Living with Lactose Intolerance & Loathing it ! Help!

ahecho

Hello! Very new to MFP (just created my acct today) and I love pizza but it doesn't like me. The tasty milk in my cereal sours my stomach and my ice cream treats sweetly refuse to stay put.
Only in the past 2-3 years has my lactose intolerance really been a struggle. It has gotten so bad that every time I eat a tiny little bit of dairy I want to d i e! : ' ( Dairy also has been making my skin break out lately. So, I have stopped eating dairy altogether. But it's so HARD to avoid......!!! I have tried Lactaid and currently drink Silk Soymilk as a substitute...but I am wondering if there is anything *else* I can do? I also am curious if anyone has a favorite non-dairy/dairy substitute that they enjoy? Any recipes/advice/suggestions would be wonderful!

Thanks so much!

Kate

stfuriada

Aren't there like, lactose pills to help with this?

ahecho

@stfuriada yes, that is the Lactaid~but it doesn't always help!

sleepytexan

lactose pills and lactaid will only work for a short period of time.

Your best bet is to quit altogether (and yes, dairy DOES cause acne, stomach problems, congestion and headaches for many people). Lactose causes the stomach distress, whey and casein cause the headaches, congestion and acne.

Some people can tolerate hard, aged cheeses, and some can't even tolerate any milk protein ingredient in anything. Some people can tolerate raw milks and cheeses.

If you are in acute pain from gas and bloating, you can take 2 activated charcoal capsules and lie down on your right side. Sometimes if you know you are going to have dairy you can take the charcoal in advance and more after.

However, charcoal absorbs medication taken within 2 hours (either side), so be aware of this and don't take it within 2 hours of important medicine.

Charcoal does not help with acne, headaches or congestion; only with gas.

Cow's milk isn't really good for us. If you do a little looking into it, you may be disgusted.

blessings.

mojox2003

My daughter is lactose intolarent as well we live in the uk and there are quite a few things out here now, she love alpro soya products and also the dairy free icecream is lovely she wolfs it down,

Its just a matter of finding the right products that taste like your fave foods.

sleepytexan

Almond milk is an excellent substitute, as are hemp, soy, coconut and rice milks.

Rice milk is excellent for baking and pancakes -- gives a great "rise" and texture when combined with baking powder.

I find Silk brand Pure Almond milk delicious to drink straight, but I prefer soy in my coffee.

lichensandseeds

One of my good friends is severely lactose intolerant and so is her father. They do most of their grocery shopping at a Jewish grocery and deli. Since it isn't kosher to eat milk with meat, there are a lot of dairy free options there.

paint_it_black

I've recently been trying to phase out some dairy (i'm addicted to the stuff but its not very easy on the waist line). I've found hazelnut and almond milk both to be delicious, especially the hazelnut in coffee.

Zeromilediet

Not sure why this is an issue, especially if it makes you sick? What is it about dairy you believe is necessary to your well being? If you absolutely love drinking milk, try coconut milk: take one can coconut milk, add enough water to fill a 64 oz blender, add 1 egg yolk (to emulsify coconut milk & water) and blend. Store in fridge for two days max.

Been over a year since no dairy for me and it's no big deal.

kikiboniki

I completely understand! I have lactose intolerance and it sucks! I would say be careful with the soymilk cause it hear it can mess with your hormone levels. Scary, huh?
I really like almond milk and sub it for regular milk all the time. It makes an AMAZING iced coffee, very creamy.

Question? Can you handle yogurt. I find that I can because the cultures in it allow me to digest it. IF you can, I would suggest eating right frozen yogurt in the tub. Its so good! also, trader joes makes a lactose FREE yogurt cheese that tastes amazing and melts beautifully.

Also, you can make whipped cream out of coconut milk that has been refrigerated. I also once made a chocolate mousse pie usig coconut milk and it was DELISH

OOO and if you like cream cheese. tofutti makes a product called "better than cream cheese".. tofu based and DELICIOUS

tofutti also makes really tasty ice cream sandwiches that are dairy free.


hope this helps and sorry that you struggle. I know how sad it is

as for pizza, I recently made a home made pizza with the lactose free yogurt cheese. OMG i was in heaven.

Bunnybeesweet

Check out the vegan groups for tons of non-dairy alternatives. For pizza, find Daiya mozzarella cheese! Amy's frozen pizza has some that use it. For cereal, rice, soy, almond, coconut, oat, hemp...keep trying until you find one you like. For icecream, so delicious, purely decadent, coconut bliss...there's so many good ones.

jen7eleven

Like the other posters, I'm also a fan of almond milk, especially the dark chocolate one by silk - it's an amazing treat.

