Dairy milk (from a cow) is one of the worst things you can put into your body. Most people have adverse reactions to cow’s milk, it’s just that they’ve made it such an integral part of their diet that they assume the symptoms they experience are normal! There is an abundant amount of research and information that prove dairy products are a clear and present danger. A cow’s milk is designed to take a calf weighing around 90 pounds at birth to a weight of 2000 pounds within two years! Dairy products are designed by nature (or God) to make you very big, very fast. The Step-By-Step E-Mail Plan includes much more information and research on dairy products. If however you must have milk use the Lactaid brand or raw milk. The enzyme added to the Lactaid milk helps your body to digest it much easier and therefore causes much less harm. Raw milk already contains this enzyme (which is killed by the pasteurization process).
Soy, seed, or nut milks are acceptable substitutes in all of your recipes except for sugar-free instant pudding. This won’t gel with anything other than dairy milk. The non-fat versions taste like water; the low-fat or full-fat versions taste great, although you might need a week or so to get used to them. I use the full-fat milks when I need a deep, rich flavor and the low-fat versions when I can get away with it.
When a recipe calls for milk I often substitute heavy cream (which is classified as a fat and not as a dairy product) mixed with water or soy/seed/nut milk.
For more information on milk and casein (the protein in milk) see Encarta Encyclopedia’s entry on casein and “Milk – It Doesn’t Do a Body Good“, a well researched article with bibliography.
