Are some lactase tablets better than others?

[PaperPanama]

I am mildly lactose intolerant. I can cope with a cup of tea, for example, but a milky hot chocolate will give me wind and the runs. I occasionally take lactase tablets if I’m about to eat or drink something that may have more lactose in it than I can cope with.

Are some lactase tablets better than others? I have no idea which brand I had last time, but the current ones are definitely not as effective. Of course, I may just have become more sensitive, but my tolerance of small amounts of lactose does not seem to have changed.

I think they have varying amounts of the active ingredient. Have a look on the packaging. I use Lactojoy which are expensive but have 14,500 FCC which will cope with most things with a single pill.

Have a look here for guidance on how much you need: www.leagogo.com/en-gb/blogs/all/how-many-lactase-fcc-units-do-you-actually-need

I think either they work for you or they don’t. They don’t work for me or two other friends who are lactose intolerant either,

I do best with the chewable Milkaid ones - preferably the vanilla as they taste less weird before a chicken tikka masala than the raspberry ones. I have to take 3 or 4 of them for any more than incidental dairy.

I have some of the milk aid capsules but they don't work so well for me, even at the same dose of lactase.

I also order direct, rather than rely on a shop to have stored them properly.

I agree some are better than others. I’m very interested in looking up those suggested by @CatVester, though currently I have been using Boots lactase tablets - though mainly try and avoid dairy but this is difficult when eating out/travelling!

Milkaid are the ones I’m using now, which I don’t think are as good as whatever it was I had previously.

Boots lactase tablets are a larger pill and have less lactase than the ones I use. One of the reasons I like Lactojoy is that you can swallow them without water if necessary as they are pretty small. Plus they come in a convenient little tin that fits in your handbag/pocket - you can buy a big bag of tablets to refill which works out a bit cheaper. I think Lea Gogo are also small and a bit cheaper than Lactojoy, but they are also a bit weaker. If someone is only mildly intolerant, Lea Gogo might be a good choice.

I mainly avoid dairy too but you just can't tell in restaurants or fast food places unless you check religiously and even then sometimes people tell you the wrong thing. I found out the hard way that many KFC items (the original recipe chicken pieces were my downfall) contain lactose. So I just take a pill before eating things I haven't cooked myself.

Also, has anyone else found it quite hard to get people in restaurants to understand lactose intolerance? I appreciate that it's not as serious as some food allergies (though can be very painful) but it would be good if food outlets had a category for lactose in their allergen menus. It's hard to know sometimes if 'dairy' is actually, say, butter or aged cheese which contain very little lactose.

I do always need two of the boots tablets and have been looking for something better! It’s generally hard to get a standard menu highlighting dairy free dishes (though vegan is highlighted) so you have to ask for details and then it seems to induce panic as they bring out their allergen menu! Being able to take a tablet allows for a little danger but still more relaxing!

I use lacto joy- they were recommended to me

They are the best I have found.

I find people tell me yes this contains dairy but they don't actually know the ingredients so I can't tell if they just mean butter which is basically irrelevant. I want to know about milk, yoghurt and cream cheese!

Those charts are for allergies not intolerances. A good restaurant with decent food should be able to tell you what is in a meal but don't have charts breaking down to that level.
I have the same thing as can eat barley but not wheat as I am intolerant of a different protein in wheat that isn't gluten so can drink some lager but then confuse staff by eating gluten free.

I know they are allergens rather than intolerances, but I can't help feeling that categories for gluten, lactose, anything else that can cause someone a lot of difficulty might be a good idea.

I've found most restaurant serving staff to be really poor on actual ingredients, even in good restaurants. And I can't be arsed with 'can you ask the chef' because it just annoys everyone. So I take a pill. Gluten must be much worse as presumably there's no pill!

I’ve ordered the lactojoy! I love eating out and so thank you for the recommendation.

No, there is no pill for gluten.

I've ordered some lactojoy to try, too.

Hope it works well for you both! I feel responsible now!

I'm also NCGI (ie gluten gives me the symptoms of coeliac, but I don't have coeliac). I've tried a protease enzyme supplement. It doesn't really help.