What Is Hidden Lactose?

Unless you personally suffer from a lactose intolerance or allergy or care for someone who does, you probably never even think about the complex sugar present in milk products. But when your body can't handle the digestion of this sugar, you must be careful about the types of foods you eat. Although certain foods are obvious ones to avoid -- milk, cheese and yogurt -- others can be quite deceiving. For people with lactose intolerance or a lactose allergy, hidden lactose can be extremely dangerous or cause uncomfortable symptoms.

Identification

Lactose is a type of sugar in milk and milk products. As such, it is in all types of dairy products. However, lactose is also commonly added to baked and processed foods to prevent caking or to serve as a coating or filler. In some cases, lactose might even be added to canned or frozen foods to prevent discoloration. The dairy substance can be found in more than just foods. In fact, lactose is commonly added to over-the-counter and prescription drugs, including many birth control pills and medications for stomach acid and gas.

Foods With Lactose

If you are allergic or intolerant to lactose, you'll need to look for more than just "milk" in the ingredient lists of the foods you eat. You will also want to watch for any of the following ingredients that contain lactose: cheese, whey, curds, dry milk solids, malted milk, milk by-products, buttermilk, margarine, nonfat dry milk powder, whey protein concentrate, sweet cream, caseinates, butter, sour cream, casein, butter fat, nondairy creamer, pudding and nougat. You'll commonly find lactose in bread products, waffles, pancakes, cookies, doughnuts, pastries, cream soups, crackers, potato chips, processed meats, salad dressing, meal replacement snacks and beverages, candy and nondairy whipped toppings.

Lactose Intolerance

Lactose intolerance occurs when the body has a deficiency of the lactase enzyme, making it unable to digest lactose. After consuming lactose, a person with lactose intolerance often experiences nausea, abdominal pain, gas, bloating, nausea and diarrhea. Typically, these symptoms appear 30 minutes to two hours after consuming a food or beverage containing lactose.

Milk Allergy

A milk allergy, on the other hand, is much more dangerous. When a person is allergic to milk, his immune system labels the milk proteins as "invaders" and releases chemicals and antibodies to fight them off. As these chemicals circulate through the body, they have a variety of uncomfortable and dangerous effects -- including skin rashes, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, coughing, wheezing and headache. In life-threatening cases, the milk allergy might even cause anaphylaxis, a severe swelling of the mouth, throat and airways.