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bex · Chanel

lactose intolerant?

RyanJ · Coach

I am lactose intolerant and I take lactaid or another offbrand medication that I find at Target. It works pretty well. I also buy milk for lactose intolerant people. It taste a little sweeter than regular milk, but it still taste good.

I have also found that if I am going to drink milk it helps if I drink it with a meal. Like if I drink just a glass of milk then I am definatley going to feel crappy, but if I drink milk w/ my dinner it tends to minimize the negative effects.

jaymiek · Coach

I am semi-lactose intolerant. I can't drink milk. Period. It's just bad if I do. I think it's because I drank soymilk instead of regular milk for a whole year when I had my own apt. in college. But I can have yogurt, cheese, ice cream, and cottage cheese and I'll be fine. Weird huh? My sister says you can slowly wean yourself to get "tolerant" again, like eating little amounts of yogurt or cheese helps so your body can get used to digesting lactose again. She says it worked for her.

There are a lot of soy-based products out there that do not contain lactose, so you might want to try those?

Deuce · Dooney & Bourke

I am able to eat yogurt, and cheese in small amounts. I cannot handle milk or icecream. I do sorbet instead if I need a fix, but I am not a huge icecream fan. I recently started drinking lactaid milk and am doing fine with it, it just tastes like skim milk to me, but I only really eat it with cereal. I dont really take lactaid in pill form unless I need a milkshake or am in a situation where I really dont have controll over the meal (dinner at friends or family).

I have done some reading and found out a few things that I found interesting. Some people think they have a lactose intollerence and it really is a cows milk intollerence. Also sometimes people are able to have all dairy in smaller amounts without symptoms. So if you get sick after a glass of milk, try 1/2 of a glass next time and see if that helps.

Here is the link to a site that has some info that I found helpful.

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/lactoseintolerance/

I want a milkshake now

bex · Chanel

thanks for all your info. i'll check out that website you posted Deuce.

my friend who is also lactose intolerant told me that i shouldn't take any type of lactaid type product b/c it makes you feel worse because you can't go. (i don't want to go into descriptives, but i am sure you know what i mean)

she also suggested rice milk instead of soy b/c apparently soy is not so great for women. anyone have any experience with soy milk?

Deuce · Dooney & Bourke

I dont really take the pills but have had no problems with the lactaid milk.

I gave soy a try and did not like it, not to mention it was hard on my tummy.

Rice milk is not for me, personal taste. My mom drinks rice milk in vanilla and really likes it. I think you can also get it in chocolate. I have a friend who cannot drink regular milk but does fine with organic.

In my experience this is one of those things you have to feel out for yourself. You will know quickly if you can do rice milk, soy or lactose free milk. You will know if you like taking the pills and if they work with your body. It may take some experimenting but you will find a diet that works for you.

I have not always been as sensitive as I am now. I used to be able to have milk, icecream, etc. I started having problems a few years ago. I pretty much cut out all dairy in order to avoid the problems. And sometimes experimenting wasn't very fun. But I have found a good balance and I feel like I am getting the right amount of calcium and vitamins. I have a lot of opinions on dairy products and the things that are in them that I will not really go into here because I have gone on long enough, but I highly recommend organic of whatever dairy you do eat.

KaffeeKlatsch · Marc Jacobs

Hiya Bex...

My son and I are both L.I....so...we drink only Lactaid or Dairy Ease (best price on Lactaid is at Walmart btw) and I get our cheese and ice cream products free of lactose at the Natural Food Market.

Elle · Hermes

Bex - you should try goat's milk. It tastes exactly like regular cows milk, but doesn't contain lactose because lactose is specific only to cows. Most specialty grocers should carry it .

I had a severe milk allergy from ages 3 to 11 (only milk, I was fine with cheese/yogurt/icecream) and drank goats milk instead of cows milk. Worked well for me!

needsfashionadvice · Kate Spade

bex wrote:

thanks for all your info. i'll check out that website you posted Deuce. my friend who is also lactose intolerant told me that i shouldn't take any type of lactaid type product b/c it makes you feel worse because you can't go. (i don't want to go into descriptives, but i am sure you know what i mean) she also suggested rice milk instead of soy b/c apparently soy is not so great for women. anyone have any experience with soy milk?

I love soy milk, I drink the chocolate 8th continent light brand. I like the regular and vanilla flavored also. I have a problem only when drinking straight milk, I can eat cheese, yogurt, ice cream, but look out if I drink milk. That's why I switched to soy.

Why is it not so good for women? Maybe I should switch to rice milk?

Elle · Hermes

Soy in high doses can be a problem - it's been linked to thyroid disorders and such. In general though soy protein is very good for you, so as long as you aren't downing 2 or 3 huge glasses of soy milk everyday it's probably not a problem.

bex · Chanel

needsfashionadvice wrote:

Why is it not so good for women? Maybe I should switch to rice milk?

my friend is into organic food big time. i'll try to call her to get the exact verbage she used but basically it was that it acts as an "upper" for women. so that we get really really up off of soy and then fall. she has a book that was saying that soy does this to women... and then she realized that she was experiencing that b/c all she could have was soymile due to her LI.

i have no idea why all of a sudden i can't have these food items. but saturday night i had pizza (with cheese!) and ice cream and i had HORRIBLE pains all night. same thing happened a few days earlier with something else milk related. i stopped eating dairy and have found that the pains have stopped.

it is nice to see that i am not alone in this.

Deuce- i am pretty sure that i know what you would say about dairy from cows. my friend (same one above) and my boyfriend are really against cow's milk for humans. we have soy at home that we use for cereal.

bex · Chanel

i just wanted to say thanks to all of you who posted replies on what to do in my newfound dilemna!

this week, i was able to not eat any dairy products and you know what? i didn't miss them! so far.... i haven't had a craving for ice cream yet!

and at starbucks- i can still get my fave caramel macchiatto with soy... so all is good in my dairy-free land!

erin · Chanel

late in the game, but almond milk is really tasty! i don't know how it compares to cow's milk in terms of nutrients, but it tastes very similar to soymilk for me (if you don't want to drink soy).