Breaking News: Nuts, Seeds, and Fruits Aren't Dairy!

I appreciate the fact that products are entering the marketplace that are specifically aimed at those of us with food avoidance issues. I learned I was lactose intolerant in 1978 and many foods then didn't even have complete ingredients listings let alone dairy-free versions.

But some common sense is also needed. Cookbooks that proclaim that they have special recipes for dairy-free meals and then include recipes of foods that would never normally have milk products in them are cheating you. They'd do better to state the obvious and then go on to do the real work of showing how to cook with sometimes finicky substitutes.

In the same way, don't wave fruits, nuts, and seeds at me and proclaim you've made a dairy-free snack.

Who does this? For one, Mrs. May's Snacks.

The Trio bar will be available in four different fruit flavors and like all Mrs. May's snacks, the bars are vegan, non-GMO, cholesterol free, dairy free, wheat free, certified gluten free, kosher and contain no artificial flavors and colors.

What's in a Trio bar?

The bar is named Trio because each bar contains a combination of three nuts (almond, cashew and pistachio), three seeds (sesame, sunflower and pumpkin) and three fruits (dates, raisins and one-of-four fruit flavors including strawberry, cranberry, blueberry or tropical fruit) to create a healthy, crunchy and substantive snack.

Healthy is always good. And I still remember those first years of walking through supermarkets and reading ingredients on every single product on the shelves. It's helpful to be able to pick up a Mrs. May's product and not have to think twice about the contents.

And a startling number of processed foods you'd never believe would be a problem sometimes contain dairy products.

Just remember that you don't need to pay money for somebody else's non-dairy fruits. They all come that way.

I guess what I'm saying is that the more you learn about foods, recipes, and cooking, the easier a time you'll have finding good, healthy, tasteful ingredients that you'll like and are perfect for your tastes and styles. Don't depend on crutches when you don't have a limp.



To be fair, look for Mrs. May's products at her website.

The Other Indigestible Carbs

We all know about lactose not being digestible unless your body makes the enzyme lactase.

Lactose isn't alone, though. There are other carbohydrates that are equally problematical, some of which also create the gas that plagues those of us with lactose intolerance.

Jason Engelhart mentions some in this article from the Badger Herald.

A greater and more universal offender than lactose is inulin, a form of fiber that exists in plants such as onions, garlic and Jerusalem artichokes. In fact, the last of these is reputed to wreak such havoc on digestion that the 17th century English botanist John Gerard once remarked of them, “Which way soeuer they be drest and eaten they stirre and cause a filthie loathsome stinking winde within the bodie, thereby causing the belly to be pained and tormented and are a meat more fit for swine than men.” Delicious!

The last of our unholy trinity of indigestible carbohydrates are perhaps the most malicious of all: the oligosaccharides. These three-, four- and five-sugar carbohydrates have long been considered the reason beans are referred to as “the musical fruit,” and they are scientifically proven to produce toots. However, recent research — yes, there are people who research this kind of thing — suggests that cell-wall cements also play a role in gas production from beans. Either way, the indigestible carbohydrates in beans make them the composers of many a sad chord in the soundtracks of our lives.

...

[P]eople who want to eat massive quantities of Jerusalem artichokes or three-bean chili need the help of something the body does not normally produce — alpha-galactosidase. This enzyme, which is sold over the counter as Beano, breaks down the normally indigestible carbohydrates, making them cave to the digestive power of the small intestine. Because of chemistry, we need not cave to the gassy forces of evil.

A couple of things that Engelhart does not say. He doesn't really give the full story on inulin, so here's some background info from Mark Anthony at FoodProcessing.com

Consisting of relatively short chains of sugar molecules, inulin acts as a soluble fiber providing the type of bulk that aids the body’s absorption of calcium and magnesium in the small intestine. In the large intestine, inulin is broken down by beneficial bacterial through fermentation to yield short chain fatty acids. These beneficial products are believed to aid in the prevention of colorectal cancer.

Inulin has been a healthful part of our diet for thousands of years. It occurs naturally in over 36,000 plants, including many common foods such as bananas, wheat, asparagus, onions, garlic, leeks and Jerusalem artichokes. (One of the most abundant sources is chicory, the roots of which have been ground and used as coffee substitutes for decades.)

Inulin is also the fiber used in capsule form in Fiber Choice and Fiber Sure for those who need bulk fiber in their diets.

And while Engelhart is right about alpha-galactosidase being the enzyme that digests oligosaccharides, he leaves out a nifty fact.

Lactase is also known as a beta-galactosidase. Not surprisingly, the bonds that hold together the lactose molecule are very similar to those that hold together this other type of sugar. In fact, they are identical except that one is rotated up and the other is rotated down, hence known as alpha and beta bonds.

