There are different thoughts on whether or not to eat dairy and how much on a healthy lower carb/keto diet but everyone agrees there are certain aspects that are bad about the industry and what are healthier choices.
Commercial dairy production is often done with less-than-ideal living conditions for the animals and through the use of hormones and medicines. If you noticed how hard low-priced butter got during the pandemic you've seen firsthand how the quality has gone down. How that happened is a story for another time.
Organic dairy is thought to be less contaminated by pollutants and toxins, whereas grass-fed dairy is primarily praised for a better micro-nutrient profile, including much higher levels of CLA, better Omega-3 to Omega-6 fatty acid ratios, and dramatically higher levels of Vitamin A and E.
Since my personal philosophy of improving health is tipping the scales in your favor the goal here is that, if you do consume dairy, you should replace bad products with good. Hormone-free grass-fed animals produce a better, healthier product with the omega oils tilted towards omega-3 (the good kind) and away from omega-6 (the inflammatory kind).
Here are the products I've tried and currently use.
Organic Valley Grassmilk
OVG is available in most supermarkets and even online.
Use the Organic Valley website store locator - Impressive store locator function.
or shop the Organic Valley Store on Amazon
Half and Half cream
Fantastic stuff, with good shelf life dates - 6+ weeks when they get it in.
2% Milk, half gallon
Tastes better than any 2% milk you've tried.
Horizon Organic
Website - Store locator - Horizon Organic Amazon Store
We like the Vitamin D 2% version. Labels will vary.
A2 Milk Company
Website - Store Locator - A2 Milk store on Amazon
Hormone-Free but not certified.
Creamier tasting than most, a personal choice. My wife tried it and passed on it. I liked it.
Eggs
Like milk, eggs are too often produced in bad conditions from hens that are fed GMO corn that is less than ideal for your health. You want to look for Pasture Raised Eggs. The terms "Cage Free" and "Free Range" are often just marketing tools but can indicate a quality product if other conditions are met. "Vegetarian Fed" is another marketing term. Chickens are not vegetarian, they are omnivores and should be able to get outside and peck at the ground. They are used on sustainable farms with cattle to keep down fly larvae. Some eggs are fed carotenoids to make the yolks orange. That itself is not a bad thing. Store Brand "Organic" eggs are often private label sourced by large commercial egg companies and offer no inherent increase in quality of health so be picky and research the source. More on the standard of "Pasture Raised Eggs" here.
How to tell if your eggs are fresh using a water bath - Place your eggs in the water. If your eggs sink to the bottom and lie flat on their sides, they are very fresh. If your eggs stand on one end at the bottom, they are a few weeks old, but still fine to eat. If your eggs float to the surface, they are no longer fresh. I've repeatedly tested every brand below as I make hard-boiled eggs every week. All were good.
These are the brands I've tried and currently use.
Pete and Gerry's Pasture Raised
Hemp Eggs brand from Kreider Farms in Lancaster County, PA.
Nature's Yoke Organic Eggs, New Holland PA.
Found in the health food section. On the high-end price wise but very good eggs.
Eggland’s Pasture Raised, even their regular eggs are good.
Noah's Pride Cage Free Organic Brown Eggs
Pete and Gerry's
Nellie’s Free-Range Eggs
Happy Egg Co. Free Range - Dark yolks resulting from carotenoids in the feed. A step they don't need in my opinion, tasty.
Born Free Pasture Raised
Aldi branded eggs, Goldhen, are labeled Pasture Raised. Aldi has promised to only sell eggs laid by hens in cage-free facilities and be one of the leaders in humane sourcing policy. However, their supplier, Rose Acre Farms, has a pre-2020 production record & policy that is sketchy so I'm holding off endorsing these eggs until I get more information. I've tried them, good eggs but the "Cage Free" version are not really pasture-raised, they only have the ability to get outside the cage house if they wish and weather permitting. I've read to avoid the Aldi milk brand.
Butter
Like Milk and Eggs, you want to look for a brand that is grass-fed and doesn't use hormones. American style butter is 80% milkfat, European style is 82%
Kerrygold - 82% butterfat, considered by some to be the gold standard. The most popular Irish brand, Kerrygold, is labeled grass-fed (85%+?) and passes certification but technically they are allowed to use some grain feed for part of the year. I buy this brand whenever it is on sale. Kerrygold butter store locator
Truly - 95% grass-fed Irish Butter, hormone and GMO-free. Truly butter store locator
Aldi - carries an economical option in their green-label Irish Butter. It's a similar butter to Kerrygold from a different dairy in Ireland with slightly less butterfat (80%).
Costco - 95% grass-fed butter, green label Kirkland, New Zealand - Less creamy tasting than Kerrygold due to it having 10% milk solids versus 17% in Kerrygold according to this video https://youtu.be/Gz7p--BKVhA?t=174
What other brands of butter are grass-fed?
– Organic Valley Pasture Butter
– Anchor Butter
– Allgau German Butter
– Smjor Butter
– Humboldt Creamery Butter & Kalona Supernatural Butter. Easy to spread but not labeled grass-fed
– Horizon Organic (check out their grass-fed milk)
More coming Soon
Yogurt
While kefir is more potent than yogurt for helping restore gut health I haven't tried it yet so I'll add that when I do. What I have tried is Chobani Zero Sugar Yogurt. It's available in several flavors and sizes and sweetened with Allulose, Stevia, and Monkfruit.
6 live/active cultures - Thermophilus, Bulgaricus, Acidophilus, Bifidus, Casei, Rhamnosus.
Decent taste. My wife tells me to mix in some fruit and not the Stevia chocolate baking chips I was going to mix in. :)
Cheese
The same brands that make quality grass-fed butter also make cheese. Look for those. I don't have any specific brands to recommend yet. I usually avoid the pre-shredded cheese bags unless I'm making some old-school Man N Cheese for comfort food.
