Lactose Free Diet Weight Loss Diet Nutrition Tips Guide

Lactose Free Diet With Dairy Free Products

By Tracy Kerr-Walshe

Lactose free diet is for people who cannot eat dairy products and need to switch to dairy free products. These are the days you can buy dairy free chocolate, therefore it is not difficult to replace many of your dairy ingredients with dairy free alternatives. For example, you may be able to switch the dairy milk on your breakfast cereal, with soy milk or rice milk.

If you feel any pain after eating a dairy product, then you should see your medical doctor to confirm a medical diagnosis. If you are found to be lactose intolerant, then your doctor will inform you of the foods to avoid. You may also be referred to a dietitian to review your options and advise you how to manage your lactose free diet.

You may need to switch your dairy products, with lactose free products and the dietitian will give you a list of foods that can be taken as alternatives to dairy products. Once you understand how to avoid including dairy ingredients in your meals, then you will be on the way to living successfully on a lactose free diet.

Allergic Reaction To Milk

Imagine finishing off a delicious batch of cookies with a nice, big glass of milk to go along with it and later on in the day you begin to not feel so good inside. Your stomach hurts, you feel bloated, and you might even feel nauseous, and you’re wondering what could have happened to make you feel this way.

All you did was have some milk and cookies, like you always have once in a while. How could such a good combination have anything to do with such a horrible feeling? But the next couple of times you have some milk and cookies and experience the same negative symptoms, you start to realize that there’s a pattern here.

Stop Producing Lactase To Digest Lactose

Then you have some milk and cereal, and there your stomach goes again, and you figure out that it’s got to be the milk that’s the culprit. But why now, when drinking milk was fine before? In any case, from this point you’ll have to watch your lactase consumption.

Unfortunately, lactose intolerance attacks many people during adulthood. Dairy products are full of lactose, and for some reason our bodies stop producing lactase, which is needed to digest it. Sometimes this is due to disease or genetic defect, but most of the time it’s just an annoying development.

Lower Rates Of Lactose Intolerance Where Dairy Consumption Is High

Some researchers think that it’s because we need milk when we’re younger, but when we’re fully grown we don’t need it as much so our bodies lose the ability to digest lactose. This may be, but culture plays a part in lactose intolerance as well.

Countries where dairy consumption is a big part of culture have lower rates of lactose intolerance, whereas countries that have a mostly lactose free diet have more lactose intolerance inhabitants. Still, lactose intolerance can happen to people who regularly enjoy dairy products.

Your Degree Of Lactose Intolerance

A lactose free diet might be necessary for people who have developed lactose intolerance. A lactose free diet might exclude milk, cheese, yogurt and unfortunately ice cream, but it will vary according to individual.

In some cases, a lactose free diet might include products like lactase milk that is easier for lactose intolerant individuals to digest. You actually might not have to give up dairy completely if your lactose intolerance is less severe; instead you might limit your dairy portions to prevent symptoms.

Either way, life won’t be the same anymore without your regularly dairy fix, but a glass of milk probably isn’t worth spending a whole night suffering from abdominal pain.

Confirming Your Lactose Intolerance

If you suddenly develop abdominal pains after drinking a glass of milk, or eating a dairy product, you should see your medical doctor to confirm your diagnosis. If lactose intolerance is confirmed, your doctor will confirm the dairy products you should leave out of your diet. You may be referred to a dietitian to advise you how to manage your diet and how to find alternative dairy free products.

For example, you may find you can purchase dairy free products like cookies, and milk not made from dairy products. You may be able to switch to soy milk or rice milk. There are many options when you want to continue to enjoy your breakfast in the morning. You only need to switch any food ingredients that include milk, with alternative products.

Many dairy free products are available at the health food section in food stores, and you will often find a wider range in health food stores. You will find over a period of time, it is not difficult to stay away from dairy products when on a lactose free diet.

Please Note: All information given on this site is for information purposes and is not to replace any medical opinion or medical diagnosis given by a qualified medical doctor, a dietitian/nutritional expert or any other medical expert, as individual circumstances may vary. Please see your medical doctor, before any action is taken to alleviate symptoms.

This Article was about Lactose Free Diet.

About the Author:
Tracy Kerr-Walshe is an author of dieting, weight loss and nutrition articles including Effective Weight Loss, Full Body Detox, Juice Fasting.
Keep a lookout for more of her articles coming soon.

Did You Know?

If you stop and think about it raw food diets make sense to those individuals who are wanting more flavor and vitamins in their foods. After all, cooking does drain vegetables and meats of their essential vitamins and nutrients through the cooking process.

Of course you cannot eat all meats raw or undercooked but there are plenty of books and websites that can direct you to the foods that are great for this diet.