Did I Have Too Much Dairy?

[LauraB0927]

I never had an issue with dairy before my diagnosis (May 2012) and I used to drink milk like it was water and going out of style...but I cut out a good portion of dairy and now only limit my diary intake to a Weight Watchers low fat cheese stick and a cup of yogurt daily. Since I never had issues with those and always felt fine, I tried the Trader Joe's Strawberry Kefir yesterday (a very small amount, maybe 1/4 of a cup, just to see if I liked it). About an hour later, I was curled up on the floor with excruciating pains in my intestine area and had D for the rest of the night. I've NEVER felt that kind of pain before and the only thing I changed in my diet yesterday was drinking the Kefir. My GI system is still feeling a bit sensitive today...

I can tolerate milk in cooking, like when I make home made gluten free corn muffins or other recipes. I can also eat gluten free cheese pizzas without any problem at all. I know that we can become lactose intolerant, but I was totally thrown off guard by this. Here's my stupid question - was that way too much dairy/lactose for me? I'm assuming there is a higher level of lactose in the Kefir, but has anyone else had this issue? Will taking Lactaid pills help with this? I want to make sure I am getting my calcium and probiotics and was also hoping that the Kefir could be a filling afternoon snack combined with some fruit, as I'm trying to lose some more weight. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!!!

[dws]

I never had an issue with dairy before my diagnosis (May 2012) and I used to drink milk like it was water and going out of style...but I cut out a good portion of dairy and now only limit my diary intake to a Weight Watchers low fat cheese stick and a cup of yogurt daily. Since I never had issues with those and always felt fine, I tried the Trader Joe's Strawberry Kefir yesterday (a very small amount, maybe 1/4 of a cup, just to see if I liked it). About an hour later, I was curled up on the floor with excruciating pains in my intestine area and had D for the rest of the night. I've NEVER felt that kind of pain before and the only thing I changed in my diet yesterday was drinking the Kefir. My GI system is still feeling a bit sensitive today...

I can tolerate milk in cooking, like when I make home made gluten free corn muffins or other recipes. I can also eat gluten free cheese pizzas without any problem at all. I know that we can become lactose intolerant, but I was totally thrown off guard by this. Here's my stupid question - was that way too much dairy/lactose for me? I'm assuming there is a higher level of lactose in the Kefir, but has anyone else had this issue? Will taking Lactaid pills help with this? I want to make sure I am getting my calcium and probiotics and was also hoping that the Kefir could be a filling afternoon snack combined with some fruit, as I'm trying to lose some more weight. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!!!

I'm not sure what's up with the kefir for you. Like yogurt, it has less lactose than milk and is advertised as having less lactose than yogurt. It does tend to be loaded with super high levels of probiotics, so maybe those upset your system. Maybe too much of a good thing. Probiotics make my stomach hurt.

[LauraB0927]

I'm not sure what's up with the kefir for you. Like yogurt, it has less lactose than milk and is advertised as having less lactose than yogurt. It does tend to be loaded with super high levels of probiotics, so maybe those upset your system. Maybe too much of a good thing. Probiotics make my stomach hurt.

Thank you so much for that advice! After reading your post, I made a call to my nutritionist (who is wonderful) and explained the situation to her and she seems to think it's the cultures too and said that some Celiacs cant tolerate the high amounts in the Kefir. I'll stay away from it for a long time (I dont want to experience anything like that again) and then see if I can work it in slowly. Thanks again!

[dws]

Thank you so much for that advice! After reading your post, I made a call to my nutritionist (who is wonderful) and explained the situation to her and she seems to think it's the cultures too and said that some Celiacs cant tolerate the high amounts in the Kefir. I'll stay away from it for a long time (I dont want to experience anything like that again) and then see if I can work it in slowly. Thanks again!

You're lucky you have a good nutritionist who is familiar with celiac. Wish I could find one.

[IrishHeart]

I agree ---and I would recommend avoiding kefir when newly diagnosed IMHO.

It's really hard on a damaged gut, despite the healing nature of it. I figured it would be a FAB idea for me, too.... but, nope.

( your story brought back a "fond" memory. It lasted about 3 minutes in me before causing terrible cramping and it took about 10 more minutes before finding "the way back out"--any which way it could....and it wasn't pretty )

I have not touched it since and likely, I never will again.

I take probiotics in powder form and that works fine for me.

Glad you have a good celiac-savvy nutritionist!!