Lactose Intolerance and Dairy Alternatives

Dairy is one of the most common substances that people develop allergy or intolerance toward. If you are suffer from lactose intolerance, which means your body is unable to produce the enzyme lactase to digest the lactose, you can supplement with lactase enzyme whenever you eat dairy products.

There are also many ways we can avoid dairy and substitute dairy products in meal preparation without having to lead a completely “miserable” life in the culinary department.

For some people who are allergic to commercial cow’s milk and cow’s milk products, goat’s or sheep’s milk may be better tolerated and can be used instead in moderation. Raw milk is also a great alternative – the enzymes present in raw dairy products are not destroyed by the process of pasteurization, helping pre-digest the protein molecules and lactase, which are the causes of allergic reaction or symptoms of lactose intolerance, respectively.

“Milks” made from nuts, seeds and grains can be substituted for cow’s milk for drinking and cooking – provided that you are not allergic to those foods (nuts and soy in particular). More common ones that you can find in stores include soymilk, almond milk, hazelnut milk, coconut milk, hemp milk, rice milk and oat milk. Their consistency and taste vary – from type to type and from brand to brand, so you may need to experiment to see what suits your taste or makes the best substitute for your recipes.

If you buy commercial nut, seed or grain milk, make sure you read the label to avoid added sugar as much as possible. Also, additives are often added to these products to make their consistency and taste closer to cow’s milk. If you want to avoid additives altogether, the best bet is to make your own.

For a more creamy texture in cooking, mashed tofu can be used. However, soy products such as non GMO soymilk and tofu should be used in moderation by most and sparingly by those who suffer from hypothyroidism. Soy has a high allergenic potential as well, so if you have other food allergies or a family history of food allergies, you may want to be careful and pay special attention to see if you have any reaction. If you are allergic to other legumes, such as beans, peas and peanut, you are more likely to be allergic to soy as well.

Another word of caution about soy: Soy contains phytoestrogens that may have an impact on our hormonal system, and anti-nutrients that may affect the absorption of vitamins and minerals. The problem with most commercially available soy products today lies in the fact that a majority of them are highly processed, without having gone through the traditional process that can remove their anti-nutrients. Soy protein isolates, found in many processed and packaged foods, are highly concentrated. These processed soy products are very new to our diet, so their effects on our body are essentially unknown. Also note that a lot of the soy in our food chain today is genetically modified, and again, this is so new to us as a species that we just can’t be sure if there is any negative health impact for our body.

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