There is bad news and there is good news for all those people, who suffer from the type of allergy, known as lactose intolerance. The bad one is that lactose intolerance cannot be cured or healed by means of modern medicine or pharmaceutics. However, the good news is that people can quite effectively control the symptoms of the disease by implementing certain dietary modifications to their daily menu.
Below there are some of the practical tips, following which can help a person with lactose intolerance reduce the severity of allergic symptoms and “teach” his body to “tolerate” some of the lactose-containing products, at least at small amounts.
First of all, it should be underlined that milk is the main source of lactose; that is why, people with lactose intolerance are recommended to cut the consumption of milk and dairy products significantly. However, in most cases it is about reducing consumption, and not about complete elimination of dairy products. The point is that milk products contain a lot of vitamins and minerals, namely calcium, which is vitally important for bones growing.
Tip #1: Try to drink less milk (2-4 ounces at a time), but more often. The smaller the portion of milk you drink – the fewer chances you have to suffer from allergy.
Tip#2: Drink milk only during meals. The point is that when you combine milk with some other products – this slows down the digestion process, and thus the risks of allergic reaction also drop down.
Tip #3: Try to find your own “safe” dairy product. Not all milk products are similar in lactose content (for example, hard sorts of cheese contain very small amounts of lactose). Besides, a particular product, which causes severe allergic reaction in one person, can be absolutely safe for another. That is why, it is recommended to experiment with different types of dairy products, in order to find those items, which can be tolerated by your organism, and still supply you with valuable nutritional elements.
Tip #4: Read food labels carefully and watch out hidden lactose. Sometimes lactose is used as an ingredient in some foods or even medications; in this case, only a label can tell you whether the product you are about to buy contains allergen or not. Lactose can be hidden in such foods as breads and bakery, processed cereals, instant soups, margarine, salad dressing, candies and cookies.
Tip #5: Think of alternative calcium sources. When you reduce the consumption of dairy foods, the calcium supply also decreases, and this is not very good. That is why it is recommended to look for additional or alternative sources of calcium. Additional amount of calcium can be obtained from sardines, salmon, broccoli, oranges and soy.
Tip #6: Try calcium supplements. People, who suffer from lactose intolerance and who cannot receive enough calcium from dietary sources, can really benefit from taking calcium supplements.
Tip #7: Use lactase enzyme tablets. Lactose intolerance is caused by a particular enzyme in human digestive tract, which is responsible for digesting lactose from food. Happily, there are tablets, which contain such enzymes. Taking a tablet before meal can help many people with lactose intolerance avoid unpleasant allergic reactions. One of the most popular tablets in this class is Lactaid.
Nick
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