Dairy I do. Dairy I don't.

Why do I love cheese? And yet find my stomach cringing when I indulge in some festive eggnog this holiday season? As my body seems to be telling me, it's all about lactose - the sugar naturally found in milk that some people are able to digest and some are not.

We all have varying degrees of sensitivity to the white stuff. According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a medical group that advocates a vegan diet, 95% of Asian Americans, 70% of African Americans, and 53% of Mexican Americans are lactose intolerant. This compares to 15% of Caucasians.

Some dairy products, like milk and eggnog, are higher in lactose than others. While some products contain far lower levels of lactose (e.g. butter, hard cheese, ghee, yogurt). Each individual has a different level of sensitivity.

Why is this? A lot has to do with the way it's been processed. Hard cheese, through its fermentation process loses much of the lactose. Yogurt with live probiotics contains the enzyme lactase which aids in digestion. And ghee, clarified butter used in India, is stripped of lactose (or milk solids) in its processing.

I made the personal choice to add moderate amounts of dairy to my diet, because it is one of the few foods that contain fat. Other than nuts and oils, there aren't many other sources of fat in the plant kingdom. And fat, is an essential nutrient in diet. We often are taught to shun it, because most of us eat too much of it. But there are also others (notably vegetarians and vegans) who often don't get enough. Fat is essential to healthy skin, hair, nails, and a well functioning reproductive system.

It is also said in ancient Ayurvedic wisdom, that 'saatvic' foods like dairy help make us more calm and peaceful.

Think about all the happy people you know who enjoy cheese. There must be something to this! But when it comes to eggnog, I think I'll opt for the Silk Nog.

Probiotics: Bacteria you can cheer for

With my beach bag in tow, I left town this past weekend to escape the grind of Gotham. I was heading south to meet up with some friends for a fun weekend. Little did I know I would find myself craving something I never thought was possible - bacteria!

I can sense the quizzical looks forming.

No, but really, I was craving my probiotic supplement - the beneficial bacteria that help ward off infection, promote digestion, stave off yeast, and a whole slew of other health benefits. We are all born with a healthy amount of this beneficial bacteria in our gut, which serves as a natural defense system from the 'bad' bacteria we know and fear.

These little guys have saved me out in countless situations - they've kept me regular, gotten me over traveler's diarrhea, and enabled me to better digest dairy products.

Now they were again trying to restore balance in my body. Turns out the from the 'party foods' I was consuming are exactly the ones harmful bacteria feed on (i.e. sugar, refined carbohydrates, alcohol). My digestion was off and I was starting to feel as if I was catching a cold.


There are several foods that contain naturally occurring beneficial bacteria, however in far smaller doses than a probiotic. These foods include yogurt, miso, aged cheese, kefir, and fermented vegetables (kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles). Kombucha, a fermented beverage, rich in probiotics is all the rage at my local co-op. It was no coincidence that one of the first foods I ate when I returned home was yogurt with live acidophilus cultures. I instantly felt better.

I recommend probiotic supplements to most of my clients (Garden of Life Primal Defense Ultra is my favorite). With the prevalence of antibiotics in our culture, many of us are lacking these crucial microorganisms. However, we consume more than we even realize - antibiotics show up in commercially raised meat, even our drinking water!

I take one probiotic supplement every evening before I go to bed. And, oh yes, I am regular again!