Lactose intolerance is one of the most common food intolerances tested for by doctors and health practitioners. It is thought to affect 1 out of 10 older children and adults in the UK, but is it the same as being intolerant to dairy? Not really. Because although both sensitivities are associated with the same food group, the body can react in different ways to the components of dairy. This means that although the symptoms you experience may be similar, the causes may be unrelated. So what is the difference between dairy intolerance and lactose intolerance?
What is lactose intolerance?
Lactose is the sugar found in milk and other dairy products. An enzyme called lactase is responsible for breaking lactose down so that it can be digested into the stomach and small intestine. When your body doesn’t have enough lactase, it means that undigested lactose continues to the large intestine, where it gets broken down by bacteria. This then causes discomfort and symptoms such as bloating and stomach cramps.
What is dairy intolerance?
Dairy products contain milk from mammals such as cows, sheep and goats and include cheese, yoghurt, butter, ice cream and chocolate. If you have a dairy intolerance, it means your body reacts unfavourably to these products because it can’t break down some of the constituents. This might be because there isn’t enough lactase to break down the lactose (as explained above), but it could also be because of chemical sensitivity. This usually occurs when histamine is released as a response to digesting proteins called casein and whey that are found in dairy products. The result is the onset of physical symptoms that make you feel uncomfortable and unwell.
How will my dairy intolerance or lactose intolerance affect what I eat?
Some dairy products, such as butter and certain types of cheese, have smaller amounts of lactose, but a higher percentage of protein. So, if you suspect you’re intolerant to lactose as opposed to being intolerant to all dairy products, you might find you can still include some items in your diet without experiencing any symptoms.
If you think you have an intolerance to dairy, it’s best to eliminate all dairy products from your meals and complete a food intolerance test so you can make the necessary changes to your diet. It’s also worth keeping a food diary so you can record the physical symptoms you experience after eating certain foods. If you manage to link specific dairy products to onsets of bloating, cramps, skin flare-ups, etc, it might help you to narrow down the cause of your intolerance. You could also try dairy products containing milk from other animals, such as goats’ or sheep’ milk and see if your body reacts in the same way.
Taking an intolerance test
Completing a dairy intolerance test is one of the easiest ways to find out whether you’re intolerant to specific products. From sour cream to blue cheese, we test against 20 different dairy products so you can find out if there is anything specific that’s causing your symptoms to flare up. Once your test has been received at our lab, your results will be emailed within 72 hours, and your sensitivities will be scored at 85% and higher, which is the critical point at which most physical symptoms present themselves.
Our tests must never replace medical advice, but they can help you to rule out other complications and make necessary changes to your diet.
If you have any questions about how having a food intolerance can affect your well-being, please email [email protected], and we’ll do our best to help. You can also fill out our contact form, and we’ll aim to get back to you within two hours during the working day.
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