Food Options for people who are lactose intolerant

By Samyati Mohanty

Lactose intolerance is a condition in which your body has trouble digesting lactose, a natural sugar found in milk. You might be able to tolerate some dairy products, but you should stick to a lactose intolerance diet tailored to your needs. Avoidance is the best treatment for lactose intolerance, but you must ensure that you get enough calcium in your diet. You can do this by enhancing your diet with the right items. Learn about healthy — and tasty — meal options that can help you avoid lactose intolerance symptoms like gas, bloating, and diarrhoea.

Drinking Lactose-Free Milk

You can still include cow's milk in your lactose intolerance diet by purchasing lactase-added milk in your breakfast or with a plate of cookies. Lactase is the enzyme that breaks down the sugar in milk; lactose intolerance is caused by a lack of this enzyme. Lactase-added milk and milk products are available at most stores. This lactose-intolerant diet has all of the nutrients found in regular milk, but it may have a slightly sweeter flavour.

Attempt Soy Milk once

According to the National Academy of Sciences, men and women aged 19 to 50 should ingest 1,000 mg of calcium every day. This works out to about three glasses of milk each day. What can you do if you have lactose intolerance and your diet relies heavily on milk and other dairy products for calcium? One option is calcium-fortified soy milk, which has up to 500 milligrammes of calcium per serving. If your child has a milk allergy, which is separate from lactose intolerance, he or she may be allergic to soy milk. If you have a milk allergy, don't substitute soy milk.

Look into Other Milk Types

Drinking goat, sheep, or buffalo milk will not relieve your symptoms because all milk from mammals contains lactose. Lactose-intolerant milks are available if you don't like soy milk but still want milk in your cereal or coffee. These dairy-free meals are high in vitamins and antioxidants but lack natural calcium. Almond milk is high in magnesium and vitamin E. Rice milk includes a lot of vitamin B12 and almost little saturated fat. Coconut milk has a similar creamy texture to cow's milk, but it's high in saturated fat. Other vegetable milks include oat, hemp, and cashew. However, many cow's milk substitutes do not work well in recipes that call for dairy, such as soups or pastries.

Consume Yoghurt to Reduce Lactose

Lactose-free dairy products, such as yoghurt with active bacterial cultures, are recommended if you have lactose intolerance, according to the American Dietary Guidelines. Yogurt may cause less bloating since its 'good' bacteria have already broken down much of the lactose. Frozen yoghurt, on the other hand, may not be ideal for your lactose sensitivity diet because it lacks active cultures.

Cheese 

Lactose content in fermented cheeses is lower than in other dairy products, thus little amounts may be tolerated. They're high in calcium and protein and should be included in your lactose intolerance diet. Lactose-free hard or matured cheeses include Swiss, Parmesan, and blue cheeses. Lactose concentration in these cheeses is often less than 2 g/oz, compared to 11 g/oz in a cup of milk. Try basic cheese and crackers for a calcium boost, or make these quick Roast Beef and Blue Cheese Spears for an elegant snack.

Ice cream can be replaced with sherbet.

If you crave dessert, you might be able to substitute sherbet for ice cream on your lactose sensitivity diet. Sherbet contains dairy, however it is a low-lactose meal, containing about 4 to 6 grammes of lactose per cup, about the same as yoghurt and half as much as ice cream. Sherbet is a good example of a hidden source of lactose because it isn't typically thought of as a dairy product. Lactose can be found in soups, salad dressings, and packed breakfast dishes. Make sure you don't consume too many of these items at once, as this may cause lactose intolerance symptoms. If you're looking for a lactose-free dessert, go for ices or sorbet, which are dairy-free frozen sweets.

Calcium-Fortified Dairy-Free Foods

If you are lactose intolerant and must avoid any dairy products. Leafy green vegetables provide an adequate amount of calcium. Rhubarb, spinach, broccoli, and some greens like kale are all calcium-rich vegetables. For example, one cup of cooked spinach has about 250 milligrammes of calcium. Other foods to include in a lactose intolerance diet are pinto beans and calcium-fortified orange juice.

Go on a Calcium-Rich Food Hunt

It's critical to understand that lactose sensitivity worsens with age. Unfortunately, as you get older, your calcium needs increase. For people over 50, the daily calcium intake recommended is 1,200 mg, which is more than the calcium intake requirement for a younger adult (1,000 mg). If you're in this age range and can't eat dairy, you should eat calcium-rich foods that don't contain dairy. One method is to eat a lot of fish. Calcium levels are notably high in sardines and other tiny fish with frail bones. Sardines with bones, for example, provide more than 300 mg in 3 ounces. Another high-calcium seafood to include in a lactose intolerance diet is salmon and tuna.