Dairy Items That Do Not Contain Lactose

Dec 23, 2010 | By Kirstin Hendrickson

Dairy products are rich sources of protein and calcium. Many people also find them tasty and enjoyable. Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for adults to be lactose intolerant. If you're lactose intolerant, you don't make lactase--the digestive enzyme that breaks down the sugar in dairy--and eating dairy products can give you uncomfortable intestinal symptoms. There are many dairy options open to you, however, if you must avoid lactose.

Lactose-Free Milk

One of the most basic lactose-free dairy items is lactose-free milk. This is milk that has been processed with lactase, a digestive enzyme that breaks down milk sugar. In fact, if you're lactose intolerant, lactase is the very enzyme you lack. Manufacturers process milk with small amounts of the lactase enzyme for about 24 hours, explains the website of Organic Meadow, a producer of lactose-free milk. This breaks down the lactose while leaving other nutritional components of milk intact.

Lactose-Free Cheeses and Creams

As long as the milk used to make dairy products is lactose-free, the dairy products themselves will be lactose-free. Most individuals who are lactose-intolerant can't consume cheeses--especially soft cheeses--or cream. Cheeses and creams made with lactose-free milk, however, are lactose-free themselves. Occasionally, such products will taste slightly sweeter than their lactose-containing counterparts, because the sugars produced when manufacturers react lactose with lactase taste slightly sweet.

Yogurt

Another option for those wishing to avoid lactose is yogurt--either traditional or made with lactose-free milk. While there are certainly yogurts made with lactose-free milk on the market, traditional yogurt is almost completely lactose-free, making it an appropriate choice for most people who are lactose intolerant. This is because the same bacteria that make milk creamy and slightly sour--the bacteria that turn milk into yogurt in the first place--also digest lactose. As such, when you consume yogurt, you're eating a mixture of dairy that has essentially been "pre-digested," leaving behind a dairy product without the troublesome lactose.