Dairy Intolerance

Holly_k88
Holly_k88 Posts: 59 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Since I started trying to clean up my diet I have been eating a lot more dairy. I've never been a big dairy eater mostly just cheese and maybe a skinny latte now and then and I've never noticed a problem before but recently I've been getting bad stomach cramps at night really really bad! :(

I usually have Greek yoghurt for breakfast, and I think this might be the culprit.

Ive not made any notes on what I've eaten on the days it has been happening other than in the last week so I'm not sure it is the problem

I was just wondering if anyone else has been in a similar situation?

Replies

  • webutmirrortheworld
    webutmirrortheworld Posts: 52 Member
    I'm going through the same thing lately. I don't usually consume a lot of dairy, but have been eating yogurt for breakfast. I've noticed I am producing a lot more mucus (yuck) and have stopped eating dairy for the time being to see if that helps.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    It sounds like you may have lactose intolerance. It's not that uncommon in adults, especially in those who don't each much dairy for a long period of time. Here's some good information: http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/lactoseintolerance/#what
  • Holly_k88
    Holly_k88 Posts: 59 Member
    Thankyou that was very helpful, Ive not had any dairy today so I think i'll see how i go cutting it out. need to find a new breakfast now :/
    IM also always bloated and have a little belly that exercise doesn't seem to want to shift so that might be the cause.
  • Holly_k88
    Holly_k88 Posts: 59 Member
    I'm going through the same thing lately. I don't usually consume a lot of dairy, but have been eating yogurt for breakfast. I've noticed I am producing a lot more mucus (yuck) and have stopped eating dairy for the time being to see if that helps.

    Have you noticed its helped? Or has it not been long enough?
  • Kita328
    Kita328 Posts: 370 Member
    Thankyou that was very helpful, Ive not had any dairy today so I think i'll see how i go cutting it out. need to find a new breakfast now :/
    IM also always bloated and have a little belly that exercise doesn't seem to want to shift so that might be the cause.

    They have Soy Greek Yogurt if you want to stick with yogurt.
  • AmykinsCatfood
    AmykinsCatfood Posts: 599 Member
    Everyone's going to say that you may be lactose intolerant, which you totally could be, but there might be something else going on.

    I thought I was lactose intolerant until I got allergy tested and discovered I was actually allergic to the enzymes in dairy products. That's why milk products that had been heated, like cream sauces didn't bother me as much as say drinking a glass of milk, the heat destroyed some of the enzymes. Might be worth getting checked out because it's treatable. I had acupuncture treatments done 3 years ago and I have had no problems eating dairy since, and I don't have to waste money on lactose pills because I assumed I was lactose intolerant.
  • coral_b
    coral_b Posts: 264 Member
    My IBS is triggered by some dairy things. It was really just trial and error with what worked for me. My symptoms are bloating, cramps to the point of tears and being sick. Oddly I'm fine with Greek yoghurt, but not normal yoghurt. I'm ok with certain milk chocolates but not all. Like the person above said- I think it is to do with the way they prepare/ treat the milk.
    Try peppermint tea or peppermint capsules for a while to help pains, and maybe try eliminating a few things and seeing if it gets better.Also something to be weary of is how long after you eat it do you get the symptoms? I'm effected within hours, some people it can even up to a few days after. Hope you feel better, if you still can't work out symptoms make sure you request intolerance tests and further advice from a doctor x
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    If your cramps come at night and you have the yogurt in the morning I doubt that that is what it is. Or do you eat more during the day as well?
  • angel7472
    angel7472 Posts: 317 Member
    See Im the same as above. I can eat Greek yogurt, cottage cheese and cheese but if I drink a glass of milk I look like Im about to have a baby. It may just be the greek yogurt you are eating. I would experiment a bit since yogurt is good for you and has all kids of good bacteria in it that is supposed to help your digestive tract.
  • lilRicki
    lilRicki Posts: 4,555 Member
    I have a complete dairy intolerance. No whey, lactose, casien...nothing! The only way the Dr's figure it out, was I was so sick that they had to give me a shot of demerol in my butt and I had to take medication for 10 days. I was not allowed one smidgen of dairy for those 10 days. Once the pills were gone, I had to eat as much dairy as I could find, if I got sick again, I was allergic. Sure enough, it's been 9 years and I can't even have a taste of ice cream anymore. There are many dairy alternatives, and remember, goat cheese isn't dairy, but feta MIGHT be ;) Good luck!
  • pepper176
    pepper176 Posts: 16 Member
    About 6 months ago I finally realized that the frequent nighttime stomach aches/cramps/bloating I was dealing with were caused by dairy, specifically milk and ice cream. Yogurt doesn't seem to bother me, but I don't eat Greek yogurt so I'm not sure how that would affect me. I'm also fine with hard cheeses, but not soft ones. I also believe it has something to do with how the foods are processed. I've cut most dairy (other than cheese and a splash of milk or cream in my coffee) out of my diet and feel a whole lot better.