I'm with you on dietary inconveniences though. Mine include lactose intolerance, high sensitivity to soy, watermelon, canteloupe, honeydew, bananas, avocados, and cuties clementines, then all the other fruit gives me acid reflux. :brokenheart:

It's a trial and error process. I hope you find what works for you!

livestar

I'm dairy allergic (after 30 years of endless cheese and ice cream) and I feel for you. Giving it up is tough, but it's doable.
I don't do a lot of replacements, but there are some standbys.

Highly recommend--almond milk. It really is delicious.
Ice cream--ciao bella sorbettos. There are a ton of flavors--lemon, mango, blood orange, coconut, dark chocolate. Also, tofutti makes great fudge pops and ice cream sandwiches. With these treats, I don't even miss regular ice cream. For a decadent dessert, or when there's company, I do brownies (duncan hines is dairy free) and coconut sorbet. It's a sure bet for rave reviews.

Dairy is sort of the easy way out to making something rich and decadent. Over my year and a half of dairy freedom, I firmly believe that the true test of a good dish is weather or not it stands up to being dairy free.

Just play with flavors and spices so you don't feel like you're not eating cheese, cream, and butter, and you'll become an enviable cook.

Summersadiva

I developed lactose intolerance about 25 years ago. It was HORRIBLE, bloating, pain, diarrhea, just awful. I'd miss so many activities because I was tied to the toilet. Lactaid drops (I don't think they make them anymore), Lactaid milk (sparingly because I don't like milk), and Lactaid pills became a way of life for me.

After several years, I started just avoiding those products that caused trouble for me. This meant that I read labels religiously...nonfat dry milk solids appear in so many processed foods...and just avoided lactose at all costs.

About three years ago, I decided to see if I could FORCE my body to tolerate small amounts of lactose and you know what, it worked! While I don't drink milk (see above), I do sometimes have a tiny bit of ice cream, eat a bit of my beloved Jet's Pizza (the all meaty 8 corner is heavenly), and enjoy baked brie and other cheeses. I'd have super small amounts and after a few bad starts, I can tolerate it without issues. Occasionally, I'll deal with gassiness rather than diarrhea as I have in the past, so it's fine. Nothing a little Gas-X can't solve.

I said all of this to say that you should try TINY amounts of the lactose products you enjoy and see if you can EASE your body into accepting them. If you still can't then you'll need to try the soy/veggie-based alternatives.

dad106

I'm lactose intolerant after 8 oz of any diary product. and it sucks. The gas and the bloating are the worst for me!

Since I know this about myself though, I try to limit my dairy to 8 oz or less.. and when I make a protein shake, I put my powder in a combo of milk/water or just soy milk.

tenshiblue

Does yogurt make you sick to your stomach as well? Some people tolerate it better because of the bacteria in it that digest lactose.

tallib

I usually have 'lactofree' from Arla. It`ll be fine if you are lactose intolerant but not if you have an actual dairy allergy. It`s cows milk with almost all the lactose taken out. When you first start having it, it smells like milk thats about to go off but now Im completely used to it and 'normal' milk smells really weird to me. Vitalite margarine is also great as its dairy free. I have almond milk in smoothies and Im able to tolerate yogurt although I sometimes have alpro soya yogurts/desserts in my smoothies instead of dairy yogurt.
(Lactofree also do mini`s that you can put in your handbag for if your going to get a coffee while your out, although they have a VERY short shelf life so I currently dont bother with them until they start making them last longer)

blissmanifesto

I don't know why you'd be "loathing it." Why does everybody love dairy so much, anyway? Sort of mystifies me. I say, embrace the challenge. Make it fun. Learn to cook with coconut milk. I love the So Delicious coconut milk ice creams. . . they even have sugar-free flavors which is a bonus for me. They have yogurts, too. But just for fun, here's a short list of delicious things I have eaten lately which do not contain any dairy, since I never eat dairy by choice:

Brussels Sprouts roasted with Bacon
Roast Beef in a spice crust
Baked Japanese sweet potatoes
Chicken livers from Nando's restaurant
Southwest Ranch flavor Kale Chips
Watermelon
Cherries
Shrimp and Scallops from the Hibachi joint downtown
Omelet with peppers and onion
Lara bars, any flavor
Guacamole and fresh salsa
Pork carnitas

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Food is supposed to be delicious and dairy is really not the be-all and end-all of yumminess. Embrace where you are and try to have some fun with it.

chinita96

Have you tried doubling your amount of pills when eating milk products? For me, I need to take two Lactaid pills to eat yogurt. Also, as other posters have stated, almond milk is a wonderful alternative. And it has less calories!