Beano was invented by the same people who made Lactaid. And why not? They already had a great deal of expertise in galactosidases.

Overall, though, a good article for a student newspaper.

Anti-Milk Propagandist Hurts Her Cause

I received this email today.

Hello, I am a La leche member and we NEVER encourage new mothers to drink cows milk. It is highly allergenic and commonly creates many problems in newborns that often leads to mothers early weaning and babies lifelong problems with an induced milk allergy and or colitis, and diarrhea which is life threatening in babies. Please discourage all new mothers who are breastfeeding from taking any milk products. Children should also never be given cows milk. It creates muscus buildup leading to ear infections, etc and is usually full of hormones, pesticides, etc. Thanks for making this correction to your customers.
Tahnks, B.

I'm removing the sender's name out of kindness.

I can't imagine what kind of list she is sending this to. Obviously, I'm not the primary target. I don't have customers, and I'm not in the milk business in any way.

But let's suppose I was. It would still make no sense, because nobody in the world advocates the use of cow's milk for infants under one year of age. Nobody. And every major health and medical body including the American Academy of Pediatrics has been warning parents for years not to use cow's milk, but cow's milk formula, for infants. (Parents have been warned for years that soy milk is also not to be used for infants. Only properly fortified soy milk formula is safe.) These are issues that were settled long ago.

Why should mothers be discouraged from drinking milk products? That's a more contentious issue. Mothers with a known family history of dairy allergies may want to avoid milk themselves because it is possible for the cow's milk proteins to transfer to the baby through the breastmilk, making the infant more likely to develop a full-blown allergy.

There is no good reason for all mothers to avoid milk, though. Saying that is simply standard anti-milk propaganda. And obviously, anti-milk propaganda is what this email is all about, given the dire and incorrect warnings about, among other things, "muscus."

That's the real issue for me. The email is a horrifying collection of typos, spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and bad sentence structure. It shames the writer. It embarrasses me just to have to read it. Why would anyone listen to the semi-literate scrawlings of a ignorant propagandist? It discredits her entire cause, and makes any future, and more credible, discussions less likely to be read.

B. has hurt her cause by this rash act. It's a bad cause, so she may have done some good inadvertently. But I'd rather win through more accurate facts and more reasoned discussion.

Kids, leave propaganda to the professionals. It could thoughtlessly blow up in your hands, and leave you, well, thoughtless.

New Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet Cookbook

I don't know why I didn't catch this when I posted Gluten-Free, Casein-Free (GFCF) Diet Helps Autistic Children a week ago, but a major new cookbook on the GFCF diet has been published.

The Kid-Friendly ADHD and Autism Cookbook: The Ultimate Guide to the Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet, by Pamela Compart and Dana Laake came out late last year. It retails for $24.95, but is cheaper at Amazon and I'm sure other locations.

Book Description
The uniqueness of this book is that it not only provides gluten-free milk-free substitutes and recipes, it provides successful suggestions for feeding the picky eater. The authors share details about just how and why the diet works. The specialty ingredients are explained and extensive sources provided. There are also testimonials from the parents and from the children themselves.

About the Author
Pamela Compart, M.D., is a developmental pediatrician and a functional medicine physician. She is the founder and director of HeartLight Healing Arts, Inc., which is an integrated health care center providing comprehensive traditional and complementary medicine services for children and adults. Dana Laake, RDH, MS, LDN is a licensed nutritionist, talk show host, and educator. Through her practice, Dana Laake Nutrition, she provides preventive and therapeutic medical nutrition services to adults and children.

The reviews on Amazon are good, so this should be another major resource for those parents facing this challenging problem.

The Power of Probiotics

I write something about probiotics every few days, it seems. I gave a Primer on Probiotics that quoted Katherine Fisher:

What are probiotics?

Probiotics are small organisms that help maintain the natural balance of organisms (microflora) in the intestines also known as gut flora.

The normal human digestive tract contains about 400 types of bacteria that reduce the growth of harmful bacteria and promote a healthy digestive system.

The largest group of probiotic bacteria in the intestine is lactic acid bacteria, of which Lactobacillus acidophilus, found in yogurt and keifer is the best known. Yeast is also a probiotic substance. Probiotics are also available as dietary supplements containing potentially beneficial bacteria or yeast, with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as the most common microbes used.

And with Lactagen and Digestive Advantage being two probiotic products that are of huge interest to those with lactose intolerance, everyone should be interested.

But what if you want more than I can give you in a quick blog entry?

