Lactose Intolerance: Find Your Own Tolerance Level

If you think you may be lactose intolerant, definitely check it out with your doctor.

Once you know for sure, then you have to find your own level of intolerance to milk products. Some people can have lactose throughout the day in small amounts. Others find that they cannot tolerate any dairy products at all.

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You may be able to eat yogurt with your meal. Yogurt is an excellent source of calcium and natural bacteria that does help break down the lactose.

Hard cheeses are usually easier for the lactose intolerant person to digest. Try the cheddar, provolone, and mozzarella cheeses. Stay away from the soft unripened cheese like cottage cheese or cream cheese.

Low-fat milk is easier to digest if you have it with a meal. You may find that you don't need the lactaid enzyme tablets when you drink milk with food already in your stomach.

The NIH Consensus Development Conference on Lactose Intolerance and Health feel that (as posted on the Science Blog):

"Without lowfat and fat free milk and milk products in the diet, it's hard to meet nutrient needs, and available research suggests people with lactose intolerance can tolerate at least 12 grams of lactose (the amount in about one cup of milk) with no or minor symptoms. Plus, gradually re-introducing dairy into the diet can help manage symptoms and help those diagnosed benefit from dairy's unique nutrient package, including calcium, vitamin D, protein, potassium and other nutrients that are critical for bone health and beyond."

Experiment with your diet until you find your level of comfort. Just don't think that because you have been diagnosed as lactose intolerant, that you can never enjoy milk or cheese again!

For Your Symptoms of Lactose Intolerance: Yogurt Does the Body Good

You probably know by now that a real concern with lactose intolerance is making sure that you get enough calcium in your diet. Your body requires calcium, no matter what age you are. Long term dietary deficiency of calcium can cause bones to become weakened and prone to fracture.

Our children need calcium to ensure they have strong bones. As a woman, you need calcium, especially if you are approaching or have reached the age of perimenopause. You want to do everything you can to help ensure against any further bone density loss.

There is a dairy product that you may not want to exclude completely from your diet - yogurt. It seems that the yogurt organisms actually release lactase, which in turn helps with the absorption of the dreaded lactose. And it is the lactose that leads to your symptoms of lactose intolerance.

The New England Journal of Medicine reports that “Ingestion of 18 g of lactose in yogurt resulted in only about one third as much hydrogen excretion as a similar load of lactose in milk or water, indicating a much better absorption of lactose in yogurt."

You can read the abstract from the NEJM here.

An 8 ounce serving of yogurt can provide between 400 to 450 mg. of calcium. That is about one third of a child's requirement, and almost one half of an adults calcium requirement.

My daughter, who is lactose intolerant, does eat yogurt. And she takes one of the lactase enzymes right before she consumes any yogurt. To date, she has not experienced any lactose intolerant symptoms afterwards. I hope it stays that way, because it is a big relief knowing that she has this healthy source of calcium.

This is something you will have to experiment with. Start by eating small amounts of yogurt and see if you experience any of the lactose intolerant symptoms. If you don't have any problem, then add a little more to your diet. If you can eat yogurt, it is a good source of calcium for you diet.

So go try some yogurt.