Living with lactose intolerance
Living with stomach pain, gas, and bloating is uncomfortable. To feel better, watch what you eat and drink. Limiting your dairy will make your feel more comfortable.
People who are lactose intolerant have unpleasant symptoms after eating or drinking milk or milk products. These symptoms include bloating, diarrhea and gas. Lactose intolerance is not the same thing as having a food allergy to milk.
Someone with lactose intolerance may notice bloating, stomach cramps, or nausea within a couple hours of eating foods with lactose. Some people say the gas they get feels like having a bubble in the belly — they might even feel it moving through the digestive system.
Without enough of the lactase enzyme, your body can't metabolize dairy, leading to digestive problems like diarrhea, abdominal cramping or pain, bloating, gas, nausea, and sometimes even vomiting about 30 minutes to two hours after eating it.
If someone with a lactose intolerance continues to consume too much lactose, they may experience worsened symptoms, lower mood, and a reduced quality of life. Chronic diarrhea may lead to complications such as malnutrition, unexplained weight loss, and anemia.
Drink 250 ml milk in a short time. Then wait about 30-60 minutes and watch for symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, or diarrhea. If you observe these symptoms, you are likely to be lactose intolerant. As an additional security, you can do a “blind” test with lactose-free milk.
Limit or avoid foods that contain milk, milk solids, butter, buttermilk, cream, and whey. Even foods like margarine, nondairy creamer, baked goods, and salad dressings may contain some lactose. Instant soup or potatoes, beverage mixes, and pancake or cake mixes may also contain some lactose.
Lactase supplements, lactose-free products, and probiotics may help manage symptoms. However, if someone is in pain, they may need to take OTC medications for pain relief, gas, diarrhea, or bloating.
“This enzyme production can decrease over time in some people, so most people can experience some degree of lactose intolerance as they get older,” Lee says. You can also become lactose intolerant if you have an illness, infection, or take a medication that affects the bowels or intestines.
Don't Self-Diagnose Your Lactose Intolerance | Dairy Herd.
Yogurt. Most people with lactose intolerance can eat yogurt. The good bacteria (live, active cultures) found in yogurt will help digest the lactose for you. Choose a high quality yogurt (here's a guide to help) with very few ingredients or Greek yogurt, which has very little lactose.
Lactose intolerance is different from milk or dairy allergy. With a dairy allergy, an immune reaction leads to swelling, breathing problems, and anaphylaxis. Lactose intolerance is an inability to digest the sugars in milk products. It causes intestinal symptoms, such as bloating and diarrhea.
Eggs come from birds, such as hens, ducks, or quails, which are not mammals and do not produce milk. Eggs are high in protein and include many essential vitamins and minerals. They do not contain lactose, so are safe for people with lactose intolerance to eat unless they also have an egg allergy.
ATTENTION ALL LACTOSE INTOLERANT PEOPLE: YOU CAN EAT CHEESE!
Because cheesemaking converts lactose (milk sugar) into lactic acid. Any cheese aged 2 mo. or more is virtually lactose-free.
Hard cheeses such as cheddar, colby, Swiss, mozzarella and Monterey Jack “are virtually lactose-free,” Cifelli explains. Additionally aged cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano are virtually lactose free. At less than 1 mg lactose per 100 grams even the Italian Ministry of Health allows it to be labeled as such.