Dairy Intolerance - When And What Dairy Have You Successfully Added Back In?

[JT09]

Ive recently been diagnosed Celiac. A gluten free diet made me feel about 75% better (was still experiencing diarrhea and gas) but I have come to realize that a gluten and dairy free diet has made me feel 100% better

Heres my question... I have a friend who was diagnosed Celiac as a kid and says she is gluten free and dairy free but can tolerate goat yogurt and cheese... I would love to be able to eventually add a few things back into my sadly scarce diet but Im unsure of when to try (my gut definitely needs healing time - Im even having a hard time digesting apples at the moment) and was wondering how many of you are able to tolerate goat yogurt and cheese or anything else for that matter. Ive been told hard cheeses like cheddar are typically easier to digest as well? Any thoughts?

[mushroom]

I was always able to tolerate cheese, yogurt, butter; had to eliminate milk, ice cream, cream, frozen yogurt. Have successfully recincorporated all dairy back into my diet.

For most of us it is the lactose (milk sugars) we have problems with as the site for the production of the digestive enzyme for that is at the tips of the villi which are destroyed by the gluten. A different set of enzymes deals with the casein (protein) part of the milk. Cheese and yogurt have their own cultures/enzymes which digest most of the lactose and which is the reason some of us lucky ones can tolerate them, and butter has most of the lactose totally churned out of it.

As for when you can add (or attempt to add) these back in, it depends on how long it takes for your gut to heal. I have seen it recommended that you wait at least six months. I waited a couple of years.

[cahill]

I also have been able to add dairy back in to my diet.

It took me awhile to find all my intolerances but once I did and my gut had a chance to heal I was able to add back dairy. Currently I eat cheese, yogurt,butter and cottage cheese on a daily basis . I was dairy free about 2 years before I even attempted to add any dairy back .

[JT09]

Thank you for the replies! I didnt realize that 6mo-a few years seems to be the norm for gut healing. Looks like im going to have to find some good alternatives in the meantime!