Lactose intolerant but continuing to eat dairy

[EssCee]

Though a genetic test, I've just discovered that I'm lactose intolerant.

My siblings and mum are lactose intolerant, so I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise, although I don't share their symptoms (upset stomach, gassiness, mucus-y... sorry!).

Thing is, I'm vegetarian and quite partial to cheese, butter, and other types of dairy (but not milk).

AIBU to carry on eating these??

Anyone cut out dairy entirely after being tested and felt much better (despite not particularly suffering before)?

to be fair, OP isn't fond of milk, which may be a subtle clue...

Hi @pearldeodorant to me, the results seem maybe like a simplification, but much of it - mainly on the fitness side - seems to validate things I seem to already know… I have really enjoyed reading through it (and having taken it as a diagnostic tool, as such).

I’ve always had a massive aversion to cow’s milk… don’t know, the thought of drinking it does make me cringe…. I really dislike the smell of it. I have coconut/almond milk in my overnight oats.

In recent years, I have also started to go off ice cream, too. But cheese is hard to give up, as a vegetarian, especially when eating out. I mean - pizza! I’m going to check out the lower lactose versions of cheese.

For those that asked, how can you be intolerant if you don’t have any symptoms… I think if it’s not that bad, you generally live with it and accept it as your version of normal?

Lots of places like Pizza Express, Zizzi and Ask now do pizzas with dairy free mozzarella on them and they taste so good

The genetic test can't tell you that you are lactose intolerant, though it may be able to tell you that you have a predisposition to be, according to current genetics knowledge (which is still very much developing). It all depends on how the genes are expressing and interacting with other genes. Go by your symptoms (or lack of them) and how you feel.

Science.

BTW I was extremely lactose intolerant for decades (as well as having allergies to pollen, moulds, etc) but was cured with homeopathy.

Not science.

How can you sound so rational in one paragraph and then switch straight to full strength woo?

@ColeHawkins
facultyofhomeopathy.org/randomised-controlled-trials/
Science.
Mind you, these kinds of study are not ideal for evaluating homeopathy due to the fact that most require standardised treatment protocols and homeopathy uses individualised protocols, so they are all different. Self-reported improvement type trials are much more suitable for this mode of treatment.
Bottom line is that if you try it and it doesn't work, then you have evidence that it doesn't work for you. If (like me and thousands of others, including many doctors and paediatricians) you try it and it does work, then you have your own case as evidence of efficacy. If you haven't tried it, you know nothing about it. Simples.
Note it is used as part of the mainstream medical system in France, Germany, India, Brazil and many other countries. Mostly prescribed by qualified doctors. So if you want to convince all those countries that homeopathy is rubbish, good luck... You will have an uphill task.

I gave up dairy for a while and it didn't help anything. But I didn't know that until I'd tried. I am anything but vegetarian though

@ColeHawkins
Forgot to say, I am a science writer and spend most of my days with my nose in long and sometimes tedious peer-reviewed studies. My DP is a geneticist at a major teaching hospital. We have several friends who are doctors and paediatricians. We all use homeopathy because we find it works, including on animals and babies who cannot be assumed to "believe" in it. We also don't bother the NHS too much with our ailments because we find that by using homeopathy we can pretty much look after our own health. And wow, is it cheap. The remedies cost pennies per ailment. Such a shame you are losing out due to an intellectual prejudice that it cannot possibly work ( :

Homeopathy worked for me. If you haven't tried it for this problem, all you can say from an evidence-based point of view is that you have no idea about it.

PMSL 😆 homeopathy and evidence being used in the same post. Hilarious.

There is a shit load of evidence that homeopathy doesn’t work and linking to a website written by homeopathy foundation doesn’t exactly strengthen your argument. You should just buy some crystals at least you could probably reuse them!

It's perfectly possible to design a randomised controlled trial of homoeopathy - do you think no other type of therapy is individualised to the patient? The fact the extremely well funded alternative medicine industry doesn't run these trials tells you pretty much all you need to know about whether these drugs are effective or not.

@Wellokthen It's a bit sad that you don't seem to be able to understand that links to peer-reviewed studies are links to peer-reviewed studies even if they are hosted on a website that is owned by a homeopathy foundation. Do you need me to walk you through the process of consulting the studies?
@JamPasty You clearly don't understand the problems with RCTs and highly individualised treatments like homeopathy. See this:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1122433/
:most trials of homoeopathic medicines do not individualise treatment, the hallmark of homoeopathic practice. If they do it is difficult to apply the results to individual treatment decisions in practice".

Funding of studies of non-patented medicines like homeopathic remedies is a serious problem. Do you actually know how much studies cost to do? Millions, and that's if you manage to get ethical approval.... With hardly any or no govt funding, complementary and alternative therapies struggle for research funding (the pharma industry pays for their massively expensive studies via the profits from their patented medicines, as well as medical charity donations).