Just brand new, hot off the presses is The Power of Probiotics:
Improving Your Health with Beneficial Microbes, by Gary W. Elmer, PhD, Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle; Lynne V. McFarland, PhD, Research Health Science Specialist, Puget Sound Veterans Administration, Health Services Research, and Development, Seattle, Washington; and Marc McFarland, Health Science Writer, Seattle, Washington.

The Haworth Press site gives this blurb:

The Power of Probiotics is a consumer-friendly guide to the selection and use of probiotics that have been proven effective in the prevention and treatment of human diseases. This jargon-free reference resource provides practical advice on how and when to use probiotics and how to select the best commercially available products, based on usefulness, quality, and safety, to lower the risk of disease and maintain a positive health image. The book offers objective information on evaluating product claims, making sense of regulations and labeling, and sorting through manufacturing and marketing issues.

The Power of Probiotics presents an expert review of the scientific evidence for probiotics, illustrated with summary tables and diagrams for quick reference. Each chapter starts with a series of FAQs with clear and concise answers before moving into more in-depth analysis from the book’s authors, who combine more than 20 years of research from the patient clinic and the bench laboratory with extensive experience in writing and translating medical articles for consumer-oriented publications. This unique book presents definitions and descriptions of probiotics and a history of their uses, a review of medical conditions prevented and/or treated by probiotics, available products (with brand names), uses with other medications, and risks and side effects.

I haven't seen the book yet - it's that new - but it sounds like a must to check out. When I do I'll report back if it has something to say about probiotics and dairy.

Asla Lactose Free Milk Commended

Well, I hope you're all rested up from the excitement of the 2007 Global Dairy Innovation Awards. Didn't those stars look great on the white carpet?

The judging of the 2007 dairy innovation awards was held on 26 February at the Sheraton Hotel, close to London Heathrow Airport. The awards ceremony itself took place in Amsterdam, as part of this week's First Global Dairy Congress organized by Zenith International. You can read all about them at their website.

The award that means most to us is a highly commended prize to:

Arla Foods UK created Lactofree for the 15% of Britons that are estimated to be affected by lactose intolerance. Lactofree was also entered in the best new dairy drink category, as was Optimel Control from Campina and targeted at everyone aiming for a healthy weight.

They weren't the winners, though. The Health Initiative category was competitive:

In the best new health initiative category, the judges were looking for new probiotic or other functional dairy products that have a distinct health message and have created an impact on the market. Several products in this category were also entered in other categories.

▪ Tutgut Lecithin is the first dairy product, specially developed for the grey market (over 50 year olds). Entered by Alpenmilch of Austria, it is a creamy drink with a yogurt and buttermilk base containing lecithin and therefore helps to improve memory and concentration. In order to develop this product for the target group, comprehensive market research was conducted. Concern about memory and brain activity was expressed and the target group asked for a product that helps to maintain brain activity on a high level.

▪ Amul has launched India’s first probiotic ice cream, positioning the product to stress its contribution to improving immunity, strengthening bones and improving brain activity. Coupled with rapidly growing health and wellness awareness in India and being first to market with a probiotic product, Amul anticipates Profile Probiotic Wellness Ice Cream will help to grow the market by around 10%, interesting new consumers in ice cream and achieving increased frequency in ice cream consumption.

▪ Campina’s Vifit Multivezel - aimed at the 9 out of 10 Dutch consumers that have a lack of fibre in their daily nutrition - was also entered in the new dairy dessert category. [It was the winner in this category.]

▪ Fayrefield Foods Heartfelt+ reduced fat cheese was also to be found in the best new cheese category.

Remember, not everybody with lactose intolerance has to avoid all dairy, even if it's not lactose free. Dairy with probiotics that help suppress symptoms will be the hot new products in the future.

Lactose and Medications

Lactose is a sugar, a slightly-sweet sugar. It is only about one-seventh as sweet as sucrose, ordinary table sugar. Oddly enough, this is a good thing to many in industry. Lactose allows a bit of pleasant sweetness to be added to products, without overwhelming them with an overly-sweet taste. Commercial bakers can sprinkle lactose on the tops of bread and let it caramelize to a beautiful golden-brown. Food processors can add lactose (or whey, which is mostly lactose) to add taste and texture to foods without affecting the primary taste of the food. Best of all, lactose is made from whey, and whey is a waste product in the cheese-making process, so it's really cheap.

That's why lactose is used so often in pill-making. The extremely tiny amount of actual working ingredient in a medication needs to be surrounded with fillers that bulk it out to be large enough to handle. A substance that is mostly tasteless but with just enough sweetness to balance out the bitter taste of many medications is great. That lactose can be formulated to break down in the stomach to release the medication makes it nearly ideal.

