Lactose Intolerance Help
fancyqtr
Posts: 183 Member
I'm not sure where to ask this, but I am trying to find out about cheese for someone who is lactose intolerant. Is there a benefit to goat or sheep cheese instead of cow cheese? I've got some plant-based but the last time I tried it I couldn't stand it and the taste almost made me sick. I don't know how goat or sheep cheese stacks up on the lactose level.
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Replies
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Lactaid just came out with a lactose free cheese.3
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Lactaid pills or a store brand knockoff is the answer. Then you can eat any cheese you want to.I'm not sure where to ask this, but I am trying to find out about cheese for someone who is lactose intolerant. Is there a benefit to goat or sheep cheese instead of cow cheese? I've got some plant-based but the last time I tried it I couldn't stand it and the taste almost made me sick. I don't know how goat or sheep cheese stacks up on the lactose level.
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we have a farm and have goats.
if i remember correctly, the lactose in goat milk (perhaps sheep as well, I can't comment on that) is different than in cow milk. That is why some people can tolerate goat milk products when they can not tolerate cow milk products (my daughter is one of those).
If it is safe for you to do so (as in it doesn't cause any life threatening issues) maybe try a small amount and see how you respond to it. You could also consult with an allergist, who would be far more knowledgeable, I would imagine.5 -
Good morning, I am also lactose intolerant. However, If I eat items that are labeled “lactose free”, it makes me feel sick too. I am able to eat goat cheese, such as feta. I have tasted daiya products and I personally do not like them. I am able to eat hard aged cheese such as Parmesan. Not a lot, just a little sprinkled on my dinner. I mostly stay away from cheese and I only miss it occasionally. There are newer items coming out everyday and they are readily available. I used to have to go to a specialty store to get them, now I just go to shoprite or Acme. It’s worth trying a few different brands, you may find a brand that you love. Hoped this helps. On a side note, Ben & Jerry’s non-dairy ice cream is really good. It’s very rich in flavor so I only eat a few tablespoons if I want a sweet treat on a hot day. Hope this helps.
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I used that parmesan sprinkle cheese that comes in a jar and was find one day and 2 days later used some and got sick on it. I am so frustrated trying to find something. I don't like cheddar or colby. I like cheese like mozzarela and Monterey Jack.0
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Most of the lactate is in the whey and why most cheeses will be ok to consume for most people that are lactate sensitive. The harder the cheese the better. Goat and sheep cheese is normally tolerated very well regardless. imo5
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There is a difference between Bovine dairy and that of sheep and goats. There are 4 types of casein, 1, 2, 3, and 4. Type for is the dominant casein in Bovine dairy. Type 3 is the dominant casein in sheep and goat. Types 1 and 2 do not seem to cause any ill effects. Human milk is dominant type 3 casein.
Some people who are lactose intolerant have found turning to sheep and goat milk helpful because they are easier to digest being close to what is intended to humans. Some who are lactose intolerant have found these milks easier to digest, some found they eliminated their lactose reactions. One reason for this could be casein intolerance is actually more common than lactose intolerance. Casein is the proteins where as Lactose is the sugar.
Another milk which could be considered could be A2 tested bovine milk. These can be the Jersey or Guernsey cattle there probably other breeds I do not know of. These breeds are believed to have live in total isolation for possibly thousands of years, away from other herds which enabled them to develop on their own, type three dominance status. Of modern times these cattle are tested to be sure they are t3 dominant to be called A2 milk.
hope this helps.5 -
Experiment with the cheeses mentioned above. It helps if you have a local fromagerie or a specialty store in your area so you can ask questions, sample etc.
I gave it a good two years (goat brie was the tastiest and most tolerated for me) but I just don't eat or crave dairy so much that I needed to continue exploring.
Hope you find what works for you.
ETA: There are, obviously, different brands of brie lol So consider being open to experimenting that way as well with all the cheeses you try, OP
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You might find some cottage cheese or Feta cheese made from goat milk or sheep milk.. but those are hard to find, and more expensive.
What you need to remember is that lactose is a sugar, so it 's a carb.. so the lower carb cheeses tend to have less lactose.
You want aged cheeses which tend to be firmer. Swiss is very low, but I find it to not be very flavorful.. maybe added to a dish, it would be OK.. like shredded on top of a salad, or some hot food, for a bit of flavor, such as chili.
