Yogurt

[Nic]

My 7 year old son was diagnosed with Celiac 3 years ago. Just last winter he had a colonoscopy because he was still sick even though gluten free and through the colonoscopy the doctor determined he was reacting to another food (they found white bumps in his colon). He was a huge milk drinker so I started with milk. I took it away completely including even using it as an ingredient and he got 100% better. Occassionally I would try to let him eat some with a Lactaid pill in the hopes that it was just the lactose and not milk as a whole. If I did it once in a while he wouldn't show any symptoms but if I gave him dairy too often he would get sick so I have pretty much stuck to no dairy at all except when we go out to dinner because ice cream is the only dessert and like I said, once in a while doesn't seem to bother him. I think he may be eating dairy once every few months. My question is, I have heard that people with dairy intolerance can sometimes handle yogurt. He really misses it and it is good for him but I am afraid to try it. Has anyone else with a dairy problem been able to tolerate yogurt? If so, which ones are gluten free?

Nicole

[tarnalberry]

the idea behind people with dairy intolerance being able to have yogurt is that yogurt has less lactose, but if you're already giving him lactaid (which digests the lactose) is wouldn't make any difference. if he still has trouble with it, while taking lactaid, he has problems with casein (the milk protein), not lactose (the milk sugar). yogurt still has lots of casein.

[dlp252]

My problem is with the casein and nope, I can't have yogurt. I've tried goat milk yogurt because some think the casein is different enough, but I still react to it. I was able to have an ocassional sheep milk yogurt, but that's starting to react as well.

[truthsearcher]

I'm the same as Donna.

The only dairy I can tolerate is ghee. That's clarified butter without the casein and I tolerate this just perfectly.

A pure fruit sorbet might be a alternative treat to ice cream.

[jasmineflower]

i'm no doctor, but it sounds to me like your son is allergic to the milk, not intolerant. i'm the same way. i can have ice cream once in a while, but if i keep eat it again like a day or two later, it gets really bad. but i would try to give him milk as little as possible-- if none at all if you can help it, as you don't know what sort of additional stress it's putting on his system each time he eats ice cream (even in absence of other sickness symptoms). also ppl who have milk allergies may be allergic to a bunch of proteins in the milk, including the casein and/or the whey protein (diff for each person--some ppl are only allergic to the casein in cow's milk, but not goat's milk). so pretty much yogurt, butter, etc. would cause the same reaction if he eats a lot of it.

you can try soy ice cream (if he can handle soy). i ate that as a little kid and it tasted fine to me...

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I don't know where you are located, but here in the US, most grocery stores carry soy and rice-based "ice creams," yogurts, cream cheese, and sour cream. You can also have some easy-to-carry gluten-free, dairy-free treats stashed in your purse or in the car so that he can have them.

I agree, it's awfully nice to be able to go out to dinner and have dessert--but if your son's health is compromised in any way, you are not doing him any favors there. Better to have dessert at home. And safer AND cheaper to just not go out.

I don't mean to sound harsh. I love going out for dinner as much as anyone else! But I wouldn't recommend jeopardizing a child's health for it. The stakes are too high. If he has an autoimmune reaction triggered by either gluten or casein, then you do NOT want to start the avalanche of autoimmune disorders that could follow if the offending proteins are not STRICTLY kept out of his diet.

[Nic]

I don't know where you are located, but here in the US, most grocery stores carry soy and rice-based "ice creams," yogurts, cream cheese, and sour cream. You can also have some easy-to-carry gluten-free, dairy-free treats stashed in your purse or in the car so that he can have them.

I agree, it's awfully nice to be able to go out to dinner and have dessert--but if your son's health is compromised in any way, you are not doing him any favors there. Better to have dessert at home. And safer AND cheaper to just not go out.

I don't mean to sound harsh. I love going out for dinner as much as anyone else! But I wouldn't recommend jeopardizing a child's health for it. The stakes are too high. If he has an autoimmune reaction triggered by either gluten or casein, then you do NOT want to start the avalanche of autoimmune disorders that could follow if the offending proteins are not STRICTLY kept out of his diet.

Hi, I understand completely about not wanting to trigger anything but he is not allergic to milk as he has been tested. I believe he is intolerant because I did see an improvement after I took it away. The nutrionist suggested trying to add dairy back in to determine if it is lactose intolerance rather than casein. Like I said he can eat dairy without ill affects as long as it is occassionally rather than daily.

Nicole