Literally hundreds of branded prescription medications use lactose as a part of their formulations. If you add in generics and over-the-counter drugs, you probably have thousands of medications that include lactose.

And there will soon be more rather than fewer pills that use lactose.

Phil Taylor on DrugResearcher.com wrote Roquette wins US patent for Starlac in novel dosage form about a new and improved way to dispense medications.

French company Roquette has been awarded a US patent for a dissolve-in-the-mouth drug delivery technology that makes use of its novel Starlac excipient.

Use of the excipient could allow the creation of tablets that are hard and resistant to damage during handling, yet still disintegrate quickly in saliva after dosing.

The US patent, awarded to Roquette earlier this month, covers a solid dose form based on lactose and starch, the constituents of Starlac excipient, alongside one or more active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).

...

Xavier Duriez, senior project manager at Roquette, told in-PharmaTechnologist.com that almost all ODT products on the market use mannitol as a diluent, but that in some cases Starlac could be used as a good alternative.

"Starlac is preferred for ODT and chewable formulas where palatability is a 'must'," he said, adding that the excipient provides a creamy mouthfeel that mannitol doesn't provide.

...

Starlac, a mixture of 85 per cent lactose and 15 per cent natural corn starch, was first introduced in 2002.

Of course, the mere granting of a patent doesn't mean that any products using Starlac will hit the market any time soon. But unless there is a serious bug with the project, it's too good an idea not to come to pass.

What does this mean for those who are lactose intolerant? Not as much as you might think. Only a tiny amount of lactose is present in any one pill. One study I read estimated that the average pill had 25 mg of lactose. You'd need to take 480 such pills to equal the lactose in an eight-ounce glass of milk at that rate.

A very few people might still be bothered by this tiny amount, especially if they have to take many such pills each day, as the elderly or those with serious illnesses must do. All I can suggest is to take a lactase pill along with the medication to see if that helps.

Those with a dairy allergy also need to be somewhat concerned, but with the same caution. Medical-grade lactose is extremely pure and not likely to be contaminated with the dairy protein that causes problems. Extremely anaphylactic people should certainly talk with their doctor before taking any pills with lactose. Those with lesser allergies and symptoms probably can take pills that contain lactose with no problems. But certainly check to see what alternatives there are.

Who Says Goat Cheese Isn't Dairy?

I saw the headline, Day in the life of an herbalist and Naturopath, by Mardi Suhs in the Cadillac, MI News.

You just knew that was going to set me off, didn't you?

I'm not going to reprint all the nonsense that the article quoted Kelly Sandelius, a certified herbalist about to graduate as a Naturopathic Doctor, as saying. It would melt your brain.

But here's the line that I had to share:

Tonight we are having homemade vegetable lasagna with ground turkey — no dairy. We use goat cheese and tofu.

Right. Goat cheese is not dairy. The fats, proteins, and lactose may be so close to cow's milk that few people can tell the difference, but it's not dairy. What is it? I don't know. Maybe it's fairy sweat. Maybe the bees make it from honey.

Speaking of which, she also said:

Make healthy sugar choices. There are healthy sugars.

No, all commercial sugars, including raw sugar and molasses and the other variants, are about as healthy as regular white sugar. No real difference.

Unless the sugar also comes from fairies.

790 Dairy-Free Recipes and Counting

AllRecipes.com is pretty much what the site claims.

And if you do a search on dairy free, you come up with their dairy-free page.

Allrecipes has more than 790 trusted dairy-free recipes complete with ratings, reviews and cooking tips.

The pages are sorted so you can look for Appetizers, Desserts, Main Dishes, and Side Dishes.

Browse away.

Busting Misconceptions About Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Dr. William D. Chey, director of the University of Michigan's Gastrointestinal Physiology Laboratory, put out through HealthDay and found on the BruneiDirect.com web site, a list that attacks misconceptions about Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). I've shortened the answers so as not to reprint the entire article. be sure to click on the link for the full info.

● IBS does not exist in the patient's head. While psychological distress or stress can make IBS worse, they're not the primary cause of the condition in most cases.

● IBS occurs more frequently in women but "it's important that people know that there are many men diagnosed with IBS, and it also affects the elderly.

● Many doctors believe IBS is not an important condition because it doesn't affect a person's lifespan. But Chey said IBS can have a significant negative effect on quality of life and the ability to function on a day-to-day basis, and should be taken seriously by both doctors and patients.

● Lactose intolerance may play a role in some cases of IBS, but it's not the cause of symptoms in the vast majority of people. Chey recommended that patients keep a diary of the food they eat and IBS symptoms. Chey noted that fatty foods, milk products, chocolate, alcohol, caffeine and carbonated drinks are more likely to aggravate IBS symptoms.