I tend to use Parmesan, and cheddar mostly, because they don't cause me any issues.. the sharper the cheddar the better, and the drier the Parmesan the better. I tend to buy crumbled Parmesan for salads, and I can eat 1-2 two ounce servings a week of EXTRA sharp cheddar.
Judge the servings size, frequency, and experiment with cheeses low in carbs to see which cheeses work for you. You know what lactose does to you, and how it makes you feel, so if you try a lower carb aged cheese, and get any symptoms.. just know it isn't for you.. find 3-4 that work for you, and it should make your life a little bit happier.
Often, we want the foods which are bad for us. I love cheese, but you just need to work out how much, and what kind you can have, and how often, and then enjoy it. I don't have any other dairy, but I worked cheese in, and feel good having done so.
Other aged cheeses which I eat less often due to cost, are Gouda, and one I love.. Manchego. These tend to have <1 g of carbs per 1 oz. serving. Gouda may have more flavors, and therefore more carbs, but usually from things added which are NOT lactose. It tends to have differently aged samples though.. younger ones may be an issue. I tend to squeeze the packet, and if it is soft, I pass.
Hope that helps, and enjoy some cheese.1 -
russellholtslander1 wrote: »You might find some cottage cheese or Feta cheese made from goat milk or sheep milk.. but those are hard to find, and more expensive.
What you need to remember is that lactose is a sugar, so it 's a carb.. so the lower carb cheeses tend to have less lactose.
You want aged cheeses which tend to be firmer. Swiss is very low, but I find it to not be very flavorful.. maybe added to a dish, it would be OK.. like shredded on top of a salad, or some hot food, for a bit of flavor, such as chili.
I tend to use Parmesan, and cheddar mostly, because they don't cause me any issues.. the sharper the cheddar the better, and the drier the Parmesan the better. I tend to buy crumbled Parmesan for salads, and I can eat 1-2 two ounce servings a week of EXTRA sharp cheddar.
Judge the servings size, frequency, and experiment with cheeses low in carbs to see which cheeses work for you. You know what lactose does to you, and how it makes you feel, so if you try a lower carb aged cheese, and get any symptoms.. just know it isn't for you.. find 3-4 that work for you, and it should make your life a little bit happier.
Often, we want the foods which are bad for us. I love cheese, but you just need to work out how much, and what kind you can have, and how often, and then enjoy it. I don't have any other dairy, but I worked cheese in, and feel good having done so.
Other aged cheeses which I eat less often due to cost, are Gouda, and one I love.. Manchego. These tend to have <1 g of carbs per 1 oz. serving. Gouda may have more flavors, and therefore more carbs, but usually from things added which are NOT lactose. It tends to have differently aged samples though.. younger ones may be an issue. I tend to squeeze the packet, and if it is soft, I pass.
Hope that helps, and enjoy some cheese.
Yeah, the older the better. Aging causes the lactose which is a sugar to be converted by the bacteria to lactic acid, which reduces or eliminates the lactose.3 -
We raised goats for milk when I was a kid (pun intended) and my understanding is that people who have a hard time digesting cow's milk *may* be able to tolerate goat's milk.
A quick google search shows that goat's milk does have less lactose, and while not perhaps not significantly less, there are other factors that might make it a good option. Example:
https://lactosefree101.com/goats-milk-lactose-free/
...While goat’s milk contains less lactose than cow’s milk, there is certainly enough there. While cow’s milk often contains 12-14 grams per cup serving, goat’s milk typically contains 9 grams. Even for people with mild cases of lactose intolerance, a glass of goat’s milk is certainly too much.
While goat’s milk does contain significant amounts of lactose, some people who suffer from lactose intolerance find goat’s milk to be far easier to consume, even more than the reduced amount of lactose could account for. Also helping digestion is the relatively small size of the fat dispersed in goat’s milk. The smaller globule size of fats allow more access to your digestive enzymes in your gut combined with a softer curd can allow your body to digest the milk easier, which can ease the pain and discomfort of lactose intolerance.1 -
Lactose intolerant here. Goat and sheep based cheese work fine for me, no reaction at all. Hard cheeses like Parmesan are OK too, in moderation. Anything made out of cow milk, nope, never. I think it's just a matter of trying things out and seeing what works and what doesn't. In general, older, harder cheese OK, younger, softer cheese, not OK.3
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My daughter is dairy intolerant which is a step above just lactose intolerant however no goat cheese causes her problems. Its something worth trying IMO.2
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In my previous post talking about types of casein. I was saying cow/bovine dairy is type 4 dominant but the 4 went missing, very sorry.
