Milk Allergy

It seems I am lactose intolerant, at least as far as milk (raw or pasteurized) is concerned. For the past couple of months I have been getting some bad indigestion and heartburn. At first I was not paying attention to what was causing this but in late December I realized it was happening after I either drank a glass of milk or had milk on cereal. I knew for sure when I went up to see my Dad 2 weeks ago and had no milk for 3 days and all my digestive problems vanished and than came right back enforce when we got out 2 gallons of milk from the herd share

I love drinking milk. Few things are better than a warm homemade brownie or chocolate chip cookie and a nice glass of cold fresh milk. I love cream in my coffee. The tradition of peanut-butter malts made with chocolate milk at the Tuesday Farmers Market is over for me (I will have to go with sherbets from now on or frozen yogurt). No more cake and ice-cream. Damn.

I have been in denial. I when I really think about it I have spent probably a decade disbelieving that milk and me do not mix and suffering for it. After I finally started believing that I can no longer drink milk I started looking at the symptoms I have been having-chronic ear infections, yeast infection, digestive problems. And now that I have been milk free for less than a week all of these are either gone or abating.

The good news is I can eat fermented milk like yogurt and cheese (though cheap Kroger Mozzarella was a bit hard to take). Milk in things like biscuits and pancakes does not seem to bother me. So the plan is to keep getting 2 gallons a week and start making butter, yogurt (already make 3 quarts a week, will make more) and cheese. I have made cheese once and it was good. Now I can get better at this art.

I am finding that I don't miss milk as much as I thought and I still have yogurt, so all is not lost. I find few things better than yogurt and muesli these days.