● It doesn't require a lot of medical testing to diagnose IBS. "Identifying the presence of persistent recurrent abdominal pain in association with altered bowel habits, and excluding warning signs is enough to accurately diagnose IBS in most patients," Chey said.

The Gluten-Free Restaurant Awareness Program (GFRAP)

Oh, wait, I didn't want to give you the impression that Big Momma's Boy in the last post was unique. It just popped up at the right time.

The Gluten Intolerance group has a whole website devoted to its Gluten-Free Restaurant Awareness Program (GFRAP). They have 893 restaurants listed. You can do a search by location, restaurant name or cuisine at their search page.

Typing Rochester, NY into search brought back ... The Outback Steak House.

Yes, I'm confused too. But GFRAP is a program that works with restaurants according to the following standards:

Levels of Participation chosen by GFRAP Restaurants:

The basic program level includes a complete packet of education and training materials, a review of the restaurant’s GF menus, and the assistance of a Resource Person to answer questions.


The advanced level includes 1-star level materials as well as intensive assistance in menu review by qualified nutrition experts.

The specialized level includes 1-star level materials, intensive assistance in menu review by qualified nutrition experts, and a comprehensive restaurant training program approved by GFRAP.

Outback is a two-star program participant, apparently for the whole chain, given how many hits appear when I search on Outback Steak House.

Despite a Country box, search is limited to the United States.

I've listed other gluten-free restaurants when they pop up in newspaper searches, and you can of course find many by using Google or another search engine to narrow your focus.

Going Gluten-Free at Big Mamma's Boy

As a follow-up to yesterday's post about the gluten-free, casein-free diet, a tribute to one of the few restaurants that make eating out with such restrictions a breeze.

At BlogTO in Toronto, Tim posted a restaurant review of Big Mamma's Boy.



Hopw often do you even see Gluten Free spcialities on a big sign outside the building?

Big Mamma's Boy, 554 Parliament Street, 416-927-1593

Gluten-Free, Casein-Free (GFCF) Diet Helps Autistic Children

Most aspects of autism are controversial. However, there has been growing evidence for many years now that taking both casein proteins and gluten proteins out of a child's diet can alleviate many of the worst symptoms. It's called the Gluten-Free, Casein-Free (GFCF) Diet.

Bev Davis wrote an article about one such family at the Beckley, WV, Register-Herald web site.

“During my rages, I would flip furniture, throw things like dishes on the floor and break things and kick holes in the wall. I just couldn’t stop,” said Aiden [Lintala], 12, who’s come to grips with his symptoms of autism. “I used to have that rage every day, but now I don’t have it at all.”

What turned things around so drastically for this Beckley family? A diet free of wheat and dairy products.

Aiden’s mom has done extensive research on autism and other special needs. She discovered the diet with medical research and several studies that showed a high success rate with a gluten-free, casein-free diet that medical experts to have high success rates in children with autism spectrum disorders.

“This isn’t something that somebody just pulled out of the air,” Lintala said. “There is lots of research out there to back this up. At the time we started it, I was willing to try anything that sounded reasonable.”

Gradually, she withdrew wheat and dairy products from Aiden’s diet.

“At first, I saw a spike in aggressive behaviors, but after a couple of weeks, I had a different child,” Lintala said.

The diet is strict and something that is difficult for a child to adapt to. But Aiden said:

“This has changed everything completely for me. It stopped all the rage. At first, I wanted to cheat on the diet, but now I wouldn’t cheat for anything, because it really works for me,” he said.

Why does this diet work?

Medical studies show that autistic children often have what is called a “leaky gut syndrome,” and that the behaviors of some autistic children were much like those of a heroine [sic] addict.

Research shows many children with autism spectrum disorders have an overgrowth of yeast in the intestinal tract. Yeasts create microscopic holes in the gut, Lintala said. Normally, the yeast is digested, but in a leaky gut, molecules of yeast get into the blood stream before they are broken down. The substance that leaks into the body acts like morphine.

“It crosses the blood-brain barrier, and basically, the children have a morphine supply in their system. It’s not an allergy to wheat or casein. It’s more like a drug habit,” Lintala said.

Whatever the merits of that analogy are, Lintala unfortunately gives some genuine misinformation:

“Fortunately, there are lots or products that are gluten-free and casein-free, but you have to learn to read labels carefully,” Lintala said. “Sometimes, the front of the package will say something is ‘dairy-free,’ but the FDA doesn’t consider casein a dairy product, and you’ll find casein listed in the list of ingredients.”