    My go-to breakfast is a wheat English muffin with almond butter. I don't know if that would fit into your particular diet parameters, but it's low in calories and keeps me running for hours, stomach-cramp free!
  • Howdoyoufeeltoday
    Howdoyoufeeltoday Posts: 481 Member
    I recently developed an allergy to dairy (I go to an allergist in march to confirm) so I know it sucks big time. All I can say is cut it out for about a month or so and see if it helps. if not then look at your diet and see what else could be causing it. (people have issues with gluten that could be causing some of the same issues). Good thing about counting calories is you have a list of everything you eat so you have always go back and look for patterns. :P
  • SpunkyBeanSprout
    SpunkyBeanSprout Posts: 6 Member
    It could be almost anything. I thought I was lactose intolerant. I did an elimination diet, and it turned out the main culprit was gluten. Gluten can also cause stomach pain and cramping. The only way to know is to eliminate the dairy, and then add it back in. Also, it is less likely for someone to be intolerant to yogurt vs. unfermented dairy like milk. Lactose intolerance is generally caused from not having the lactase enzyme.
  • summer8it
    summer8it Posts: 433 Member
    I figured out my dairy intolerance on my own by doing elimination diets; I was later diagnosed as having an issue with the proteins in milk, rather than lactose, but the solution is the same: avoid dairy!

    For the dairy elimination diet, I avoided all dairy for 2 weeks and then ate it again (and was miserable.) I also did a gluten elimination diet, separate from the dairy elimination diet, just to make sure that wasn't the issue. The results of the dairy elimination diet were completely clear -- I felt much better immediately.

    Because I'd been consuming something I was intolerant to for so long, I did have a lot of inflammation in my gut I had to heal. I followed a protocol of lots of fiber, lots of raw fruit and veg, probiotic pills daily, and digestive enzyme pills with every meal. After about 2 months I tapered off the probiotic and enzyme supplements. The improvement in my health is night and day.

    Living without dairy is worth it to me not to be sick. Almond milk is fantastic -- lots of calcium and lower calorie than dairy milk! -- and coconut milk ice cream is ridiculous, it's so good.

    Good luck figuring out what's bothering you. May you feel better soon!

    Edited to add that the elimination diet -- and long-term life without dairy -- requires a lot of label reading. There's hidden dairy in a lot of processed foods.
  • Skrib69
    Skrib69 Posts: 687 Member
    I would agree with a previous poster that if you are eating the yoghurt in the morning and getting the problems at night, it is unlikely to be the yoghurt, but everyone is different. You can try cutting it out again and seeing what happens, or you can get tested for everything and find out exactly what is going on. We did this with my sons and wife - turns out they were all allergic (in different measures) to:

    Tomatoes
    Chocolate
    Dairy
    Artificial colourings
    Citric acid
    Caffeine
    Dust

    The symptoms were gastric, mucal and behavioural. Once we had cut out the appropriate foods everyone improved dramatically. If we had tried to work it out by elimination alone, we would still be working on it - you would be amazed where products from those food group end up!! A packet of prawn cocktail flavoured crisps will have an instant result on the behaviour of my son and he will not calm down for 4 hours!. As has also been said, goat and milk products are fine, just cow products are in the dairy group!
  • Holly_k88
    Holly_k88 Posts: 59 Member
    Thankyou all very much for your comments I really appreciate the help. Does anyone know how about getting tested? is it with the doctor or is it a separate expense?

    Ive heard that an allergy test is different from an immunity test :/
  • Holly_k88
    Holly_k88 Posts: 59 Member
    Also id say the pain comes within 4-5 hours maybe less, it was more dinner than breakfast and Id be having the cramps by early evening.
  • brevislux
    brevislux Posts: 1,093 Member
    Yes. Dairy used to make my stomach pretty upset and also I had a problem with mucus after eating dairy. I did like all sorts of products, but couldn't eat too much of them because it made me feel bad. Often the things I bought were thrown away because I couldn't eat them anymore, though they tasted good to me.
    I stopped consuming dairy almost completely at some point and it helped a lot. Now I'm vegan for ethical reasons so it's obviously not a problem. I can 100% associate that feeling to the dairy, as it only happened to me on days I ate it.

    It's not hard to avoid dairy, especially on a day-to-day basis when you make your own food at home. When you're out I guess it's up to you.
    If symptoms disappear after you'd stopped consuming dairy, I don't think it's necessary to get tested. A pretty large amount of the world's population is intolerant at some level, some more than others. Lactose intolerance isn't a disease, it's just genetics.
    But if you feel like you need a stamp of approval, or you aren't sure where this comes from, then definitely get tested.

    If you want some help with ideas and recipes you can message me :)
  • Holly_k88
    Holly_k88 Posts: 59 Member
    Ah, thank you! :happy:

    Now that people have mentioned the mucas thing I've started to notice it I thought it was just the time of year but it seems to all make sense

    Im really sad though I've cut the yoghurt out and am missing it :sad:

    But suffering now, I had some mascarpone cheese and a piece of cheddar with my dinner so obviously I haven't noticed a difference I need to make a real go of it

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