If you are lactose intolerant, you probably avoid milk and other dairy products that contain lactose to avoid the unpleasant flatulence, diarrhea and abdominal pain they induce. However, you can calculate the concentration of lactose in milk to determine how many grams of lactose you can tolerate at a time. You might also be able to use small amount of regular milk in recipes if you know how many grams of lactose will be found in the end product, allowing you to have more variety in your diet.
Step 1
Check the ingredients list to ensure there is not added sugar. Plain milk shouldn't contain any added sugar, but if you consider using chocolate milk or other flavored milk, they will contain added sugar. If the milk you want to consume contain added sugar, you won't be able to calculate its lactose concentration and will have to contact the manufacturer directly for more information about its product.
Step 2
Determine the sugar content per serving on the nutrition facts table. If your milk doesn't contain added sugar, the sugar line will refer to the amount of natural sugar found in milk and the only sugar found in milk is lactose. For example, if the label of whole milk could indicate that 1 cup contains 12 g of sugars, it means that your milk contains about 12 g of lactose per cup.
Step 3
Adjust for the serving size you will consume. If you know that you can handle 1/3 cup of milk at a time and your milk has a lactose concentration of 12 g per cup, it means that you can tolerate 4 g of lactose at a time. If you use milk to prepare a sauce or add to a batch of homemade muffins, you will be able to determine how many grams of lactose each serving provides, which will tell you how much you can handle at a time. For example, if you use 1 cup of milk with a lactose concentration of 12 g per cup for a recipe that yields 12 muffins, it means that each muffin will contain 1 g of lactose.
Tips and Warnings
- Most people with lactose intolerance can tolerate small amounts of lactose at a time, or the equivalent of 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of milk. Experiment to determine your personal threshold. You can use the same steps for cheese and sugar-free yogurt.
- If you are lactose intolerant, consult a registered dietitian to ensure your lactose-free diet allows you to meet all of your dietary requirements.
Member Comments