Simply not true. The Food Allergen Labeling And Consumer Protection Act of 2004, which went into effect January 1, 2006, specifically requires casein to be labeled as a milk product.

Check the FDA's FAQ page on the Act.

FALCPA was designed to improve food labeling information so that consumers who suffer from food allergies - especially children and their caregivers - will be able to recognize the presence of an ingredient that they must avoid. For example, if a product contains the milk-derived protein casein, the product's label would have to use the term "milk" in addition to the term "casein" so that those with milk allergies would clearly understand the presence of an allergen they need to avoid.

My LI Links page has long had links to GFCF sites. The major site to go to is Gluten Free & Casein Free Diet [Autism diet].

Prediction: Designer Milk

In a special report commemorating the 50th anniversary of the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the following predictions were made:

Designer milk -- Organic milks are already available at supermarkets, but a new breed of designer milks are on the drawing board that will boost immunity, improve lactose utilization and relieve diarrhea. Advances in biotechnology have made it all possible: Got designer milk? Naturally low-fat milk -- Recent advances in biotechnology have identified a gene for milkfat synthesis that may one day allow scientists to selectively breed cows that naturally produce low-fat milk. This and other developments are moving closer to reality as researchers identify genetic markers in cows for diseases or desirable traits that will enable scientists to improve the efficiency of milk production and select for milk with specific traits. Although the development of genetically modified cows and milk products shows promise, consumer resistance to such products will remain a barrier well into the future, the researchers predict.

Milk alternatives -- Competition from nondairy materials will increase, driven by consumer demand. Already, supermarkets have been flooded with alternative soy products, from soybean milk to soy-based ice cream. These products offer options for those that are allergic to milk or concerned about dairy safety. In the pipeline: useful milk proteins produced not from cows, but from recombinant organisms, such as yeasts. Still, experts predict that milk will continue to be a viable nutrition source in the future.

Now admittedly predictions have a long shelf life, and these have yet to come true even though they date back to 2002. I found them poking through the archives at ScienceDaily.com.

I couldn't resist reprinting them for one big reason: the author of the report was named Lawrence K. Creamer.

Dairy or nondairy, I couldn't say.

Don't Mock These Mock Desserts

Times used to be hard. Yeah, I'm sure you're tired of hearing your parents or grandparents or even great-grandparents telling you about how tough a time they had growing up. Well, tough. They're right. Times used to be much harder.

In the Great Depression people often didn't have money for even the most basic foods. When World War II followed, they finally had the money but those foods were strictly rationed. Irony abounded.

Today the irony lies in the fact that we're surrounded by mountains of food and barrels full of money, but our bodies have betrayed us by saying, "no dairy for you."

Back in the old days, inventive chefs and mothers of all descriptions did what they could to make palatable substitutes for the foods that weren't available.

This tradition lives on in dairy-free -- or gluten-free or corn-free or meat-free or whatever -- recipes that strive to give you as close a version of the original as ingenuity can contrive.

Marcy Goldman at CountryLife.net has collected a bunch of these recipes at that link.

• Flour-Free Crisp Oatmeal Cookies
• Mock Chocolate Cheesecake
• Dairy Free Mock Banana Orange Cheesecake
• Mock Mousse (Frozen Rhubarb Fool)
• Vegetarian Lasagna
• Vegetarian Mock French Pate
• Vegetarian Chopped Liver
• Mock Lobster Salad or Poor Man's Lobster
• Mock Pecan Pie

Here's one just to whet your appetites.

Mock Chocolate Cheesecake
(Served right from the fridge, this tastes just like chocolate cheesecake.)

1 pound unsalted margarine*
1 cup sugar
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. strong coffee
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, pref. Swiss
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
8 large eggs
*Make sure margarine does not contain milk solids.
[*Most semi-sweet chocolate is lactose-free. True dairy-free varieties are available at most health food stores and even large supermarkets.]


Preheat oven to 350°F.

Lightly grease and dust a 9" springform pan with cocoa. Set aside.

In a saucepan, over very low heat (or using a double boiler) melt the butter, sugar, and coffee together, stirring to blend. Remove from stove and add chocolate, stirring to melt and incorporate.

Let cool to room temperature and add in eggs, using a whisk to blend. Pour into pan.

Bake 50-55 minutes until cake is done. (If cake rises too fast, lower oven to 325°F and cook a little longer, until set).

Chill well in refrigerator before unmolding.

Serve with pureed frozen raspberries (l 10 oz. package pureed with 2 tbsp. sugar in a food processor or blender).

Cancer Patients and Lactose Intolerance

Unfortunately, cancer and its treatments produce a wide variety of aftereffects in its sufferers.

