Lactose Intolerance

Some people find that milk and milk products make them feel sick. If you regularly get gas, diarrhea or stomach cramps within an hour after eating or drinking milk products then you may have lactose intolerance.

Lactose intolerance means that the body cannot break down lactose, the sugar in milk. This is what causes the discomfort.

Tips for coping with lactose intolerance

Most people with lactose intolerance can actually eat and drink milk products. Here are some ideas to try. If the discomfort doesn’t happen then these are things you can keep doing:

• Drink smaller amounts of milk at one time. Start with ¼ to ½ cup of milk once a day with a meal. If you feel ok with this after a few days, try drinking ¼ to ½ cup milk twice a day with a meal. Slowly increase the amount of milk you drink at one time over a few weeks. Often people find that if they do it slowly, they can drink 1 cup of milk with each meal and have no discomfort.
• Drink milk with meals or snacks, not by itself
• Yogurt and chocolate milk is often easier to take than plain milk
• Warm milk is tolerated better than cold milk
• Add milk powder to soups, casseroles, mashed potatoes or baking
• Eat hard cheese such as cheddar, mozzarella, marble or swiss. They don’t have as much lactose in them.
• Try Lactaid™ or Lacteeze™ milk – you can find it with the regular milk in the fridge section of the grocery store in some communities. It has the lactose broken down in it so you won’t feel any discomfort. It tastes the same as regular milk
• Ask your Pharmacist about pills or tablets that break down lactose. They can be added to milk and then the milk won’t cause you the discomfort. If you use these, the milk must be stored in the fridge for 24 hours before you drink it.

Source: Health Canada.  Reproduced with the permission of the Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2010^©