If you're moderately lactose intolerant, drinking buttermilk may be a suitable alternative for you. Buttermilk contains less lactose than regular milk and may not cause common lactose intolerance symptoms in some people. Your doctor may recommend a "challenge diet" to determine whether or not you should use buttermilk instead of regular milk. If you have adverse reactions, stop drinking buttermilk and call your doctor.
Buttermilk
Buttermilk is made from cow's milk by adding active cultures that ferment the milk, giving it a tart taste. Buttermilk has a longer shelf life than regular milk because of its high acidic content, which is a natural preservative. The bacteria used to make buttermilk convert the lactose in the milk into lactic acid, giving it the distinctive taste. Lactose is the sugar found in milk that causes symptoms to form if you're lactose intolerant. While lactose is difficult to digest for some people, lactic acid is easily absorbed into the bloodstream, not requiring any digestion.
Lactose
Almost all sugar needs to be simplified when it enters the body for absorption. The enzyme that helps digest lactose is lactase. If you are deficient in lactase, your digestive system cannot break down the milk sugar, leaving it undigested and unabsorbed. The lactose passes through the digestive system and enters the colon, where it interacts with various bacteria. The bacteria interacting with the lactose cause diarrhea, gas, bloating, cramping and stomach pain.
Intolerance Consideration
Tiny, hair-like particles called villi line the top layer of your small intestines. Villi produce enzymes and absorb nutrients from the food you eat. Typically around adolescence, villi stop producing as much lactase, and can cause some people to become lactose intolerant. Not everyone who is lactose intolerant is intolerant to the same degree. You may be able to drink four ounces of milk without any complications, while someone else may not be able to drink a tablespoon of milk. How intolerant you are to lactose will determine how much buttermilk you can drink without adverse reactions.
Treatment
If you notice that you develop symptoms after drinking buttermilk, you can still enjoy it if you take a lactase supplement before your first sip of the beverage. Lactase supplements are available at any pharmacy. But discuss using the medication with your doctor first. If you drink buttermilk and develop lactose-intolerant symptoms, you will have to wait until your body expels the lactose for relief.
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