I am a true celiac , have the gene for it. and I have dermatitus hepaformatis - a nasty rash on my scalp related to celiac. So I gave up wheat and soy 6 years ago - really resisted giving up dairy. So much self nurturing came from it, the dairy. Gave it up finally accompanied by tears and WOW has my scalp been better. Better internally. One of the best decisions I've made. I broke down twice and ate goat cheese and has the terrible rash back for a while. Lesson learned

Of course this is very individualized. I had been eating paleo style for many years without taking dairy out of the equation. I still had some digestive symptoms, and when I finally took the plunge to ditch dairy I was blown away by how powerful my body's response was. I didn't notice so much for the month prior to reintroduction, but just hours after eating dairy for the first time, I had the most horrendous intestinal cramping I have ever experienced...worse than food poisoning, worse than when I misidentified mushrooms and ate a whole lot of deliciousness that turned on me with intestinal cramps lasting three full days...I literally wondered if I might die. And afterwards, my...ehem...digestive issues are mostly resolved.

I had the same experience as RogueNutritionist. I took it out completely, felt great (less gas-y) and when I reintroduced it....it was obvious that it should not be in my diet! For me this is milk cheese. Heavy cream (in my coffee) sometimes gets me so I have it infrequently and butter causes me absolutely no problems in my diet (thank goodness). Good luck.

I dropped dairy at first, I've not noticed any issues on reintroducing it (except that it's great).

Eating dairy made me look skinny fat. Now about 2 weeks off of it, I'm looking leaner. I still really enjoy some cheese and milk every now and then but not enough to keep stubborn midsection fat.

I've done several stints without dairy and I noticed no benefit at all. None. I did notice how unhappy I was without it though. I have to seriously watch it because whole dairy foods are very high in calories. I am just so grateful I seem to have no reason to deny myself these foods because they really do make me very happy.

I removed it recently because I'm doing the GAPS intro and will soon be introducing it again. I have other issues to heal so its not my main issue but probably doesnt help either. I believe its a good idea to remove and try introducing in stages (on gaps you first do a skin sensitivity test with the whey dripped from plain yogurt, if that passes you move onto home made plain yogurt made from full fat milk....then to sour cream....etc...), all introduced slowly in time checking for isues....

Probably removing it and introducing it again after 30 days will confirm if its an issue, if so consider what can be done to heal it and work to reintroduce it in stages until you can tolerate it.

There are lots of alternative options for dairy (ie: coconut milk, cream, coconut milk yogurt, cashew nut cheese....) you'll find the options once you start looking for them and you'll be amazed how easy it is to come up with alternatives that satisfy that dairy craving. I'm actually not missing dairy at all after 30 days but am looking forward to the possibility!

best of luck!!!

Thanks for this question!

I am super sensitive to everything (and gluten intolerant). Every time I consume dairy (yogurt, kefir or cottage cheese) I itch like crazy afterwards. Why? No clue. But the itch is so severe, I cannot have dairy anymore.

Previously to going off dairy for 21 days, I only had low carb dairy (cream, cheese, butter). I found that I needed less nasal steroid spray while being diary free. When I did have a little dairy, my ears were itchy and they were blocked, that progressed to a slight earache. I went off dairy for another 8 days and tried a little whole yogurt, same thing happened. It plugs my ears up and stuffs up my nose.

I've been pretty strict Paleo for a month now and have lost a few pounds. I never had any digestive problems before(I could eat a bag of rocks and probably come out unscathed). I really do miss dairy(especially cheese) and I'm wondering how detrimental it would be to add a little bit of cheese to some things(eggs, taco meat). I really haven't felt a difference since going Paleo, mainly because I'm lucky and can eat just about anything.

After drinking multiple gallons of milk per week growing up, I dropped fluid milk last year. Can't say there was a huge effect, did notice that my occasional acne was even more rare. I titrated back about a half-gallon per week and noticed no changes, but again, dropped it because I actually no longer crave it. I still do half & half in my coffee. Butter, a little bit of parm and mold-ripened cheeses (because they are incredibly tasty!)

I dropped dairy and did not like it. I can't drink milk. However the buttter and cream seem to work well for me.

To agree with most people here, milk, and processed dairy is a problem, besides cream and butter.

I'm fine with butter, cream, one little container of organic fruit yogurt per day, and even whey protein powder, but cheese can make me congested and give me headaches. So, I limit my consumption of cheese.

Lactose destroys my gut... without too much detail lets just say one, non-eventual movement a day is great and expected. Three to five painful, slow, and leaky movements (think lava) suck.

Eating cream and hard cheese doesn't seem to be so bad... but soft or cheap cheeses, milk, and yogurt bring back the pain.

Additionally, I also had some pretty severe skin infections on my scalp and face (under the beard). Coincidentally, those don't seem to re-occur until I eat dairy again... however in another 2-3 months I will say I've been a year shampoo-free so that could have something to do with it as well.

I believe that if one chooses to consume dairy for it to be truly healthy in needs to be raw, local and organic.

With that said, I included dairy in my primal diet and felt that it stalled weight loss and caused me to have acne. I stopped dairy and after a few weeks my face cleared.

All dairy contains hormones since it comes from a lactating cow. It's my opinion, but most of us dont seem to be needing extra hormones;)

I mostly gave up dairy about two years before going paleo, because I'm mildly lactose intolerant. A year and a half into paleo, I do eat cheese in small amounts, and yes, I notice a difference. The more of it I eat, the more bloated I feel. I also notice an increase in cellulite and I get gassy. Thankfully, butter causes no ill effects for me.

That said, I love cheese. Never really got over missing it when I was dairy free. So I look for organic, natural cheese's, ideally made from sheep/goats' milk. As with any food, really, if something makes you feel sick, you should avoid eating it.

I definitely have a non stop runny nose when I have dairy. It's very noticeable. Before I had to have tissues on hand ALWAYS, but when I am off dairy, It's 100% better. Although some days when I feel like I can have an "open meal," I go for pizza or something, almost instantly I have that issue again >_<

I almost always have issues with cow dairy, but never with goat. For me, I believe it's the casein. Even cheese from raw cow's milk causes acid reflux. I can have goat cheese, or home made goat kefir, every day, and not trigger any issues at all.

It also seems to be dose dependent. A tiny little bit of cow's cheese isn't an issue, but over some threshold, there's acid reflux at night - and quite possibly gut permeability issues. I'd throw in runny nose and a small bit of acne as symptoms, but waking up in the middle of the night with a throat full of acid outweighs the other symptoms.

It may well be the A1 issue, but as I've no access to A2, I've no way to test - though I did have one episode where whey protein powder (unflavored, no additives) had the same exact effect, so for me it's the proteins.