People with lactose intolerance are unable to fully digest the sugar (lactose) in milk. As a result, they have diarrhea, gas and bloating after eating or drinking dairy products. The condition, which is also called lactose malabsorption, is usually harmless, but its symptoms can be uncomfortable

Lactose intolerance is the inability to properly digest lactose, which is the sugar found in milk and other dairy products, so there are solutions to try to eliminate or decrease your lactose quantity in your foods. Often seeing a local family physician or a physiotherapist in conjunction with a registered dietitian and athletic therapist is a great option to take control of this condition. Smart Food Now and exercise is also optominal for overall health.    

You want to try to avoid foods that contain high quantities of lactose. These foods would include milk, and this could be any type of milk and this could be any type of milk, from high fat, low fat, cow’s milk, sheep’s milk, goat’s milk. They all contain high amounts of lactose.

So you want to avoid milk, you want to avoid creams, you want to avoid ice cream, you also want to avoid soft cheeses, except for cheeses that have been ripened, for example, Brie, Camembert and blue cheese because those should probably be well tolerated.

Foods that you can have would be foods that have a lower amount of lactose in them. For example, you could have hard cheeses. You can have dairy products that contain lower amounts of lactose, like yogurt and cottage cheese because what happens is that there’s usually a bacterial culture that is added into the dairy product, which then digests the lactose for you, so that you don’t have to have the ability to do it.

However, this can be controversial because there might be some added milk solids, which would then result in you having some symptoms because there would be some milk – or lactose added back into it. Other solutions to make sure that you still do get your calcium and vitamin D, is that you can have other alternatives for milk such as soy milk or almond milk and still meet your nutritional requirements.

Some key points are that there actually is a wide range between individuals as to how much lactose you can tolerate, so it is important to assess your individual tolerance. Some people might not be able to handle more than one serving of foods that have even a low level of lactose in it per day, while others might be able to have three servings spread out evenly throughout the day.

It’s also important to keep in mind that lactose intolerance is different than a lactose allergy. A lactose allergy, you’ll have to completely eliminate lactose as you can have much more severe symptoms. Local Registered Dietician 

In either case, you can go visit your medical doctor for more information and to officially be diagnosed, as well as visiting your local registered dietitian for more solutions of the dietary management. Local Nutritionist 
The Proper Management of Lactose Intolerance

Presenter: Ms. Ashley Charlebois, Registered Dietitian, Vancouver, BC

Now Health Network Local Practitioners: Registered Dietitian