How To Get Calcium If You’re Lactose Intolerant

Almost everyone, as a baby, has the ability to digest lactose, the natural sugar found in mammal milk, but many adults lose this ability as they age. If you experience abdominal discomfort, cramping, gas and diarrhea after eating dairy products, you can feel better and prevent these unpleasant symptoms by keeping lactose-containing foods out of your diet.

Regular milk is the most concentrated source of lactose. Avoid drinking milk, adding it to your cereal or cooking with it to keep your lactose intake as low as possible and prevent symptoms. Goat milk and the milk of other mammals contain a similar amount of lactose compared to cow milk.

Lactose-free milk is a suitable alternative. Lactose-free milk is supplemented with lactase, the enzyme that’s required to properly break down lactose. If you prefer to avoid dairy, choose soy milk, almond milk, coconut milk or rice milk, but be aware that only enriched varieties provide the same calcium content as regular milk.

Fresh cheeses have a moderate lactose content. Avoid ricotta cheese, cottage cheese and feta cheese and foods prepared with these ingredients to prevent embarrassing digestive problems. Even if you are lactose intolerant, you can still enjoy aged cheeses, such as Brie, cheddar and Swiss. Aged cheeses have a very low lactose content. Most people with lactose intolerance can tolerate moderate amounts, but try not to eat too much at once to avoid exceeding your individual tolerance.

Commercial yogurts still contain some lactose, but not as much as regular milk. Depending on the severity of your lactose intolerance, commercially-prepared yogurts may be best to avoid. However, you can prepare your own homemade yogurt and make it almost completely lactose-free by extending the fermentation process to up to 24 hours. A longer fermentation time allows the bacteria to break down most of the lactose before you eat the yogurt, which prevents you from experiencing gastrointestinal problems.

Ice cream contains less lactose than milk and commercial yogurts, but it can still be enough to cause bloating, abdominal pain and diarrhea in very sensitive people. You can make your own ice cream with lactose-free milk or coconut milk if you want to enjoy a safe lactose-free iced treat.

Many processed foods can contain skim milk powder or other lactose-containing ingredients. Read food labels and make sure you don’t see any skim milk powder, cheese or yogurt on the label of the foods you want to buy. For example, Bechamel sauces, creamed soups and prepared mashed potatoes are all likely to contain hidden lactose. Make them yourself at home with low-lactose ingredients.

Kefir and acidophilus milk both consist of regular milk to which “good” bacteria, or probiotics, are added. Probiotics are identical to or similar to the beneficial bacteria found naturally in the human body. There’s strong evidence that probiotics are useful in treating diarrhea, and they show potential for treating a number of other conditions, including irritable bowel syndrome, eczema and tooth decay, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Kefir and acidophilus milk both contain live cultures, but vary quite a bit in which bacteria and how many they contain. Acidophilus milk contains Lactobacillus acidophilus. It may also contain Bifidobacterium bifidum, a probiotic that’s also found in yogurt. Kefir may contain anywhere from 10 to 20 or more beneficial bacteria, including several different strains of Lactobacilli, according to an article in the “Food Science and Technology Bulletin.” It also contains yeasts.

Kefir and acidophilus milk have very different flavors and textures. Kefir is tangy, like yogurt, and has the consistency of a milkshake. Traditional kefir, which may be made from cow’s, sheep’s or goat’s milk, is slightly fizzy. Sweet, or unfermented, acidophilus milk closely resembles regular milk in flavor and texture. Fermented acidophilus milk is a bit tangier and thicker than regular milk. Kefir also comes in a variety of flavors, like yogurt, while acidophilus milk is usually sold plain.

Both kefir and acidophilus milk have the same nutrition profile as the milk they’re made from. Unflavored acidophilus milk or kefir made from 1 percent milk has 120 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 12 grams of sugar and 8 grams of protein, and provides 10 percent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s daily value for vitamin A, 30 percent of the DV for calcium and 25 percent of the DV for vitamin D. Flavored, sweetened kefir has more calories and sugar.

Lactobacillus acidophilus may not have much effect on lactose intolerance, according to MedlinePlus. Fermented dairy products such as kefir often contain less lactose than fresh dairy products. In a small study published in the “Journal of the American Dietetic Association,” kefir reduced symptoms in lactose-intolerant participants. The researchers recommended further studies of kefir’s effects on lactose intolerance.