A report on the nbc30.com website, was reviewed by William McGee, M.D., M.H.A., Assistant Professor of Medicine and Surgery, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, and Director ICU Quality Improvement, Critical Care Division, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA.

People with cancer are at risk for developing nutritional deficiencies. The deficiencies may be the result of the cancer itself, or the side effects of common cancer treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy , and radiation therapy .

Malignancies directly compromise nutritional status by altering metabolism and causing loss of appetite . Changes in metabolism include an increased basal metabolic rate and increased spending of energy. This increase in energy use means you'll require more calories to maintain your current weight and lean body mass.

There are also individual alterations in carbohydrate , protein , and fat metabolism. These changes lead to the loss of muscle and fat stores. Cancer-associated loss of appetite is probably the result of physical changes but may also be due to a psychological response to the disease.

There are several factors that may contribute to the type and degree of nutrient deficiencies:

• The primary organ where the malignancy occurs
• The severity of the cancer at the time of diagnosis
• The symptoms experienced by the person with cancer
• The type and frequency of the cancer treatment being used and the side effects associated with that treatment (surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy)
• The effect of the malignancy or disease on food and nutrient ingestion, tolerance, and utilization

...

BODY WEIGHT LOSS AND MUSCLE WASTING

• Increase protein and calories in the diet.
• Eat smaller, but more frequent meals.
• Add powdered milk to foods and beverages.
• Drink mainly calorie-containing beverages such as juices, milk, or sweetened drinks.
• Add extra eggs or egg whites to foods. Never use raw eggs! They may contain salmonella, which would be dangerous for a person who is immune-suppressed. Raw eggs also contain a vitamin binder.
• Add diced meat or cheese to sauces, vegetables, soups, and casseroles.
• Snack throughout the day on calorie-dense foods such as nuts, hard candy, and dried fruits.
• Consider using commercially available nutrition supplements.
• Make your own high-calorie shake by using an instant breakfast drink mix with milk, fruit, cookies, peanut butter, or other favorite mixers.
• Increasing fats in the diet is an excellent way to increase energy consumption, if you are tolerating fats. Add margarine or butter to breads and vegetables. Add gravies and sauces to foods in liberal amounts.

If you are unable to digest fat, consult with your physician or dietitian for alternative fat sources. Supplements containing medium-chain triglycerides are often recommended for this purpose.

LACTOSE INTOLERANCE

Some cancer patients become unable to digest dairy products, which is called lactose intolerance . Symptoms include bloating, gas, and diarrhea immediately after eating lactose-containing foods.

People with lactose intolerance have trouble digesting the sugar in milk. Lactose intolerance is due to an inability to produce lactase, the enzyme that digests milk. The wall of the gastrointestinal tract produces this enzyme. Fortunately, lactase can be synthetically produced, purchased over-the-counter, or can be taken orally with milk.

You can also buy lactose-free milk at most grocery stores. Cultured dairy products such as yogurt, cheeses, and buttermilk will have less lactose as the active cultures help to digest it. You may be able to tolerate small amounts of lactose occasionally. You may have to restrict lactose entirely from the diet until you have fully recovered from your cancer therapy.

Probiotic Use Up

Did you know that the National Institutes of Health had an Office of Dietary Supplements? Neither did I. But it's full of useful info.

And it even does studies of supplement use among Americans.

At least I think it does. Somebody must have done the study that Gloria Payne of the Murfreesboro Daily News reported on in her article Exploring trends, demographics, safety issues with herbs. Amazingly, she never actually says. Maybe it's because she doesn't want to mention that the study dates back to 2004. The proper citation is S Gunther, R Patterson, A Kristal, et al. "Demographic and health-related correlates of herbal and specialty supplement use." Journal of the American Dietetic Association 104:27-34 (January 2004).

Anyway, the breaking news - taken from self-reporting diaries all the way back in 2000-2002 - is that people with lactose intolerance take acidophilus pills to help with their symptoms. This is good news, although there's no hint of how many people do this. All I can glean from her article is that women are more likely to take supplements overall (36% of women vs 29% of men).

Ah well, at least I got a good reference web site out of it.

Tofutti Helps Comedy Cures

Tofutti is one of the oldest brands of milk alternative products, with a line of ice cream, cream cheese, hard cheese, and sour cheese substitutes, and even pizza and blintzes. All of Tofutti's foods use soy as a base and are Kosher pareve, completely dairy free. (Some of their entrées and cookies use egg whites, so those aren't vegan, but all the milk alternatives are.) Tofutti was one of the first foods I discovered when I learned I was lactose-intolerant.

