Articles in: Dairy Issues

For centuries, certain populations have relied on dairy consumption to survive and thrive. Today, dairy issues comprise one of the most common food intolerances. And while some blatantly avoid dairy to stave off the unpleasant gastrointestinal consequences, others are asking if their symptoms are truly a sign of dairy intolerance, and even whether the (often self-administered) diagnosis is reversible. In this article category, Ayurveda chimes in with a time-tested way to test your tolerance, along with how to pick the best quality dairy, tell whether you have “the dairy gene,” and little-known ways to boost your tolerance.

Navigating Lactose Intolerance

by John Douillard on March 11, 2017 | Leave a Comment

Average Reading Time: 1 minute and 52 seconds Due to popular demand, the food industry has made millions on dairy products that have less lactose (milk sugar) OR have lactase — the enzyme that breaks down lactose — added to the dairy product. Interestingly, there is not conclusive proof that either of these products actually […]

Full-Fat Trumps Low-Fat Dairy

by John Douillard on May 28, 2016 | 5 Comments

Average Reading Time: 1 minute and 27 seconds Logic would tell you that when you start breaking up whole foods into components that we deem “healthier,” it always seems to backfire. Low-fat milk takes away the fat and leaves the milk with a higher concentration of sugar (lactose) and casein — the hard-to-digest dairy protein. […]

Does Casein Type Matter in Cow’s Milk?

by John Douillard on May 21, 2016 | 3 Comments

Average Reading Time: 2 minutes and 30 seconds Milk might do a body good, but a new trend in milk production may have us thinking twice! The issue is around the type of casein protein that is found in milk from different breeds of cows. Some breeds might be better than others. Casein makes up […]

Reset Digestive Agni (Fire) Protocol

by John Douillard on November 17, 2015 | 12 Comments

Average Reading Time: 4 minutes 9 seconds The stomach produces an acid called hydrochloric acid (HCl) that is responsible for breaking down many of the hard-to-digest proteins we consume such as wheat, dairy, corn, soy, certain nuts and meats. While excess stomach acid is seemingly becoming an increasingly prevalent issue these days, sometimes it is […]

Euro-Vedic Cheese-Making Part 2: Navigating Rennet (Eat, Pray, BUGS)

by John Douillard on August 9, 2014 | 1 Comment

Average Reading Time: 7 minutes and 41 seconds When most of us buy a type of cheese, we select it because we want to bite into that particular delectable taste and chewy texture. Many of my readers also prefer cheese that is organic and even raw when possible. But do you know what type of […]

A Yummy Cheese-y Love Story (Eat, Pray, BUGS)

by John Douillard on August 7, 2014 | Leave a Comment

Average Reading Time: 6 minutes and 10 seconds As we continue our Eat Pray BUGS tour, we set our GPS for the tiny Austrian town of Thomatal, located in Austria’s Biosphere Reserve region called Lungau. South of Salzburg, deep in the Austrian Alps, Lungau is one of the original sustainable living cultures and recognized as […]

Euro-Vedic Cheese-Making: Part 1 (Eat, Pray, BUGS)

by John Douillard on August 5, 2014 | Leave a Comment

Average reading time: 5 minutes and 34 seconds The objective of our Eat, Pray, BUGS tour is not only to measure the “before and after” microbiome changes in our small ten person trial, but to more deeply understand the original and traditional cheese-making process of the more remote regions of Europe. Ninety percent of all cheeses […]

The Fight for Raw Dairy (Eat, Pray, BUGS)

by John Douillard on July 28, 2014 | 4 Comments

Average Reading Time: 3 minutes and 34 seconds Just last week the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in the United Kingdom finished a 6 month review of their raw dairy policy. Currently, raw milk sales are limited to farm sales and not available in stores (with the exception of Scotland, where it is banned entirely). Now, […]

Feed Your Inner Viking (Eat, Pray, BUGS)

by John Douillard on July 26, 2014 | Leave a Comment

Average Reading Time: 1 minute and 57 seconds Reporting on one of Norway’s most rare and famous cheeses! The Vikings, who were known for their strength and endurance, fueled themselves for their expeditions in part by eating a special cheese called Gamalost. It’s also considered an aphrodisiac, commonly known today as “Viking Viagra.” Gamalost (gammal […]

Why Whey Cheeses May Be The Way To Go (Eat, Pray, BUGS)

by John Douillard on July 22, 2014 | Leave a Comment

Average Reading Time: 3 minutes and 45 seconds Skyr (pronounced “skeer”), an Icelandic cheese product now sold in the US, is one of Iceland’s most popular foods. On our 24-hour layover in Iceland we made a quick trip to Burid, Iceland’s premier cheese shop, where we spent time with owner Eirny. (If you visit Iceland, […]

Eat, Pray, BUGS

by John Douillard on July 19, 2014 | Leave a Comment

Average Reading Time: 2 minutes and 8 seconds During the summer of 2014, LifeSpa.com is sponsoring a small trial to measure the changes in the gut microbiology of an average American after 3+ weeks eating a European diet. Ten people who were already planning on traveling to Europe have volunteered to participate in the trial. […]

Do You Have the Dairy Gene?

by John Douillard on December 10, 2013 | Leave a Comment

According to Dr. John Hawks, a professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, we are all still evolving and quite rapidly. Although it might take 10,000 years for these genetic changes to be measurable, we are no doubt actively adapting to this new and crazy world. In genetic terms, it was quite […]