Biochemical effects of switching to dairy-free foods

[Albrecht-Carl-623]

Hi everyone, I’m excited to be a part of this science discussion forum! I have a deep interest in biochemistry, especially in understanding the chemical processes in living organisms. Recently, I’ve been diving into how dairy-free diets affect the body, particularly regarding enzyme reactions and digestion. It’s fascinating to explore how different ingredients can alter biochemistry!

Speaking of which, I’ve noticed that some fast food chains, like KFC, offer dairy-free menu items. I find it intriguing how they cater to dietary preferences without compromising on taste. It’s interesting to see how these options are becoming more popular and what kind of nutritional benefits they bring. Does anyone here have any insights on the biochemical effects of switching to dairy-free foods, especially in relation to fast food choices like those at KFC?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

 

[Laroxe]

I suspect that there are a number of things that have come together over time that have promoted diary free diets as in some way healthy, for many people this choice seems to be more fashion based rather than health base. Milk is an extremely important and nutritionally dense food source, so important that as humans developed agricultural lifestyles and animal husbandry we evolved the ability to digest lactose, the sugar in milk, into adulthood. We are in fact the only mammal to do so and its a recent evolutionary change, the degree of this adaptation based on the continued production of lactase in the gut, is very varied and this reflects the history of the region people originated in. The level of lactose in the food can also be varied, so some might be tolerated.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7081935/
A second and more serious problem is in milk allergies, which are particularly common in children. It's suggested that as our immune system is developing in early life, the exposure to foreign proteins may provoke immune reactions. The use of cow's milk to replace human breast milk has been suggested as the cause of these reactions, which can be severe, this has also been associated with other inflammatory bowel disorders.

Finally, there was all the publicity around the animal fats found in dairy products presenting a risk to health, a fantasy which persists in a great deal of health promotion messaging.

These along with the fact that gastrointestinal symptoms are extremely common along with the huge variability of possible symptoms means that many people self identify as being allergic or intolerant with no real evidence. It's a popular pastime for people to modify their diets and I suspect it is this population that have made making diary free options, commercially successful. I'm not sure that we can talk about any significant health benefits of these diets, in fact in many places we could see increasing deficiency states. The real advantages would be for people who actually suffered from one of these problems in the avoidance of symptoms. I think with the milk allergies, you would end up having to make sense of a wide range of immune responses, many of which are not well understood. I can't really think of the significance with particular regard to KFC, though I think it might make the whole issue of dietary fats irrelevant.

 

[berkeman]

Thread is closed for Moderation...

 

[berkeman]

It turns out that this thread was a spam setup by the OP. They are now gone, and their spam has been deleted.