Dairy...

I just finished listening to the Doc's chapter 5 audio. I must say that I strongly agree with the ideas regarding milk and dairy products being potentially harmful to our human bodies, simply because this milk was not designed for our bodies. I was a vegetarian for 7 years, and vegan for one of those, and can say that these days it's really not difficult to avoid dairy products at all, especially if you tend to avoid processed foods in general. Dairy and dairy derivatives are used everywhere in boxed foods and breads, as conditioners, sweeteners, texturizers, and other nasty things, but if you're making your own food, dairy should be relatively simple to replace.

However.

I am a huge proponent of a system of medicine which was mentioned in Dr. Henele's presentation, Ayurveda. Ayurveda is a sister science of Yoga, and the two are intertwined and were developed at the same time. The oldest medical system in the world, it dates back at least 6 millenia and is likely at least 10 thousand years old. I utilize Ayurvedic nutrition, medicine, and skin care on a daily basis, and have a found a major contradiction between Ayurveda and current Western nutrition, and that is on the subject of dairy. I am mostly writing this because I would like some feedback from Dr.Henele on the subject.

I think conventional dairy is bad, pretty much, but I still consume it if it is organic, or if I'm in someone's home and prefer not to be rude by rejecting what is offered. Ayurveda states that the use of dairy can be very therapeutic for the Vata dosha, and other combinations of doshas (dosha means constitution of body, mind, and spirit). I am primarily a vata with some pitta influence, and have found that milk has a very stabilizing and grounding effect on my body, but overuse contributes to respiratory inflammation and overproduction of mucus in the lungs. Every morning I make chai from scratch, and I have not found a milk subsitute that has the same vata balancing effect as milk, but I would really love to.

Consuming cheese is probably the most difficult thing for non vegans to discontinue, and there really are NO GOOD CHEESE ALTERNATIVES. So if anyone knows something I don't, please tell me!

On those notes, I'd like to offer a really simple almond milk recipe that is more tasty than what you buy in the store, and fresher. It's easy and I assure you that it can't be screwed up. I never measure anything so you'll just have to let intuition guide you.

Soak almonds overnight. I'd say about a cup of almonds is a good place to start.
Put soaked almonds in a blender with about 4-6 cups of water.
Add a pinch of salt, a tablespoon of honey or agave nectar or a pinch of stevia,
and Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Blend on low first, then gradually go up to the highest setting, for a minute or two.
Let the blades cool down then blend again.
Strain and enjoy.

This is deliciously frothy and you can useit for anything! Save the almond pulp
to make cookies or crackers...yummy!