Hi,
I have strong intolerances for dairy, gluten grains (wheat, barley, oats, and rye), egg whites and soy. I have long given up on trying to sub anything for grains, egg white and soy, but I'm wondering if there are any acceptable substitutes for dairy in the Zone program. Currently I do kind of a paleo-style Zone, because of all of my food intolerances, but that means I have to eat meat, fruit and vegetables at every meal and snack, including breakfast, so I'm looking for a little more variety. I'm not complaining though, ---the Zone Diet is the one that makes me feel the best and most stable, so I want continue it even if I need to stick with my current plan.


Thanks for your help,
Dawn

Dawn, dairy isn't necessary for the Zone. You'll be fine using meat. Poultry and fish would be other alternatives. If you start to consume a fair amount of fish, stick more with the smaller ones (like sardines and mackerel). They're usually safer in regard to pollution than larger fish.

Thanks, Sue.
Yeah, I know dairy isn't necessary on the Zone, but I was hoping there was something to substitute, but that's okay --- I'm used to doing without it. And fortunately the recipe section on this website has a huge amount of wonderful recipes that don't use any dairy. I've just spent half an hour browsing them, and printing out a couple dozen that look really good. I'm sure I will greatly enjoy making and eating them! Also, I do have all the Zone cookbooks, and have gone through them all and marked all the recipes that are dairy-, egg-, grain- and soy-free, and I still end up with a lot of usable recipes.

For breakfast today, I made the Apple Crumble Zing, and had 3 oz. turkey with it. It was a great breakfast--- so good and so satifying.

Thanks again,
Dawn

Dawn, if you find a viable dairy substitution, please let me know, because I am supposed to avoid dairy too, though I can tolerate some. Thanks.

I've been thinking of trying the Apple Jumle Zing. Looks like a good snack combo, too (in a smaller amount of couse).

Oh, yeah, I called it the wrong name, didn't I? I should have said Apple Jumble Zinger.

The only thing I can think of to maybe replace yogurt or milk, would be coconut milk, but I think it's way too high in fat to be a direct replacement. We'd need to figure that out. I can't imagine that it could be included in the Zone as anything other than a fat. And I know the fat in it is saturated, but it's actually a very good saturated fat --- lauric acid, caprylic acid, and capric acid (medium chain fatty acids) are all great anti-microbials, and it's also very good for the thyroid gland.

I wonder if the 'light' coconut milk could be diluted and used to make yogurt. Last week I found a recipe for almond milk yogurt, and I tried it, but I didn't like it.

Anyway, some things to consider.

Dawn

Sue, and all dairy intolerant Zoners,

Just remembered..........

A good substitute for whey protein powder is hempseed protein powder. This is probably the only protein powder that I can use, as I react to whey, rice, and soy powders. (I haven't yet tried the pea protein). The macronutrient profile of hemp powder is similar to other protein powders, with just a bit more fat, and a bit more carb, but it is definitely in the ballpark, and the other things that would be added to a smoothie could be adjusted to make it perfectly fit the Zone. I have some in my pantry, and have used it sporadically in the past for non-Zone smoothies, but I think I'll try Zoniing it with some fruit, and maybe use it a little more often for snacks or breakfast. I'll let you know how it turns out, if you're interested.

Dawn

Thanks for the info Dawn!

Luckily whey is ok with me, and also some protein powders that include amounts of actual milk powder. My milk avoidance is not due to an allergy, but rather to me being a hyperabsorber of calcium (dr's orders to avoid, eat very little dairy, because of this).

YEs please let us know how it turns out. A caution, watch it with the hemp powder because the fat it contains Omega 6 fat, which we're trying to avoid in the Zone.

Dawn,

Just curious about your problems with dairy, have you ever tried goats milk? A lot of people who have problems with cows milk can drink goats milk w/out difficulties. Goats milk is considered 'naturally homogenized' as the fat globules are much smaller and therefore more easily digested than cows milk. Just thought I'd throw this out there in case you weren't aware & had never tried it.

Hi ISO,
It's very kind of you to mention some alternatives, but yes, I have tried everything, from sheep and goat's milk products, including raw, to 100% grass fed raw cheese, butter, etc. Sheep's cheese is less bad than the others. Conventional grocery store dairy is the worst. But, I cannot tolerate even organic clarified butter (ghee), which is supposedly free of casein, whey and lactose. Apparently, there is something inherent in all dairy that my body just cannot handle. I react to all of it. My reaction is a histamine response, causing congestion, fatigue, mental fog, irritability, depression, headaches, intestinal problems, chest pains, pain in certain glands, earache, etc. If I consume dairy for a few days in a row, I also get a bleeding rash on both arms and my face. I have many of these reactions to gluten grains, also.

These next thoughts are addressed to everyone --- I wonder if dairy is actually an appropriate food for humans, anyway. We are the only mammals on the planet who consume milk products after the age of weaning, when we lose our milk-digesting enzymes. Also, we are the only mammals on the planet who consume milk products from another species of mammal. Think about it--- Have we ever seen an adult cow drinking the milk of a baboon? Or a cat drinking the milk of a zebra? Seems to me that the female of each specie produces something very specific for it's own young, and then after weaning, the young move on to their adult diet, the same as their parents. Just some thoughts to consider.

Thanks again, ISO. I do love organic goat cheese, but it just doesn't love me.

