My morning drink: Double-shot Americano with 2 oz. of heavy, grass-fed, whipping cream.
When you were introduced to Paleo, you likely heard or read a giant list of “no” foods. No grains. No sugar. No legumes. No processed food. No dairy. You likely questioned these “no” rules at first, but upon lots of encouragement from the paleo community (or upon your own undertaking), you decided to give it a go and never looked back. And you’re probably much healthier for it today, right?
One of the things I love about my husband, Jake, is that he questions everything. He searches for truth and purpose in everything new he learns and draws his own conclusions. He doesn’t just take things at face value or beacause it’s a “fact” in a book written by someone with a scientific background. He doesn’t rest until he’s comfortable with his own opinion on the matter.
One of the things that didn’t sit well with him was the “no dairy” rule. After all, it comes from animals which are part of the paleo diet. So, why would some parts of the animal be encouraged and others deemed dangerous? With some help from Kurt G. Harris, MD (author of the PaNu Blog), we were able to learn a bit more about the role of dairy, and how it affects our systems. Instead of attempting to relay his message here, I think you should read it for yourself. It’s short and not too scientific :)
{Check out Kurt’s Dairy Post Here}
Eating a low carb, high fat diet has made my Type 1 Diabetes so much easier to control. I typically eat two meals a day, and one small snack in the afternoon. I eat around 8-12 grams of carbohydrate (of non-starchy veggies) per day. Today, for example, my blood sugar has ranged from 76-96 mg/dl. Pretty freaking awesome numbers. (Picture me doing a happy dance.)
I have been adding 4 tablespoons (2 oz) of heavy whipping cream to my Americano every morning, and the delicous fat keeps me full for hours, which is both extremely convenient and great for controlling my blood sugar. (We like the Pure Eire brand from PCC that comes from grass-fed cows.) There is no lactose nor casein protein in heavy whipping cream.
And as for cheese? It’s not a huge part of our diet, but here and there we snack on some raw cheddar. Rumor has it that the casein protein in cheese is similar to gluten and therefore should be avoided. But, Dr. Harris believes that the issues with casein might only present if you have a leaky gut, damaged from grains. So, for someone who has been on paleo for awhile and is no longer ingesting gluten, they likely will not suffer the autoimmune diseases caused by a modern diet. Mark Sisson has a similar take in his Definitive Guide to Dairy.
I am not saying you should do what we’re doing. I am not saying you have to, or should, incorporate dairy.
I am saying you should look into what YOU are doing and how the food YOU ingest directly, and indirectly, affects YOU.
Because you deserve it.
Because you are worth it.
Our favorite Raw Cheddar from Trader Joe's.
Kerrygold is a tasty grass-fed butter.
Happy eating :)
Joey
Sleep Love Eat 
Nice post. Dairy wrecks me, probably always has but I didn’t know until I tried Paleo. I would love some heavy cream in my Americano maybe I’ll give Pure Eire a shot.
I’ve never been a huge milk drinker, until I got my hands on some raw milk. It is completely different than store bought milk. We love the dairy we get it from, they’re awesome people.
Too bad we don’t have a Trader Joe’s around where I live, I’d love some raw milk cheese.
Wow, Joey, you have the resolve of a saint. Those numbers are awesome!
I’ve always incorporated a little bit of dairy, I like that same Raw Milk Cheddar from TJ’s & Kerrygold butter and put heavy cream in my coffee. I also eat full fat plain yogurt once in awhile. It just makes it more enjoyable for me, I’ve experimented with eliminating it, but I’ve noticed no ill effects either way.
Question – and you can email me to answer this if you want – but I am curious how crossfit affects your numbers? I get really frustrated because it seems the lower carb/sugar I eat, the more intense exercise has a reverse affect 0n my sugars – like, makes them go high. I am guessing because there is a lack of insulin in my system due to the reduced dose I take for primal eating. Do you have this issue? I haven’t quite figured out how to solve it yet.
Hi Sarah! This was definitely an ideal day of readings for me. I have been experiencing the exact same thing as you with the workouts. In fact, just the other day I gave insulin to cover my workout for the first time ever and had much better results. I’m going to do a full post on this to explain a bit more. Maybe if we work together we can figure this thing out :)
i personally adore raw cheese… if i had money for more i would prolly base my meals on raw goat milk, cheese, cream etc. but for now, i stick to my gluttony and only but 10oz raw goat a week. haha
i just found this blog via google search. i just got dx’d type 1.5 diabetic. i am so glad to find another type 1 who has been doing paleo. yay! thanks for the dairy post. i’ve been making this “primal coconut creamer” and i think it is doing whack stuff to my numbers. lame! going to go get some heavy whipping cream i guess! thank you!
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I always wonder a bit about dairy since so many people are lactose intolerant, myself, and several family members, included. I can eat some cheese or chocolate here and there, but I have issues with larger quantities.
I make lattes with hemp or coconut milk (my favorite of all the alternative milks), and I’m hunting for a stevia-based coffee flavoring syrup. Someone’s gotta do it eventually, haha.
Thank you for this post! I’m intolerant to lactose and casein, but I found out that I can eat high fat dairy. Ghee and butter are wonderful for cooking, and I love to have my tea with cream (instead of milk) now. :) I don’t know why, but dairy fat is most soothing and gives me the most comfortable feeling, more than fat from oil or nuts. I also find it more satisfying somehow.
Kath – I wholeheartedly agree with you – nothing is quite as satisfying to me!
Don’t hate me for this long link – but it takes you to the Amazon page for sweetleaf liquid stevia in all sorts of flavors that would be great in coffee. Flavors like chocolate raspberry, English toffee, Valencia orange…I’m very new to Paleo so I don’t know how flexible you are on any sweeteners, but if you are looking for something natural this would be a great one to try. I used to use the chocolate raspberry flavor in my smoothies :-)
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_23?url=search-alias%3Dgrocery&field-keywords=sweetleaf+liquid+stevia&sprefix=sweetleaf+liquid+stevia
Can I just say I’ve read a couple of pages of this blog and I’m already in love with it?! I love the recipes you post and the wedding pictures are a plus. I’m a recent paleo convert and I am looking for variety so that I can actually get through the 30 day challenge. I can tell you that I will be cooking many of the recipes you’ve posted here so I’m pretty psyched about that. Thank you so much for the extra info such as this one about dairy. After I complete my 30 days I might see where I’m at with the dairy issue since I do miss greek yogurt, but I can’t thank you guys enough for the info in your blog. Keep it coming :D
P.S. The wedding pictures are giving me great ideas for my wedding.
Thanks for the note, Cyndy! Best of luck to you on your 30 day challenge – you’ll feel fabulous at the end of it… probably sooner :)
I have been using a tablespoon of coconut oil in my coffee, blended in my magic bullet. It tastes good, keeps me full. Not sure if its all that good for me though?? I know about the bullet coffee with grass fed butter. Thoughts?