Foods to Avoid If You Are Lactose Intolerant

It is not uncommon for people’s body to change as they get older and suddenly develop an intolerance to Lactose.

Basically, being “Lactose Intolerant” means that your body is now unable to digest and absorb lactose (the sugar in milk) and can cause gastrointestinal symptoms when milk, or any product containing milk, is consumed.

Until about two years ago I was a huge milk drinker. I never thought twice about how much I drank. I also never realized how many other items in my diet contained milk until my body could not longer digest it properly.

Every person is different and so is their level of tolerance. Some can take it in small doses, while others, hardly at all. I fall in the “hardly at all” category. I have to admit, it is not the worst thing in the world. Actually there have been a few benefits to eliminating a lot of the dairy products that used to be in my diet.

First of all, it is a huge relief to no longer suffer the symptoms that went along with those products: extreme bloating, stomach pains, feeling extremely tired, “heavy” or uncomfortable after having a meal that contained milk in it. I also found I started losing weight fairly quickly when I eliminated a lot of those products. I feel lighter and have more energy.

I haven’t completely eliminated dairy products from my diet, but I have reduced it by at least 80%. For those times when I do have dairy, the product Lactaid works very well for me and I make sure to always have at least one or two pills with me in case I eat out somewhere unexpectedly. (You can buy these pills over the counter in most drug stores.)

The Lactaid works perfectly if I take it 5 minutes before eating anything that contains milk. I don’t go overboard in using it however, because I am assuming my body is trying to tell me something, and if it doesn’t like milk…well, who am I to tell it different?

I have however, gotten caught off guard a few times when I have eaten something that contained lactose and I didn’t realize it or stop to think about it. The following is a list of items that contain lactose that you too may not have realized.

Beverages:

Whole Milk, Low fat milk and nonfat milk

Half & Half, Cream, Evaporated, condensed or powdered milk

Chocolate Milk, Ovaltine or Instant Breakfast drinks

Breads/Starches:

Most bread, cereal and crackers

Muffins, biscuits, pancakes or waffles

Cake mixes

Macaroni and Cheese

Potatoes that have been creamed, scalloped or au gratin

Pizza (this one gets me every time – take your Lactaid)

Protein Foods:

Cheese and cheese spreads

Cottage cheese

Any kind of creamed meat, poultry or fish

Omelets, soufflés or quiche prepared with milk or cheese

Peanut butter with added milk solids

Fats:

Salad Dressings that contain milk (usually creamy brands)

Butter

Margarine,

Cream, sour cream or cream cheese

Dessert:

Ice Cream

Sherbet

Yogurt

Chocolate

Custards, Pies and Cakes

Puddings made with milk

Vegetables:

Any vegetable that has been creamed, buttered or breaded

Candies:

Artificial sweeteners
Caramel
Toffee
Butterscotch

Soups:

Creamed soups

While it might be a little disheartening to see how much of the “good” stuff has lactose, if you look over the list again, you will probably also realize that a lot of that food wasn’t really good for you anyway and that those foods contain some of the highest fat content of any foods that you can eat.

So just think, not only will you feel better without the symptoms of lactose intolerance, you will also lose weight and have tons of energy by eliminating most of them.

Sources:
http://lactaid.com/
http://www.cpmc.org/advanced/pediatrics/patients/topics/lactosefree.html