Red Faced, and Dairy Allergy

Okay, so today we're off to the mail bag. . . .
And here we have a question from Pat H. "Are there foods or drinks that cause immediate flushing (of the face), and sweating?"

Pat - Yes. Spicy foods are usually the cause of a flushed face and sweating during meals. Peppers of all kinds and hotness levels (more about that in a moment), and other spices can cause your body to react by turning up the heat! Peppers, or more correctly the capsaicin within them are what make a pepper hot. The hottest portion of a pepper are the seeds, and the veins (the thick lines on the inside of a pepper). Now, about the heat index - peppers are graded from mild to hottest on what is called a Scoville scale. And remember when dealing with peppers, especially the really hot ones, be sure to use gloves and keep your hands away from your face!

Cheryel and Sandy had questions about dairy allergies and lactose intolerance. So, here's your answers ladies!

First, there is a difference between lactose intolerance and being allergic to dairy products. Lactose intolerance means that your body has a difficult time processing the lactose (or sugars) in milk products. These folks usually have gastrointestinal problems if they consume milk. On the flip side, they can eat cheese, yogurt, and other, more finely processed dairy products because the sugars are broken down.
Now, if you are allergic to dairy, your body has an allergic reaction and other symptoms, such as hives, or even a swollen tongue could occur. The current substitutions we have for dairy are in the form of almond milk, soy milk, rice milk, coconut, (and for some goat milk). Now there are some other considerations here with these 'other' types of milk products - and that is if you should be so unlucky to be allergic to more than just dairy.
I know that using some of these alternate milks in cooking works just as well as regular cow's milk.

I hope this information helps you all! Happy cooking!