Lactose intolerance is an issue that significant people complain about. Essentially, in this condition, the body is unable to produce the desired amounts of the enzyme lactase, which helps in breaking down the milk sugar, lactose.
As a result, lactose gets passed around in the digestive tract undigested, and leads to various problems like nausea, gas, bloating, pain, diarrhea.
People with lactose intolerance then, following the advice of the Best Gastroenterologist in Islamabad, have to take a diet that contains a minimum quantity of lactose to prevent the onset of the unwanted symptoms.
Make healthy dietary choices
It is important to configure the diet according to the issue of lactose intolerance. Some helpful tips in this regard include:
Know your limit: Most people can take a limited amount of lactose through the day. Finding how much your body can take is key; the average is around 12g of lactose, but your body’s tolerance levels might vary.
Screening products: It is also important to get into the habit of screening the products for presence of lactose. For example, foods like instant potato mixes, waffles, instant coffee, certain salad dressings, flavored potato chips might have lactose in them. Hence, start reading labels.
Lactose-free alternatives: Since dairy products are an important source of nutrients, it is not possible to completely eliminate them from our diet. Instead, try to find lactose-free milk options.
Serving size: It may be hard to forgo dairy in entirety, especially if you are reliant on restaurant meals. In such cases, try to cut back on the portion size, as that means lesser consumption overall.
Supplements: You may also benefit from the use of supplements that contain lactase. These can then add to the body’s supply of lactase, helping in the breakdown of sugar and in preventing the symptoms of the condition. However, talk to your doctor before taking these supplements.
Dairy products low in lactose
Butter
Even though butter is a dairy product, and one would consider it off limits, however, due to its relatively low lactose content, people with the lactose intolerance and indulge in it.
For even more caution, you may use clarified butter for even less lactose content.
Hard cheese
People with lactose intolerance often think they have to bid adieu to the cheese that they love so much, but that is not the case. Hard cheeses like cheddar –bring on the grilled cheese sandwich –and Parmesan and Swiss contain less amount of lactose, and thus are not so hard on the system.
Heavy cream
As cream comes from the milk, one would consider it to be high in the milk sugar. Fortunately, for those with lactose intolerance, it does not. Heavy cream can also be used at times as a substitute for milk as well. So, enjoy the fettucine alfredo and the parfaits!
However, heavy cream is high in fat, which then poses the danger of weight gain. Therefore, exercise caution when using heavy cream.
Sour cream
Even though there is relatively higher amount of lactose in sour cream, but it is still safe for consumption by the lactose intolerant people. Even though sour cream cannot be hailed as a staple item, but it sure does add flavor to your salads, sandwiches, tacos etc.
Yogurt
Another dairy product that is possible for the lactose intolerant people to enjoy is yogurt. Since it’s fermented, the quantity of lactose is lesser. For an even more refined product, go for Greek yogurt, since the sugar content therein is further decreased.
The fact that yogurt is not entirely off-limits to people with the issue of lactose intolerance is vitally important as yogurt is extremely beneficial for the stomach. It contains probiotics that help feed the good bacteria in the gut, thereby ensuring that the system runs better, and you are less likely to run into problems that merit intervention of the Best Gastroenterologist in Rawalpindi.
