentrate

We found that many, many packaged foods items and processed food items contain milk. If you or your child has a milk protein allergy or intolerance, it is probably a good idea to start learning how to cook from scratch. I did and now I absolutely love it. My next post will discuss all of the things you CAN eat!

Dairy and all its Code names

Dairy-Protein Intolerance: Information

A milk-protein intolerance is where a person is unable to digest the proteins found in dairy. It really is that simple and straightforward. Instead of passing through the intestines, these proteins will stay in the intestine and irritate the lining of the intestine, causing it to bleed. Symptoms include gas, bloating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and blood and/or mucus in the stools. It is very common in babies, because their intestines are very immature, and are often unable to tolerate milk protein at a young age. Most children will grow out of a milk-protein intolerance by the age of 1, although some children take longer. Many children will not grow out of this until they reach their teens or young adulthood, and a few children will never outgrow it. It is important for people to understand that a milk-protein intolerance is different from lactose intolerance. Lactose intolerance is a sensitivity to the sugar in milk, lactose. So it is not enough for a food product to be lactose free. It actually has to have no forms of dairy in the ingredients and have a label of PAREVE somewhere on the container to be dairy free. After watching our little girl go through such pain, we are very careful about not exposing her to dairy products. Some may think that a little diarrhea isn't reason enough to stop Audrey from having a little dairy every now and then, however anyone who has ever had diarrhea knows how uncomfortable it is, and we know how her little belly hurt, so for us and for her, the sacrifice is well worth it.

Our Story

On November 26, 2008, my husband Michael and I welcomed our first daughter, Audrey Rose Hess into the world. She was 6 lbs 12 ounces, and was perfect in everyway. After taking Audrey home from the hospital, she quickly became a very fussy baby. She rarely slept, and she spit up a lot. On the weekend of December 14, the spitting up became even worse. On Monday, December 16, Audrey was lethargic, only waking twice during the day to eat, and throwing up yellow and green vomit each time she ate. Our doctor's office sent us to the emergency room, where we were immediately referred to Dayton Children's Hospital. It was thought that Audrey had condition called Pyeloric Stenosis, which is basically a bowel abnormality that would require surgery. However, after x-rays and an Upper and Lower GI series, it was revealed that there were no abnormalities. Audrey was kept over night and given IV therapy to rehydrate her. The diagnosis was reflux, and she was sent home on medication. This medication made Audrey scream and did not help the spitting up. What followed were probably the worst 4 months of our lives. In and out of the doctor's offices and emergency rooms, our sweet baby girl had constant diarrhea, along with bloody stools, and excessive spitting up that would lead to vomitin. She couldn't gain weight, and was miserable a lot of the time from stomach pain. Having had medical training, I knew all of the things that could be wrong, yet no doctor seemed to know what was wrong with her. As a parent, that is the worst, because you feel completely helpless. Finally in March of 2009, we were referred to a gastroenterologist at Children's Hospital, who performed a small bowel biopsy and diagnosed Audrey with a dairy-protein intolerance, and a soy-protein intolerance. We had two options. I could either go dairy and soy free and continue nursing Audrey, or I could stop nursing and put her on a $40 per can formula called Neocate. The latter was not an option, so as of that day, my diet was dairy and soy free. This meant that I not only could not eat the obvious sources of dairy, like milk, cheese, butter, sour cream, etc, or soy, but also the hidden sources that we find in many packaged foods. Dairy and soy have over 50 different names, so I had to memorize each and every one of those names so that I could read every label of every item I bought. I had to start baking my own bread, because you cannot find bread in the stores without soy. For Michael and I it also meant absolutely not eating out, and rarely could we trust others to cook for us. But the payoff? Our sweet baby had a complete turn around in just a a few weeks. We actually rejoiced the first time her stool was semi-normal looking! However, the damage that all of those milk proteins had done to her little intestines would affect her the entire first year of her life. Audrey really didn't grow out of her fussiness until she turned 1. She also grew out of her soy intolerance. She is now a happy and vivacious 2 1/2 year old. She is a bundle of energy and a ray of sunshine and laughter in our life. Her little sister Maria joined our family in March of 2010, an the two are best buddies. Thankfully Maria has no problems with tolerating dairy. As for our family, we live dairy free primarily, and that is why I created this blog. When we were going through this in the beginning, we knew no one who had been through it, and so we had to learn on our own. My hope is that someone who may be going through this can gain from what I share, as well as the recipes and meal ideas that I share. My goal is also to educate people on food allergies and intolerances. We are so grateful that our little girl is healthy. Please enjoy the recipes and the information, and pass it on!