1. Learn to Read Labels
Millions of people suffer from lactose intolerance. In fact, some estimates say that as many as 70 percent of the world's adults are lactose intolerant to some degree or another. The symptoms of this painful health issue include bloating, gas and stomach cramps. One way to "cure" lactose intolerance, or at least eliminate the symptoms, is to stay away from dairy altogether. Replace milk and milk products with soy milks, nut milks and other alternatives. Learn to read the labels of all of your prepackaged foods and avoid anything containing milk, milk solids, dry milk, cheese, cheese cultures and whey.
2. Take Lactase Pills
You cannot cure lactose intolerance, since your body will always produce a small amount of lactase, the enzyme that digests the dairy protein lactose. However, you can prevent the symptoms of lactose intolerance by taking a lactase pill before a meal that will include dairy products. Another option is to get a prescription from your physician for a one-a-day pill, so that you don't have to remember to take a lactase pill before meals and you don't have to try to figure out which meals include traces of dairy.
3. Discover Your Level of Tolerance
A good way to deal with lactose intolerance and its symptoms is to discover how much lactose you can comfortably ingest. Then you'll be able to plan your meals accordingly and avoid surprise gastric distress. First, eliminate dairy for a day. Drink half a cup of milk on the second day and wait three hours to see if you experience discomfort. Slowly increase your intake of dairy until you begin to experience discomfort. It takes most meals about three hours to leave the stomach, so don't ingest more dairy before the previous meal is fully digested, and this includes cream in your coffee and even lactose coatings on any medications you may be taking.
