HealthTip: Dealing With Lactose Intolerance

If you find that after consuming dairy, you experience the symptoms mentioned in the previous post, you may be lactose intolerant. Decreasing the amount of dairy, or removing it from the diet (for those with high intolerance) commonly relieves symptoms. For dealing with your intolerance, see the helpful tips listed below:

• Those with low intolerance may be able to consume up to ~1/2 a cup of dairy at a time without having symptoms. Larger servings may cause discomfort. Paying attention to how much dairy you can consume without having symptoms will help you prevent future discomfort.
• Milk products that may be easier to digest include: buttermilk, cheese, yogurt, lactose-free milk and milk products, lactase-treated cow's milk, soy milk, and rice milk. 
• Lactase enzymes can be added to regular milk or taken in pill form.
• To help you get more calcium, try fortified orange juice along with foods such as leafy greens, oysters, sardines, canned salmon, shrimp, and broccoli (which are high in calcium).
• Many people choose to supplement with calcium and vitamin D. Talk to your physician, dietitian, or pharmacist about the right dose for you!

Without enough vitamin D, calcium is taken out of the bones to help maintain calcium levels in the blood. This can cause rickets in children and osteomalacia (softening of the bones) or osteoporosis (fragile bones) in adults. Calcium is critical in the support of bones and teeth, and also is important for muscle function, nerve transmission, and hormonal secretion. Health Canada recommends that adults between the ages of 19-50 years need 1000mg of calcium/ day and 600IU of vitamin D/day (for other age group requirements see http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/vitamin/vita-d-eng.php). Read food labels, include calcium and vitamin D fortified beverages/ foods, and/or explore the option of supplements to make sure you're getting enough!

Information Sources:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001321/
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/vitamin/vita-d-eng.php