Dancing Around LI
As with most things in life, there are tricks to living with LI! You might begin by avoiding meals with large amounts of lactose or eating foods containing lactose several times a day in small amounts to see if your unpleasant symptoms diminish. Dancing around LI will take a bit of trial and error, but it won't take you long to discover your own personal lactose culprits and avoid them!
Discover What Works for You
No two cases of LI are the same. Some individuals may drink two glasses of milk without a problem, some may only be able to tolerate half a glass at a time, and some may not be able to drink milk at all! You are your own best lactose-level detective in determining your degree of tolerance for milk and dairy products. Try consuming different levels of lactose to determine how much and what foods you can eat and still feel comfortable.
It's helpful to meet with a registered dietician for assistance in setting up a lifestyle diet plan to restrict your lactose intake and make sure you're getting all the nutrients and the calcium your body requires. A dietician can help you set your lactose boundaries.
If you love milk and it doesn't love you back, try drinking it in small amounts. In addition, drink milk with food so that the milk isn't the only thing in your digestive system. These little hints will make your body happier because they slow down digestion and make the absorption of the lactose easier! Milk seems to be the major culprit in lactose intolerance, but there are other foods in the dairy department that you may be able to handle.
Look for dairy products that are lower in lactose such as yogurt, many cheeses, and yogurt cheese, just to mention a few. In addition, there's a variety of special lactose-free milks available in the dairy case!
Other options include adding a lactase enzyme to milk or searching out a chewable lactase supplement before eating foods containing lactose. This works quite nicely for lots of folks who are lactose intolerant. This is another item to put on your list to discuss with your physician.
Obvious Lactose
A major key to your digestive comfort is being food label savvy. Read labels and look for the obvious lactose first. Naturally occurring lactose in milk is listed as sugar on the Nutrition Facts label on a milk carton but the ingredients section doesn't list any added sugar. Milk is often added to some of the commercial products in the list below:
Bread and other baked goods
Nondairy and whipped creamers
Drink mixes and breakfast drinks
Margarines
Salad dressings
Lunch meats and hot dogs
Processed breakfast cereals
Candies, cookies, and snacks
Soups (especially cream soups)
Mixes for pancakes, biscuits, cookies, and cakes
Sugar substitutes
Instant coffee and cocoa mixes
Instant mashed potatoes and French fries
Pie crusts and pie fillings
Pudding mixes
Not all of the products listed above contain lactose, and that's why reading labels is so important. It's important to look not only for milk and lactose among the contents, but also for such terms as whey, curds, buttermilk, malted milk, milk by-products, dry milk solids, nonfat dry milk powder, sour cream, and sweet cream, all of which contain lactose. It doesn't have to be in the dairy section to contain lactose. Every product and brand varies. Just because you become accustomed to a particular brand you think is free of lactose, be sure to read the label periodically because ingredients do change.
Kosher products labeled “ Parve” or “ Pareve” are lactose free. However, if the product is just labeled “Kosher” you can't be guaranteed that the product is lactose free.
Lactose Lurkers
Beware of lactose lurkers! They show up in the darnedest places and you won't know it until they hit your tummy — ouch!
Would you believe that some medications contain lactose? More than 20 percent of prescription drugs contain lactose, and over-the-counter medications are not lactose free either. Lactose is found in many types of birth control pills and tablets for stomach acid. Medications generally contain small amounts of lactose and only affect people who are very lactose intolerant.
Canned tuna and salmon are innocent-looking packages that may also contain lactose. Some of the commercial fisheries add milk products to their canned fish products in the canneries.
Lactose is also commonly applied to dried vegetables to prevent discoloration. If a dried veggie is treated with a small amount of lactose when it's re-hydrated it will have a brighter color and be more appealing. Learn to read labels; it's important and your tummy will thank you big time!
