It begins

So, a few months ago, I discovered that milk + me = :(


More specifically, I'd always had a suspicion that milk products and/or bread were the culprits behind my chronic heartburn, stubborn adult acne and even regular tiredness and depression.  I mentioned it to my doctor... who promptly sent me to an allergist... who promptly condescended to me like I was the village idiot because there was NO WAY a milk allergy was the cause of said symptoms. Notice I never said allergy... That was my doctor, thankyouverymuch. 

After that fantastic experience, which of course came up with nothing, I ditched my doctor and took up with a local naturopath that my hippy best friend swore by. Lo and Behold, she listened! New doctor set me up with an IgG test (I can't explain the details, but it's a blood test for sensitivities as opposed to allergies, read about it here).

This blood panel tested for reactions to a number of the same things that are allergens: milk, egg, gluten, corn, etc.  Turns out, I have a pretty high reaction to the casein and whey in milk. Oh dear.
As a fix for this, I had to get rid of milk in my diet entirely. For THREE WHOLE MONTHS.  At first I thought I'd die. After a few weeks, when my body started detoxing, I thought I WAS dying. Then... I started to feel good. I didn't miss even cheese: my previously favorite thing on the planet. What I did get was worried about the ingredients labels on processed foods. Almost all of them have milk. The first time I went to buy bread after seeing my doctor, I got so frustrated, I nearly chucked the loaf I was holding down the aisle. 
But when you start reading ingredient labels, you see all the scary things hidden in what you think are simple, healthy foods. I realized this was my chance! My chance to turn my eating habits around and quit my dependency on processed foods and tasty, tasty... I mean, terrible... Carbs. 
So here I am, three months later: dairy free, low carb and sorta Paleo.