Question About Dairy....

[Monklady123]

So here's a question for all you more experienced folks, about dairy. In my post about fasting I mentioned that I feel really great today (just hungry, lol). No intestinal "rumbling", etc. Since I thought I'd been pretty careful about gluten I'm wondering now about dairy, since I've seen lots of posts here about how it often goes along with celiac. Last night I was miserable and I had a Frosty from Wendy's (gluten-free according to their website). A few weeks ago I had a milkshake from a local diner (one that has a gluten-free menu and assured me the milkshake was just milk and ice cream) and felt even worse that I did after the Frosty. However, if I am being affected by dairy how is it that I can eat cheese with no problems? One of my staples since being diagnosed has been two corn tortillas with shredded cheddar cheese, melted in the toaster oven. (yum...) That does not give me any problems. Also yogurt doesn't seem to bother me. Just these milk shake things. Any ideas?

[psawyer]

Could it be an issue with lactose? Cheeses tend to be low in lactose, while milk and ice cream are much higher. The process of making cheese consumes most or almost all of the lactose. Hard cheeses, like cheddar, are among the lowest in lactose content.

[Monklady123]

Could it be an issue with lactose? Cheeses tend to be low in lactose, while milk and ice cream are much higher. The process of making cheese consumes most or almost all of the lactose. Hard cheeses, like cheddar, are among the lowest in lactose content.

Interesting! I never knew that about cheese vs. milk and lactose. That would explain it, wouldn't it? lol... I guess I'll do an experiment, using lactose-free milk and ice cream and see how I feel. During these past few weeks when I've been so careful about gluten I have been having a bowl of cereal (yay for Chex!) in the morning at least three times a week. That could explain the on-going discomfort even thought I couldn't see where gluten could have been coming from.

Thanks for that info!

[txplowgirl]

"I have been having a bowl of cereal (yay for Chex!) in the morning at least three times a week."

Hi Monklady,

Just a word of caution. Some of us have a problem with the gluten free Chex cereals. Might be for you too. Just a thought.

[Monklady123]

"I have been having a bowl of cereal (yay for Chex!) in the morning at least three times a week."

Hi Monklady,

Just a word of caution. Some of us have a problem with the gluten free Chex cereals. Might be for you too. Just a thought.

Ack! Don't tell me that! I guess I'll add that to the experiment. sigh....

[i-geek]

Lactose intolerance would have been my guess as well. I've been moderately lactose-intolerant since my teen years (could eat cheese, butter, yogurt with no problems but needed a Lactaid supplement for milk or ice cream), but when my health started going downhill last September I lost even the ability to digest butter- I think at that point the gut damage was causing me to react against casein as well. That was one of the biggest tip-offs that something was seriously wrong as I have always loved cheese and eaten yogurt nearly daily. 6.5 months into the gluten-free diet my gut has healed nicely and I'm happily back on butter, cheese and yogurt, but still need a Lactaid tablet for ice cream or milk. I haven't tried lactose-free ice cream- I prefer to eat small amounts of something amazing like Haagen-Dazs along with a Lactaid pill. Organic Valley sells a lactose-free milk that I use for cooking with great success.

Lactose intolerance is actually the default for adult humans- a few populations (traditionally cold-climate cattle herding populations) have a mutation that allows them to easily digest lactose as adults. I often wonder how many of the OTC stomach remedies are actually treating lactose intolerance, since so few people claim to have it yet so many complain about stomach problems.

[Monklady123]

Well now I'm thinking it must be lactose. Because not too long before I was diagnosed I went to a local diner and had a tuna melt on lovely crusty grilled bread, AND a large milkshake. I was SO sick that evening but just thought it was some stomach thing. Well, lol... I guess it was a stomach "thing", just not the thing I thought it was. This one was caused by gluten in the bread, and the lactose in the milkshake.

[ENF]

I do not use any cows milk products at all anymore. When I do have dairy, the only kind I'll consume is that which comes from goats. And I take DppIV, and Lactaid along with it, to help break down the casein and lactose. Cow's milk is a very recent food for humans compared to goat milk - which we have used for 10,000 years, far longer than milk from cows. Many experts believe that goats milk is better, in terms of health, than cow milk for anyone who enjoys dairy and fortunately it's available not only as milk, but as as yogurt, kefir, cheeses, ice cream, and other products which are delicious.