So bovine is type 4 dominant, goat and sheep along with human is type 3 dominant which generally makes it easier to digest. From my nutritionist and more reading of my own, more people are casein intolerant than lactose because someone is more likely to react to protein.3 -
A lot of people who cannot tolerate cow milk can tolerate sheep or goats milk cheeses but not all.
Vegan cheeses are also worth looking at. I can make specific recommendations but they are only useful for the UK.1 -
In my previous post talking about types of casein. I was saying cow/bovine dairy is type 4 dominant but the 4 went missing, very sorry.
So bovine is type 4 dominant, goat and sheep along with human is type 3 dominant which generally makes it easier to digest. From my nutritionist and more reading of my own, more people are casein intolerant than lactose because someone is more likely to react to protein.
Yes, casein intolerance is often miss diagnosed as lactose intolerance.1 -
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neanderthin wrote: »
I assume they mean specific brand recommendations that are only available in the UK.3 -
Oh, right. Thanks.0
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Kefir is supposed to be friendly for people with lactose intolerance. I may be totally misremembering this, but I think the process of fermentation caused the doodlebug thinggybobs to feed on the lactose, eliminating most of it. I made mine with cow milk, it’s also made with other milks.
It’s very easy to make a soft cheese by making kefir (which is super easy to do- too easy. I had to stop because production was more than I could possibly consume by myself) and then draining the kefir to make labneh.
I got a super draining basket off Amazon that worked well for making kefir and labneh. I use it now to make paneer.
(I’m obsessed with farmers type cheeses after visits to rural Eastern Europe. OMG, the soft cheeses right from the field !!!)2 -
That sounds interesting about the kefir. Maybe I can try something like that, making the cheese from it. I wasn't able to get my goat milk yet. Will try to get it tomorrow. My friend was at the feed store when I called her yesterday. I did get a small amount of goat cheese from Safeway. It has only 1 gram of carbs in it.2
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Good luck, I am not here to offer any cheese advice BUT one of my favorite things to bring to a potluck is brigadeiro (Brazillian truffle/caramel things). They basically are made with sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips and/or cocoa powder, and a bit of fat (butter usually)....you cook that until it gets thicker/caramelized and then let it cool and roll it into balls, roll in something that will keep them from sticking together (cinnamon, cocoa powder, coconut, etc.) and voila!
I went to a party recently where a couple people were there who were lactose intolerant but I still wanted to make it. I figured (incorrectly) that I could just sub out the sweetened condensed milk for sweetened condensed coconut milk. I made it the same way ( I just used a flavorless oil as the fat). So...sweetened condensed coconut milk doesn't caramelize the same as regular milk BUT - instead of the texture being that of a truffle/caramel....it had the texture of MOCHI and it was amazing. Highly recommend my mistake. LOL.1 -
I found out that Nestle's has lactose free evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk. It's hard to find, though. I did find the condensed but haven't found the evaporated. Still trying to find cheese. The one plant-based I got tasted okay as is, but was hard and when melted it tasted funny. I haven't tried the almond-based one yet. Can't very well make cheeseburgers unless I make them with cream cheese.0
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I'm lactose intolerant, but I can handle small amounts of dairy. Maybe I'm not really lactose intolerant, maybe I'm sensitive to something else.
Ice cream kills me. I can have half and half in my coffee, a single serving of milk, whey protein powder (usually lactose free), yogurt, cheese in moderation (like I can eat string cheese). But things made with velveeta kill me. (cheese dip and macaroni & cheese) - my symptoms are worse when I eat beef with the cheese stuff (tacos, steak with mac & cheese).
So basically it's ice cream and velveeta. Well that is interesting.1 -
ExistingFish wrote: »I'm lactose intolerant, but I can handle small amounts of dairy. Maybe I'm not really lactose intolerant, maybe I'm sensitive to something else.
Ice cream kills me. I can have half and half in my coffee, a single serving of milk, whey protein powder (usually lactose free), yogurt, cheese in moderation (like I can eat string cheese). But things made with velveeta kill me. (cheese dip and macaroni & cheese) - my symptoms are worse when I eat beef with the cheese stuff (tacos, steak with mac & cheese).
So basically it's ice cream and velveeta. Well that is interesting.
