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 “‘Actually,
I’m not lactose intolerant. I’m a vegan.’”
When I was vacationing in Boothbay, Maine, last summer, my boyfriend
and I stopped at a candy shop. While I am vegan, my boyfriend is not,
and he was looking for some chocolate to end our long day of walking around
and enjoying the sights. As many dark chocolates can be vegan, I decided
to look around. I couldn’t find any ingredients listed on any of
the products, [so] I decided to ask the portly woman behind the counter
if they had any nondairy chocolate. She said, “No, it must be horrible
to be lactose intolerant!” and I said, “Actually, I’m
not lactose intolerant, I’m a vegan.” Then she said, “Ugh,
I just don’t understand you people!” and I said, “Well,
that’s why I wear a size 2, and you don’t!” and I walked
out. …
—Heidi T., Natick, Massachusetts
“... I gained weight and had outrageous mood swings!”
[A]t a young age, I became … vegetarian, and at [the age of] about
15, I became vegan. I was vegan for two years, but [in] the new area [that]
I had moved to, being so strict with my diet was insanely difficult, so
I fluctuated and faltered a bit for a few months. [Those] months were
horrible! As I [brought] dairy into my diet (I still wouldn’t eat
meat), I gained weight and had outrageous mood swings! I knew why. [I]
soon moved, and [I] have been vegan again ever since! …
—Mauro D., Eureka, California
“Milk is toxic to my body.”
My scary story began when I was 8. I became what is now known as lactose
intolerant. … By 13, I could no longer enjoy cream cheese—and
I used to be a big cheese head! By 25, I had to give up hard cheeses such
as American [and] cheddar. By 30, I became highly sensitive … to
dairy [ingredients] that are nearly in everything, such as … whey,
casein, 2-steryl lactilate, lactose, lactilate, and a host of others.
… Milk is toxic to my body. … I avoid any and all forms of
milk. … I am diligent [about] what I eat and always ask questions—[even]
if I seem like a real pain in the posterior. I’d rather find out
… than suffer the consequences. …
—Robert G., Dallas, Texas
“How could I have gone along with this lie for so long?”
I had eaten [dairy products] throughout my entire childhood. Not knowing
what [the] pus was doing to me, I continued to consume it throughout my
teens. And then, when I was 17, I [went] on a super dairy kick. [A]ll
I ate was macaroni and cheese, cereal and milk, toast and butter, mucus
cubes—uh, I mean cheese cubes—and everything in between. I
… became so constipated that I couldn’t go for the life of
me—for weeks. … [L]ittle did I know, my body was beginning
to recognize dairy as a toxin. And then, one day, I started to drink my
bottle of strawberry milk, and all of a sudden, my air passages closed,
and I couldn’t breathe. I tried and tried to catch my breath, [but]
I just couldn’t. Then things went blurry. My face went numb. My
legs gave out. I was lying in the middle of the kitchen floor crying and
turning blue and passing out. My mom … found me. She sat there with
her blue, passed-out daughter … until I could finally breathe again.
We went to the doctor, and to my surprise, I found out that a dairy allergy
can come on at any time [during] your transition to adulthood. …
I was told to stay away from dairy, given some inhalers and shots of epinephrine
to carry around with me “just in case,” and sent on my way.
To this day, if I so much as touch a drop of milk to my tongue, my air
is cut off from me. I began to study alternatives to dairy. … I
had never heard of things like rice milk or soy cheese and had never even
heard the word “vegan.” As I [researched], I [made] horrifying
discoveries [about] all the things that went on in the dairy industry
and the meat industry, as well. The cows are not as they are shown on
TV—oh no. How could I have gone along with this lie for so long?
If I had never become so severely allergic to dairy, would I have ever
come to this realization? [E]ven if my allergy does ever go away, I will
not put that awful stuff in my mouth for the life of me. And I’m
a vegan now, too.