Apparently you can do well by doing good. An article at Just-Food.com reported that they had a 4% rise in net sales and a whopping 75% rise in net income in 2006.

I took a look at their web site and found that Tofutti is involved in a worthy, kid-oriented project.

Tofutti KIDS dessert bars pair Tofutti Premium Orange, Lime and Strawberry with a smooth, milk-free vanilla center. But wait, there's more:

Tofutti Brands joined hands with The Comedy Cures Foundation to create Tofutti KIDS dessert bars. The delicious pairing of Tofutti Premium Orange, Lime and Strawberry with a smooth, milk-free vanilla center will have your kids smiling. And 2% of all sales will benefit The Comedy Cures Foundation, founded by Saranne Rothberg and her young daughter.

Comedy Cures brings joy, through comedy, to kids and grown-ups living with all illnesses and trauma. Through their humorous programs, Comedy Cures entertains and educates patients, families and medical caregivers about the positive benefits of laughter and the power of a comic perspective on the mind, body and spirit. The Comedy Cures programs show patients of all ages how to integrate joy and humor into every day life.

Call the free Comedy Cures 24-hour LaughLine at 1-888-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha! [1-888-424-2424]

For more information on their live programs or to make a donation, call 201-227-8410.

Visit their Web site at http://www.comedycures.org

There's even an Oprah link.

And you can print out dollar off coupons on Tofutti's home page.

What more could you ask for?

When to Offer Your Baby Yogurt and Cheese

Some interesting thoughts about a concern of many mothers:

My pediatrician said not to feed my baby dairy prior to the age of 1 year old!" ... The medical community worries that if whole cow milk is introduced to an infant prior to 1 year old, that parents would stop formula and/or breastfeeding and use milk as the replacement. This would be dangerous to your baby's health!

That's from Margaret Meade's article Yogurt, Cheese and Your Baby - When to Offer Your Baby Yogurt and Cheese at the American Chronicle.com site. Meade is the Editor/Owner of WholesomeBabyFood.com and WholesomeToddlerFood.com.

Meade gives the common-sensical response, that this is not really a danger when yogurt and cheese are the subject rather than liquid milks.

Cheese is typically recommended at an age when your baby is able to mash foods with his or her gums or between 7-8 months old. Melted cheese makes a wonderful edition to a finger food meal of veggies and meats! As regards the introduction of yogurt, most pediatricians recommend starting your infant on yogurt around 7-8 months of age. Some pediatricians also recommend yogurt as a great first food (from 6 months+). Selecting a whole milk yogurt is the most beneficial to your infant as babies need fats in their diets for proper growth!

...

[U]sing a large container of Plain Whole Milk yogurt will save you money (and save on added sugar) and give you the flexibility of adding your own flavorings to baby's yogurt.

And she adds the proper word of warning at the end:

The above information applies to those who do not have a known milk allergy or a lactose intolerance, or a familial history of same. As always, you should thoroughly discuss the introduction of foods with your baby's personal pediatrician!

Milk Prices at Record High

Milk prices are at a record high, says The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), a US-based association representing the country's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries.

So why should you care? Most of you readers don't use a lot of dairy in your lives, after all.

Because of the reason that milk prices are rising
according to the article at JustFood.com:

[T]he IDFA pointed out that growing demand for corn to produce ethanol is causing feed costs to escalate. Feed is the largest operational cost for dairy farmers. "Ethanol production is diverting some of the available corn formerly used to feed dairy cows, and some farmers are diverting land that had been used to produce other feed crops to grow more corn instead," [IDFA president and CEO Connie] Tipton said.

The IDFA said feed costs are not expected to drop in the near term, with prices in the corn futures market indicating that the price of corn will remain relatively high this year. Prices have also risen for soybeans, another feed crop, the IDFA said.

The diversion of corn for ethanol is an example of why using food stocks for energy production is a bad idea. Ethanol itself makes sense, as does alternative fuels for gasoline. But growing corn to make ethanol and taking away land from other crops to grow corn that won't go directly or indirectly into the food supply will simply push food prices up across the board.

This is senseless waste. Other potential biofuels can be grown on land not suitable for prime agricultural use. And even if the entire corn supply of the U.S. was diverted to ethanol we wouldn't have enough to eliminate our dependence on oil.

I can't blame farmers for wanting the crop that will make them the most money per acre. I can blame the lack of a coherent energy policy in this country. Whether you have dairy or not, even whether you eat meat or not, you will be directly affected by the increased cost of food as more and more resources are devoted to corn for ethanol. Let's nip the madness in the bud and demand a sensible biofuels program now, as one of the many, many changes we must make for a livable energy future.