Could it be the *combination* of dairy and fat? Or maybe just the fat? How's your gallbladder?
https://www.healthline.com/health/gallbladder-diet#foods-to-avoid2 -
It is interesting that it is mainly the ice cream and velveeta that is bothering you. I wonder if it is whatever is used to make the "cheese foods" like velveeta a problem. Maybe I can manage some of the cheeses I was eating if I don't have them too often. That would be good.
I usually haven't had problems with the ice cream unless I had too much of it. I often wonder if it has to do with the sugar in it, too, but it must be the combination of the lactose and the sugar if that because lactose free ice cream doesn't bother me at all. At least not so far.1 -
I'm not sure where to ask this, but I am trying to find out about cheese for someone who is lactose intolerant. Is there a benefit to goat or sheep cheese instead of cow cheese? I've got some plant-based but the last time I tried it I couldn't stand it and the taste almost made me sick. I don't know how goat or sheep cheese stacks up on the lactose level.
I'm not sure what kind of plant-based cheese you had but if you want to go that route again some of my favorites are Violife and Miyokos but they are an acquired taste. I usually stick to coconut and/or cashew based cheeses. Trader Joes has some better options these days as well especially their parmesan shreds. There is a wide variety of plant-based cheese and they all taste differently. One weird thing about Trader Joes Cheddar Style slices is that on their own they taste odd but melted on a burger seems to change it for the better. My wife is vegan so she always brings home new things to try some are really good and others not so much.0 -
Any fermented dairy product *should* be ok as the microbes used to make these products have eaten the lactose for you.
However, from experience, I can tell you that how much they eat (and therefore how much is left) can really vary from product to product. Hard cheeses are generally better than soft cheese. Cottage cheese still has whey (which contains lactose!) so that's out unless it is specifically labeled lactose free. Fresh mozzarella balls floating in liquid? That liquid is whey (again, contains lactose), so that's out! Also, be careful of low-fat soft dairy foods, as the manufacturers often add milk to thin it out (I'm looking at you, low-fat sour cream!). Read labels carefully. If it says "cultured milk" in the ingredients, you are fine. If it says "cultured milk" followed or preceded by "milk", skip it.
I'm generally fine with products labeled "lactose free", while others in the house think they taste gross. I don't notice, but YMMV.0 -
P.S. It's my understanding that any milk (goat, cow, sheep, etc.) contains lactose in roughly the same amount. I don't touch any of them for that reason (also, goat's milk smells like goats, so.... blgh.. hahaha). Having said that, there is an idea that goat's milk has different fatty acids in it which effect how the lactose is absorbed. That means that some people can tolerate it better than cow's milk. But, it's really variable. Proceed with caution.0
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My wife was told she was allergic to cow dairy years ago. We both stopped eating it. Over time, she started developing a histamine intolerance. We started eating sheep and goat cheese and it didn't bother her at all. Also, the histamine intolerance issues disappeared.
If you have a Costco or a Trader Joes nearby, I can help you with cheeses. I'm also a pretty good home chef.
Pecorino means "sheep" in Italian. It's sheep parmesan basically.
Even Krogers and Frys have started carrying sheep feta. Not much more, just slightly more money. Costco and TJs have sheep feta. So does Sprouts. Not too hard to find now. Real feta, BTW, is sheep. It isn't cow. That's Americanized Feta.
Sprouts (and many stores in the Midwest) carry Goat Mozz. There's like four or so brands of it. And I really don't love Goat Cheese all that much, typically, though that flavor that's so strong is from the K2 in it (very healthy for you). You can't tell Goat Mozz is goat. It's very good. As an alternative to that, if you can't find it, Trader Joe's had a P'tit Basque cheese. They also have one of the most tolerable plant based Mozzarellas as well.
Kroger, back in the Midwest, had a Goat Sharp in their deli department. More expensive but good.
My favorite cheese, though, is Manchego, a Spanish cheese. Delicious multipurpose cheese. Some Mexican restaurants sell "manchegos", which are typically just Manchego cheese melted between two corn tortillas (basically a Quesadilla made with sheep cheese).
Costco has Manchego and Pecorino cheeses very cheap. Like $7.99 a pound. I go there like once every six weeks and just stock up. Way cheaper than anywhere else. Also have the sheep feta. TJs is my second go to. Whole Foods and Sprouts are last on the list. Much more expensive there.
Any questions, feel free to PM me. Drunken Goat is also great. There are more.0
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