- to handle even a couple of mouthfuls of milk, other people need to consume
a couple of pints of milk before they exhaust their immediate production of
lactase. You may find that your tolerance of lactose decreases as you age.. If you do have a severe lactose intolerance then perhaps you should elimi-
nate milk from your diet once you have built yourself up. But try to make
milk work for you at least while you are building yourself up.Dealing with lactose intolerance
. If you are lactose intolerant, here are some suggestions for helping you to
get a substantial amount of nutrition from diary products without digestive
tract discomfort.a. Drink milk by itself two hours after a meal. Later that day have the
same quantity of milk with a meal. Compare the way you feel after each,
and plan your future milk consumption accordingly. e milk may
digest well when apart from a meal, but not when taken with a meal.
b. Due to their reduced fat content, you may find low-fat and skim milk
easier to digest than regular (full-fat) milk.
c. Have a week off all dairy products and then add them to your diet but
do it in a very gradual way, starting with very small quantities. Only
choose the products that produce little or no negative reaction. Con-
sume some dairy product(s) each day and try to build up your tolerance
by adding just a little more each week until you get to a satisfactory
quantity you can handle comfortably.
d. A few mouthfuls of yogurt each time you drink milk may help in the
digestion of lactose. is is because the organisms contained in yogurt
will break down the lactose.
e. If the yogurt does not help enough with the digestion of milk, eliminate
milk and substitute with yogurt, cheese and cottage cheese. Comparing
the same quantity of protein and other nutrients, yogurt, cheese and
cottage cheese come with much less lactose, and in some cases even no
lactose.
f. Add the lactose-digesting enzyme when you consume dairy products.
In the , try tablets and drops you can get over the counter at phar-
macies, e.g., Lactaid®. rough trial and error you can determine how
much you need relative to the type and quantity of dairy product you