—Summer L., Tulsa, Oklahoma
“I have had tons of dairy [products] in my life, yet I am a chronic
osteoporosis sufferer, and I’m only 40 years old.”
I have a son with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). [He
has] a phlegmy chest [and is] always clearing his throat. [O]ur family
is actually rather lactose intolerant, [but] we still take in wads of
dairy products. Perhaps it’s time to consider [dairy’s] effect
on ADHD and [on] my own sinusitis problems. I always feel tired and weak,
especially at the end of the day. I get terrible digestion problems after
having cereal with milk. I’ve known about the ill-effects [that]
milk [causes] for years, yet I’ve done nothing about it. Perhaps
it’s time to start drinking green tea … and [to] give up my
… yogurt for breakfast. … People I know who have [given up
dairy products] have gotten rid of their phlegmy problems within one week.
… I am aware of the lie promulgated by the dairy association: that
milk is good for strong teeth and bones. Here, in South Africa, it is
a huge lie swallowed by the public. I have had tons of dairy [products]
in my life, yet I am a chronic osteoporosis sufferer, and I’m only
40 years old. Sad, isn’t it?
—Dee M., Germiston, South Africa
“I spent the whole night and part of the next day in bed.”
When I became a vegetarian, [I] started by giving up shrimp, then tuna,
chicken, and then beef. I [continued to] eat cheese until I read a story
about how one dairy farmer … “dispose[d]” of the male
calves—[it was] just blatant murder. That is when I gave up cheese.
Since then, whenever I eat something at someone’s house or at a
restaurant with any type of dairy product [in it], such as milk or sour
cream, I do suffer the consequences. One night, I went with my husband
and some coworkers to a restaurant for appetizers and drinks [and ate
some guacamole that contained sour cream]. That night, I got so sick that
the cramps seemed to radiate toward my lower back. I spent the whole night
and part of the next day in bed. I thank God that I am a vegan.
—Denise A., El Paso, Texas
“What a shame that doctors are never taught much nutrition in
medical school.”
I went on a raw-food diet for nine months, giving up all dairy [products],
salt, cooked food, and meat. I went from feeling my age (47) to feeling
17 within a month! While doing research for a book on the raw diet, I
came across one that said [that] you could eat dairy [products] as long
as [they were] raw (not heated above 104°F). So … I purchased
raw yogurt, kefer, cottage cheese, and cheese, and for four days, I was
in dairy heaven! But then I started getting asthma attacks, lethargy,
depression, and fatigue. I felt as though someone had poured glue or even
cement all around my lungs and into my body. Now I know that even raw
dairy is poison. … What a shame that doctors are never taught much
nutrition in medical school. I suffered for years, from age 16 until adulthood,
from asthma attacks [and] ... horrible PMS … until I went raw and
cleared out the mucus. I will definitely incorporate dairy warnings [into]
my book.
—Susan S., Del Mar, California
“It was meant for a baby cow, not a human being!”
I went vegan a few years ago. I didn’t notice the health benefits
right away because I slowly “evolved” into a vegan. First
I gave up pork, then two months later beef, then another four months later
it was fish, then chicken, [etc.] … But now, when I think about
it … I did have a lot of problems back then! I would get allergies
in the spring, and [they] wouldn’t go away until mid or late summer
… And my energy was very low; I couldn’t tolerate a lot of
exercise. I had aches and pains like a 90-year-old (and I was 15 at the
time). I … found out the truth about milk and milk byproducts (like
whey and casein)—milk is toxic to humans! It was meant for a baby
cow, not a human being!
—Anonymous, Two Rivers, Wisconsin
“I am finally convinced that milk does not belong in the human
body.”
I have noticed that each time I consume [dairy products], I begin to
experience terrible heart palpitations. … I have been writing everything
I eat throughout the day, and [my problems] come down to the [dairy products]!
Please eliminate all dairy products from your diet and start living healthy
today! I am finally convinced that milk does not belong in the human body.
…
—Anonymous, Westbury, New York
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