Dawn

Okay, I tried the hemp powder protein drink. Can't say that I loved it, and I probably won't try it again unless we can come up with a better recipe. I used 3 T. hemp powder, some frozen blueberries, a no-calorie sweetener called Lakanto (very expensive stuff, but good tasting and fairly natural), some ice and water. It definitely needs tweaking, but without yogurt or something else similar, I don't know what to do to make it better. Also, I took extra fish oil that day, to help mitigate the omega-6 in the hemp.

Open to ideas --- would love to be able to make a good-tasting shake or smoothie that fits the Zone.

Dawn

Dawn, I think that is why we are made Human. We are different than any other species. Just think of it, I am sure that there are other species that have characteristics that no other species has. Just because we are the only species to drink the milk of other species, does not mean that we were not intended to do so. Just means that it is one thing that makes our species unique.

That said, I know that there are plenty of people who are just not able to tolerate dairy. You are not alone.

Have you ever tried some of the other "milk" products, like almond milk? Realizing that these won't have the same P/C balance as dairy, but maybe it would give you that creaminess that you are looking for? I don't know, just a thought. If it is an unfavorable carb, you could still use it, but in smaller proportions (no more than 25% of the total carb of your smoothie).

Hope that helps.

Almond milk is good - it comes both sweetened and unsweetened. I buy the unsweetened and add a little Stevia or PureVia or Truvia powder.

With an almond milk such as Blue Diamond's Almond Breeze Unsweetened Original, 8 oz would be considered 2 F blocks (8 oz contains 1 g protein. 2 g carb, 1 g fiber and 3 fat).

Cisse, thanks for the info. I had checked at the grocery store, but the almond milk at my store must have been sweetened, so it had more carbs in it.

Personaly I try to stick to a Zone Diet including a lot of alkanizing raw food and trying to avoid common allergens...

I found the Vega products (in Canada) , I don't know if you can find some where you leave .You can also eat algua or livers with nuts or vegetables as carbs (is there gluten in livers, I'm not sure) , it would give you an extra protein , or add sesame grains at your vegetables...

Dawn,

Have you tried getting rid of your allergy to dairy using a Bioset practioner? Ten years ago I could barely eat anything and now I am able to eat pretty much anything in moderation except gluten. You can learn more by visiting http://www.bioset.net/

Best wishes.

Oh Sue!! I've seen Blue Diamond Almond Milk here!! Sorry...I'm just excited because I'm usually out of luck in the milk and soy categories. So the unsweetened kind is strictly a fat? Have you tried it yourself?

Hello everyone. I'm a newbie. I read Dawn's description of her dairy allergies. Are those typical to dairy allergies?
I run a support group for FMS and some of Dawn's symptoms are the same for Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. There is a correlation to Hypoglycemia and FMS in a large percentage of the patients who have Fibro, and some have many food allergies as well, that eventually go away, when we help them get rid of the symptoms of Fibro. But I did not realize how many similarities to dairy allergies there are.

I mention all this on the Zone site because I am able to help people with Hypoglycemia get well simply by teaching them TheZone with certain modifications.

Good point, Bonnie! I am glad there are people like you out there to help with fibromyalgia. I have no personal experience with fibro, other than the fact that I had attended a seminar on it (geared towards nurses and medical professionals). The speaker spoke highly of using an anti-inflammatory diet (such as the Zone) along with fish oil, and has had really good results with the treatment.

I should add, though, that best results are obtained through the use of whole foods, rather than processed foods. So, veggies and fruits, lean protein, good sources of fat (all of the cornerstones of the Zone).

<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By Cranberrycat on 09/23/2009 12:25 PM
I have no personal experience with fibro, other than the fact that I had attended a seminar on it (geared towards nurses and medical professionals). The speaker spoke highly of using an anti-inflammatory diet (such as the Zone) along with fish oil, and has had really good results with the treatment. </div>

That's interesting; my mom was diagnosed with fibro a few years ago, and none of the doctors she saw mentioned a dietary approach. Might have something to do with the fact that the doctors there focus on the symptoms and not the cause; the one doctor that came close ended up losing his license last year :/ Maybe I'll make her try it while I'm in and see how she does......

Hi,

To all who are interested in addressing fibromyalgia with the Zone, don't forget that is of the utmost importance to supplement with an ultra-refined fish oil concentrate meeting certain specifications. For more info on dosage for fibromyalgia, go to drsears.com and search fibromyalgia. While you’re on drsears.com you might also want to print the Anti-Inflammatory Medicine Monograph (found in Zone Resources) to show to your doctors. My doctor was very impressed with it.

Nicole, I agree. Most doctors are only focused on symptom management, and so they are just too quick to prescribe pain medication to releive symptoms, along with antidepressants, and other drugs. But, what I found from listening to this speaker was that the symptoms could be greatly reduced by managing with diet and fish oil.

But, just doing the Zone is not enough, it would require high level of adherence to the Zone (as I said in the previous post) with very little processed foods or grains.

And, of course, the fish oil. The doctor that I heard speaking on the topic did not recommend a specific brand or dose, I think that would have to be quite individualized.

I have also seen some forum members filter through here over the years, who were following the Zone to help control conditions such as fibromyalgia.

Thank you both (again!). I'll forward this info on to my mother so she can talk to her doctor; hopefully they'll both be open to it. She's tried every drug under the sun to try to manage it, so maybe taking this approach as well can take the edge off of it.

Nicole,

You might also want to join in on the discussion under the Health Section, the thread is "In the "ZONE" w/Fibromylagia & Back Pain".