# Lactose intolerance and dairy free diet



## jarvi (Jan 25, 2012)

A question for those of you who have been diagnosed as lactose intolerant - do you think it's better to use no milk products at all or are lactose-free products okay? I never did go completely dairy free since being diagnosed as lactose intolerant but I have been thinking it might be helpful to try, at least. There are a lot of lactose-free and low lactose milk products available where I live at the moment so I have been using those. I have quit drinking milk at least, used to drink it with dinner every day. I haven't been able to figure out what role lactose really plays in my problems. I never had diarrhea, only constipation, but I do get gas problems if I use milk products with lactose, particularly if I haven't been eating a lot else. Not with lactose free products so much, but stomach pains are nearly always there (and I don't really know to what extent food affects all that). I might want to try being completely dairy free, but it seems difficult considering it's what I'm used to and because milk products are so popular here. When I eat/cook with other people, they are happy to cook and bake with lactose free products, too, but less interested in omitting dairy altogether. So if anyone has experience on the actual helpfulness of omitting dairy altogether, please share.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Usually if you are lactose intolerance as long as you use lower lactose dairy (like hard aged cheeses rather than soft fresh cheeses) and things treated with lactase you should be fine.There is no need to remove all dairy, and most people do tolerate small amounts of untreated high lactose products (how much will vary on how well you tolerate how much gas).I'm fine with up to several ounce of milk at a time that is untreated, and the main reason I have almond milk in the fridge is that it just doesn't seem to go bad like milk will (and often the lactase treated milk I can get lasts longer as well).Now a large chocolate milkshake or malted (which I will have every so often) will create a lot of misery for the rest of the day, but sometimes it is worth the trouble.There are people who seem to be more mucusy when they eat/drink dairy. It doesn't seem to be a lactose tolerance thing, but they may feel better dairy free (especially if they can breath much better when they eliminate dairy).And if you have an allergy to dairy proteins (lactose is a sugar) you have to avoid even small amounts of milk in processed products.So with lactose intolerance it is really up to you if you want to go fully dairy free, but it will likely be for other reasons than the lactose as there is a lot of low lactose dairy out there.


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## waterlilybelly (Aug 11, 2012)

Kathleen M. said:


> ...There are people who seem to be more mucusy when they eat/drink dairy. It doesn't seem to be a lactose tolerance thing, but they may feel better dairy free (especially if they can breath much better when they eliminate dairy)....


Just to echo -- I'm one of said people, and I appear to be casein (milk protein) intolerant as well as lactose intolerant. Staying completely off dairy seems to help keep my head clear and reduces my reactivity to pollen, tobacco smoke, and mold. If you do *not* have a long history of sinus inflammation and/or asthma and/or other respiratory complications, then maybe milk proteins are no problem for you!


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