With Celiac and Crohn’s disease, food allergies, and veganism on the rise, a lot of the people who drank cow’s milk from a bottle in their infancy are forced to give it up later in life.  I went dairy-free because neither my mind nor my stomach could no longer handle dairy consumption. I don’t regret giving up dairy, but if I could go back and give myself some advice for the future dietary change, I would have given myself a little boost and save some time.  Whether you are forced to eliminate cow’s milk for medical or personal reasons, here are some tips for your first few weeks of denouncing dairy.

1. Watch out for yourself.

Eliminating dairy is not, unfortunately, as easy as replacing the yogurt and milk in your grocery cart with substitutes. Milk byproducts are present in many packaged foods, condiments and restaurant recipes.

If you have an allergy or intolerance to dairy, eating out can be risky, especially if your reaction is severe. It is important to always let the waiter or waitress know that you cannot consume dairy and to always ask that your food is cooked in oil, not butter, and that there is no cheese anywhere on your plate.  I have experienced several occasions when the chefs apparently made the food with cheese and quickly picked it off, thinking this sufficient, or received assurances such as “There’s no dairy in this, just butter.” It sounds silly, but it does happen.

When you are grocery shopping, be on the lookout for dairy byproducts.  Some names for dairy-derived substances are lactic acid, casein (including iron caseinate and zinc caseinate), milk powder, cream, ghee, lactate solids, nougat, lactalbumin, rennet, or whey.

Some of these ingredients still allow the food to be labelled “dairy-free”, despite the fact that they truly are not. For packaged foods that are actually dairy free, your safest bet is to look for a certified vegan label, which guarantees that the food you are buying does not contain any kind of animal product or byproduct.

2. Don’t freak out about Vitamin D and calcium.

We need dairy because it’s so healthy. Milk products are a great source of vitamin D and calcium, right? Sort of.

In spite of the common concern among those who go dairy-free is a lack of vitamin D – most people in Western society are already lacking in vitamin D from living so much of their lives indoors.  Dairy does not naturally contain this vitamin from the sun; it is fortified with it.  The cure for vitamin D deficiency is not dairy, but to step out in the sun or take a Vitamin D supplement.

And while milk is considered a good source of calcium, ditching dairy won’t necessarily break your bones. Soy foods like soy milk and tofu are often fortified with calcium, as are other dairy-free milks.  As long a substitute milk is in place and other dietary sources of calcium such as kale, broccoli, figs, and beans are consumed, calcium should not be a problem for a dairy-free eater anymore than it would be for someone who drinks milk.

3. Be picky about your dairy substitutes.

A serving of Greek yogurt has about 6 grams of sugar and 10 to 17 grams of protein.

A serving of flavored soy yogurt has 22 grams of sugar and 4 grams of protein.

A glass of 2% milk boasts 8 grams of protein per cup. Coconut milk and rice milk pale in comparison with less than 1 gram of protein per cup.

Self-serve frozen yogurt has about 6 grams of protein per cup, while the offered vegan yogurt is usually sorbet, which is made almost entirely out of corn syrup and sugar with no protein.

You see the problem here? A lot of dairy free products like yogurts, cheeses, milks and sauces are unnecessarily high in fat or sugar and low in protein. Opt for plain soy yogurt, which has about 10 grams of protein per cup, and make sure the milk you choose has a reasonable amount of protein.  Instead of sorbet, try varieties of coconut ice cream which are high in healthy fat and fiber.

As time passes, more and more quality dairy-free products are filling the shelves. They are there- you just have to search for them!

4. The cravings will pass.

Your first few days and weeks of going without dairy might be rough.  Even months, years later, you will still get a few random cravings for cheese. And that’s normal. Cheese contains the milk protein casein, which produces opiates called casomorphins that stimulate the release of dopamine.  In simpler words, cheese is literally addictive, and it just takes time to get over it. I found that my cravings were gone within two months, and now, if I crave cheese, I am usually craving salt, protein or fat rather than cheese itself.

5. Shake it up! There’s more than just soy and almond.

Hemp milk, coconut milk, rice milk, flax milk, pea milk, hemp yogurt, hemp tofu, cashew milk, cashew ice cream, coconut ice cream, soy ice cream, cashew cheese, coconut cheese, and more – do you research and store-strolling.  There are a lot more dairy free options available than you think! I personally love pouring a mix of coconut, hemp and pea protein milk onto my cereal each morning. It makes for a sweet, creamy, nutritious blend that makes even whole dairy milk seem sour and plain. Be open-minded and you might even find that you like your dairy-free products better.

6. Milk is overrated.

General skepticism about milk is a growing topic of discussion among the nutritionally informed.  People are beginning to wonder if it is truly healthy for humans to be consuming the milk of another mammal, and questioning why so many people get sick on the stuff.  Though the milk industry is advertised everywhere, milk is certainly not a healthy food for everyone.  Seeing as there are many other sources of protein, calcium and Vitamin D, milk is not a necessary component of a healthy diet.  Not to mention that there are substitutes for almost every milk product that taste just as good. I notice no difference in the taste of my vegan sour cream, parmesan, or ice cream – in fact, I like a few of them more.

So next time your friends and family give you a sad look as they eat a slice of cheese pizza, bite into your dairy-free meal with confidence.  They don’t know what they’re missing.