This is a well known problem and the answer from the complementary medicine crowd has been to simply rely on word of mouth advertising and not RCTs.

I love RCTs when used for their correct purpose, but evaluating highly individualised therapies (including those used for mental health issues) is not it.

SheeshazAZ09 The homoeopathic medicine industry is worth several billion - I reckon they could fund the odd trial or two from that.

Check the carbohydrate/sugars level in cheese. If it's very low then it's very low in lactose. Alot of cheese are ok to eat as they have very little lactose in them.

@sheeshaz09 are you actually trying to be condescending to me when you believe in magic memory water? Having been through the science journal publishing process myself, I understand the process of peer review ta, it’s sadly not infallible and a lot of those studies seem to be published in homeopathic journals which again furthers the point...

Honestly I think homeopathy should be banned, I don’t get how it’s not fraud.

Bottom line is that if you try it and it doesn't work, then you have evidence that it doesn't work for you. If (like me and thousands of others, including many doctors and paediatricians) you try it and it does work, then you have your own case as evidence of efficacy. If you haven't tried it, you know nothing about it. Simples.

No. If you try it and it works for you, then you have an anecdote. And possibly a placebo. You do not have "evidence" that homeopathy works.

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Chloemol Tue 26-Mar-19 17:32:45

I am lactose intolerant, but east lactose free cheese and butter which is nice. I can also to,erase goats cheese as it’s a different lactose the cows/sheep

_

Lactose is lactose. There is no different lactose. Goat's milk has pretty much the same lactose content as cow's milk.

ansci.illinois.edu/static/ansc438/Milkcompsynth/milkcomp_table.html

Yogurt and cheese often have very little lactose in them. The bacteria used in their creation consume most of the lactose. I am not sure where butter falls in terms of lactose content, but this may be why you can eat cheese.

There are some very nice dairy-free products available now. I am fond of Daiya products but I don't know if they are available in the UK. You could check online. Daiya is dairy-free, but not soy-based.

I was told that I was dairy and wheat intolerant and I stopped eating them for a while. I was miserable and my stomach issues didn't resolve so I decided to just eat what I like.

Yogurt and cheese often have very little lactose in them. The bacteria used in their creation consume most of the lactose. I am not sure where butter falls in terms of lactose content, but this may be why you can eat cheese.

Butter has very little lactose. "Buttery" spreads on the other hand have loads because they have had buttermilk added. The ingredients to watch out for are buttermilk and whey powder, both of which are high in lactose and very common in processed foods.

I'm on a low FODMAP diet because of IBS symptoms. I'm sensitive to most of the FODMAPs including lactose and have done a fair amount of research into both the disorder and treatment for it. There are currently no reliable tests for intolerances except for exclusion/reintroduction so in order to find out what you are intolerant to and at what dose you have to stop eating all the FODMAPs and then reintroduce them one at a time in a controlled way, recording your symptoms as you go. Intolerances affect you as the food passes through your gut, they don't have longer term effects comparable to something like coeliac disease.

When I tested lactose I used milk, starting with 125ml and then increasing over three days. Sadly I am sensitive even at small amounts so I only have lactose free milk or yogurt. I use the Monash ap to judge what lactose containing food I can eat, and thankfully that includes pretty much all cheeses except the very young ones like cream cheese, hallomi, ricotta, cottage, quark and soft goats cheese which I can only eat in small amounts. Higher fat cream products are usually safer than low fat and butter doesn't have any carbohydrates so is totally green.

If I was the OP and didn't get any symptoms at all then I'd go on eating whatever I liked. Dietary restrictions are a huge pain so avoid if you can.

BTW I was extremely lactose intolerant for decades (as well as having allergies to pollen, moulds, etc) but was cured with homeopathy. It was brilliant. I can now eat anything, though I am careful not to push things too far, e.g. if I eat a cheesy pizza in the evening, I notice I am heavy and achy next day.

If you still have to be carefull hte how are you 'cured'?

OP

Most people who are lactose intolerant can eat some lactose and more lactose if it is eaten with other food.

You can also buy lactase to take with meals.

I’ve had a follow up call with their dietician and as far as lactose is concerned, she said I should be fine with cheese (but be wary of cream).

Actually, the key takeaway from the call was that it's recommended that I reduce my carbs, particularly refined carbs.

@Ihuntmonsters The Monash FODMAP app is awesome, isn't it?! Have you tried the lactase enzyme drops? I've only recently switched to the drops after buying lactose free milk, and I'm watching DS carefully to make sure he doesn't react.

@EssCee - a lot of cheese only has trace amounts of lactose, but not all of them, so it's really worth checking this out with the Monash FODMAP app. Their research into this is the most thorough out there.