katejkelley

Right there with ya! I've found veggie cheese (usually in the vegetarian aisle, if you've got one) that works as a cheese replacement and doesn't bother me. I use Lactose-free milk on my cereal and for any other use, but don't drink milk like I used to. I've cut out a lot of foods I know will bother me - ice cream is a real culprit. I don't really miss them and would rather feel good than eat them. You can get calcium from a lot of other foods and/or take a supplement.

kklemarow

Check out the vegan groups for tons of non-dairy alternatives. For pizza, find Daiya mozzarella cheese! Amy's frozen pizza has some that use it. For cereal, rice, soy, almond, coconut, oat, hemp...keep trying until you find one you like. For icecream, so delicious, purely decadent, coconut bliss...there's so many good ones.

Daiya cheese is amazing! There are also some hard vegan cheeses, made from nuts

http://www.dr-cow.com/products/

All the So Delicious frozen treats are great too (my favourite is Amaretto Cherry, made with coconut milk).

ahecho

WOW ^__^ thanks all!!! I am so excited to try out all of these tips/ideas/products to see which works best!
You're all so wonderful!

Kate

MeredithLee11

Some good advice in here. I'm just starting out dairy-free and dreading it too. I had never heard of Daiya "cheese", but I think I'll be picking some up

mcarter99

Most adults are lactose intolerant, across the world. Americans have the highest tolerance due to their heavy use of dairy past childhood. But even in America a large percent of us don't do well with it. It's no big deal. There are so many alternatives. Usually yogurt doesn't bother people, so if you're a die-hard for 'real' dairy, try that.

Mammals are made to live off mother's milk until they can feed normally. Humans are the only mammal to drink the milk of another. It's kind of gross, when you think about it. Our bodies were never meant to be milk consumers past childhood, and early childhood at that. That's why our stomachs eventually lack the enzyme to digest it. So if you're lactose intolerant, you're normal!

abbybean11

i'm a vegan and i make pizza with daiya mozzarella cheese and it's delicious! i also drink almond milk which i think is even more delicious than regular milk.

Sublog

Hello! Very new to MFP (just created my acct today) and I love pizza but it doesn't like me. The tasty milk in my cereal sours my stomach and my ice cream treats sweetly refuse to stay put.
Only in the past 2-3 years has my lactose intolerance really been a struggle. It has gotten so bad that every time I eat a tiny little bit of dairy I want to d i e! : ' ( Dairy also has been making my skin break out lately. So, I have stopped eating dairy altogether. But it's so HARD to avoid......!!! I have tried Lactaid and currently drink Silk Soymilk as a substitute...but I am wondering if there is anything *else* I can do? I also am curious if anyone has a favorite non-dairy/dairy substitute that they enjoy? Any recipes/advice/suggestions would be wonderful!

Thanks so much!

Kate

I've noticed as I've gotten into better shape, my LI has almost completely gone away. I eat a ton of dairy and for the most part it doesnt bother me at all anymore. Which is really strange. Not sure if its the supplements, or better gut health or better overall health. I still do take dairy pills when I consume a large amount of dairy, but small amounts don't bother me at all.

I can't explain why its gone away. I've been LI since I was about 10 years old.

drog2323

Hello! Very new to MFP (just created my acct today) and I love pizza but it doesn't like me. The tasty milk in my cereal sours my stomach and my ice cream treats sweetly refuse to stay put.
Only in the past 2-3 years has my lactose intolerance really been a struggle. It has gotten so bad that every time I eat a tiny little bit of dairy I want to d i e! : ' ( Dairy also has been making my skin break out lately. So, I have stopped eating dairy altogether. But it's so HARD to avoid......!!! I have tried Lactaid and currently drink Silk Soymilk as a substitute...but I am wondering if there is anything *else* I can do? I also am curious if anyone has a favorite non-dairy/dairy substitute that they enjoy? Any recipes/advice/suggestions would be wonderful!

Thanks so much!

Kate

Coconut milk works great. So delicious coconut milk unsweetened is my go to. Great in cereal

If i eat pizza or ice cream...i suffer badly. I stay away or have two lactaid pills. Even then its not great. But helps.

jjblogs

Try being lactose AND gluten intolerant...kinda cuts down on eating anything yummy. Good for losing weight though I guess..lol. I just stick to fruits/vegs/lean meats. Boring...

justal313

I take this every day. I seldom have issues and it takes a LOT of dairy/cheese/etc in the course of a day for me to have an issue. Totally took my life back. This is available in just about ANY drug store.