The diet for lactose intolerance is based on reducing the consumption or exclusion of foods containing lactose, such as milk and its derivatives. Following the lactose-free diet makes the symptoms of lactose intolerance disappear, such as diarrhea or abdominal pain.
Lactose intolerance is the inability of the individual to digest the lactose present in milk due to the absence of the enzyme lactase in the small intestine, so that it should already have been partially digested arrives in the large intestine still unaltered and is fermented by bacteria, having as gas, diarrhea and abdominal pain.
Here are some of the richest lactose foods you should avoid in: Find out how much lactose in food and watch this video to know what you can and can not eat:
The exclusion of lactose foods from diet is the best treatment for the problem. In these cases it is very important to compensate for the intake of calcium with other calcium-rich foods like caruru, spinach or tofu. See other examples in: Foods rich in calcium without milk.
Diet menu for lactose intolerance
In the diet for lactose intolerance, cow's milk can be substituted for vegetable drinks such as oat milk, rice or soy milk as well as for natural fruit juices, yogurts can be soy and cheese can be substituted for turkey ham, for example.
| Breakfast | 1 glass of rice or soy milk, 1 bread with turkey ham and an apple |
| Collation and snacks | 1 gelatine with 2 toast or 1 soy yogurt with granola or 1 loaf with ham and a fruit juice or a bowl of cereals with oat milk |
| Lunch and dinner | avoid the gratin because they have cheese and eliminate the white sauces because they have milk or cream. |
As yogurt and cheese have a lower amount of lactose it may not be necessary to exclude these foods from the diet.
In addition to restricting the consumption of milk, its derivatives and recipes that are prepared with milk or butter, it is important to check on the label of all foods that they have lactose because many cookies, breads, sauces ready and candies also contain lactose and so should not be consumed in case of lactose intolerance.
When lactose intolerance is diagnosed, milk, yogurt and cheese should be excluded for 3 months and then try to eat yogurt, for example, and check for any symptoms of lactose intolerance such as diarrhea, bloated belly or abdominal pain. If it does not appear any symptom is because the yogurt can be consumed. This test can also be done with cheese.
In addition to correct nutrition there are medicines like Lactosil that can be taken when the individual ingests some food with lactose. See other examples in: Lactose intolerance test.
