Dairy Products Can I Eat?

1. What is lactose?

Lactose is the main sugar found in milk, accounting for 5% of its composition. Besides providing energy, it is converted into lactic acid in the intestine.

Lactose is composed of two monosaccharides: glucose and galactose. It needs to be broken down by the enzyme lactase, located in the intestine, in order to be digested.

2. Is it true that most people cannot digest milk?

Yes, it is true. The activity of lactase in the intestine significantly decreases after weaning.

At one year of age, infants have only half the lactase activity compared to when they were born. Between the ages of 3 and 5, 90% to 95% of the world’s population experiences a decrease in lactase. This is a normal phenomenon in human physiology, but occurs less frequently in northern populations in Europe and the Americas, as well as among some nomadic peoples.

The body can adapt and tolerate a certain amount of lactose. However, when the intake of lactose exceeds the body’s capacity to digest it, symptoms such as stomach cramps, flatulence, and diarrhea may occur, usually within 30 minutes to 2 hours after consuming milk or dairy products.

The degree of intolerance varies from person to person. This discomfort is caused by the fermentation of unabsorbed sugars in the small intestine, leading to gas production in the colon.

3. What if you suspect you have a milk intolerance?

Doctors may use hydrogen breath tests or blood sugar tests to diagnose lactose intolerance. But that’s not necessary, because we already know that milk causes intestinal discomfort.

Reduce or avoid dairy products, or test your lactose tolerance with milk.

Take your usual drinking glass and start with half a glass of milk. Drink it all at once and observe if you experience symptoms such as abdominal bloating, flatulence, or diarrhea within the next 30 minutes to 2 hours.

If only half a glass of milk causes fart and flatulence, then it can be considered a milder symptom.

Next, drink a full glass of milk at once. If you experience diarrhea, it indicates that the amount of milk you can tolerate is half a glass. Consuming more than half a glass will result in abdominal pain and subsequent diarrhea.

4. Why is milk still recommended?

Milk is economical, extremely versatile in cooking, and has high nutritional value. It has 16 essential nutrients for the body, including high quality protein, absorbable calcium and vitamin D.

In 2010, the National Institutes of Health noted that people who are lactose intolerant but do not eat dairy products are not getting enough calcium and vitamin D, two nutrients essential for bone health.

5. Should you eliminate all dairy products?

It depends on your personal capacity. Most people who are lactose intolerant can consume some dairy products and show few symptoms, and improve their tolerance by consuming lactose regularly.

(1) Milk: Even with reduced enzyme activity, many people can tolerate some whole milk, a little at a time (125 ml / 1/2 cup). Milk with a milk fat content of 3.25% is superior to skim milk because the fat it contains slows lactose passage through the digestive tract.

If very little milk can make you bloat, choose low-lactose milk. You can also buy lactase drops that are added to milk 24 hours before drinking to break the lactose down into digestible pieces.

(2) Cheese: In addition to processed cheese and fresh cheese, mature cheese contains very little lactose. During the cheese making process, 80 to 90 percent of the lactose is eliminated in the form of whey, and the rest breaks down as the cheese ages. The lower the water content, the less lactose the cheese contains.

(3) Fermented dairy products: Probiotics produce enzymes needed to digest lactose. Fermented milk probiotics can help digest lactose like yogurt. Yogurt fermented for 24 hours can completely remove lactose.

Kefir is a traditional alcoholic fermented milk beverage made from cow milk, goat milk, adding Kefir seed starter containing lactic acid bacteria and yeast. It contains lactic acid bacteria and yeast that convert lactose into lactic acid and alcohol.

6. What should you do when eating out?

You can take lactase capsules/tablets with you and eat them before consuming dairy products. Or avoid foods with fresh milk and eat cheese and yogurt instead.

7. What about the other milk? Goat milk, sheep milk, soy milk…

The milk of all mammals, including goats and sheep, contains lactose.

As for soy milk, it is a drink made from water and soybeans. Therefore, it is lactose free. To buy commercially available soy milk, you need to look at the ingredients list to ensure that there is no milk added. The same goes for almond milk, oat milk.

8. Can cooking heat remove lactose?

No, lactose doesn’t disappear during cooking heat.

Lactose is sensitive to heat. When you boil milk, some of the lactose turns into an indigestible sugar (lactulose, for example), but it doesn’t go away and may still cause you stomach upset.

9. What’s the difference between lactose intolerance and milk allergy?

Food intolerance refers to the symptoms of gastrointestinal discomfort that occur after eating certain foods and does not harm your health. Milk allergy is caused by an abnormal immune system response to milk proteins.

Allergic reactions may include: hives, rashes, eczema, diarrhea or constipation, nasal congestion, coughing, difficulty breathing and vomiting. Allergies are serious and must be consulted by a doctor.

10. Lactose content ranking of common dairy products

  • Buttermilk 250ml – 12 grams
  • Yogurt 250 ml – 12 grams
  • Ice cream 250ml – 10 grams
  • Milk/ goat milk 250ml – 11 grams
  • Cottage Cheese 100 grams – 2~4 grams
  • Fresh cream 15ml – 0.5 grams 

Dairy products with very little lactose content:

  • Butter
  • Blue cheese
  • Kamonbel cheese
  • Cheddar cheese
  • Cream
  • Parasssen cheese