Lactose intolerance means that your body has a hard time breaking down lactose, which is the sugar in milk and other dairy products. Lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose, naturally decreases in adulthood and is especially low in certain populations, but that doesn’t mean that your body can’t break down some lactose.

If you are following a dairy free diet because of a lactose intolerance diagnosis, keep reading! Two things I want you to know:

The lactose load that is provided during the hydrogen breath test is closer to 25-50 grams of lactose. The likelihood that you are ingesting that amount in ONE sitting through food is very low. By personalizing your lactose intake, you might find you can tolerate more than you thought.
Your lactose tolerance changes over time. Certain diagnosis also put you at a higher risk for intolerance such as food poisoning, SIBO, or celiac. Note: some conditions are short term or require another intervention to heal.

Lactose content also differs hugely in dairy products. A good rule of thumb is: if the dairy is hard, aged, and/or contains live cultures (ie yogurt or kefir), there is a good chance it is low/lower in lactose. Check out below for more details and tips.

HIGH LACTOSE FOODS include sweetened condensed milk, milk or chocolate milk, sheep milk, eggnog, ice cream. Ranging from 6-20 grams of lactose per serving.

MEDIUM LACTOSE FOODS are yogurt, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, American cheese, half & half, kefir, mozzarella, or ricotta cheese. Ranging from 1-6 grams of lactose per serving.

VERY LOW TO NO LACTOSE CONTAINING FOODS are hard, aged cheeses such as cheddar, gouda, Colby, Havarti, pecorino, parmesan, Swiss, soft/aged: blue, camembert, brie, feta, goat cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, whipped cream, butter, whey protein isolate, and nutritional supplements such as Orgain or Ensure. Usually having less to 1 gram of lactose per serving.

Other suggestions:

Spread out your lactose throughout the day and gauge tolerance as the day progresses, since this might be a load issue rather than a specific food issue.
For high-to-medium lactose dairy products, choose “lactose free” and/or choose plant-based products made with soy, oat, almond, to mention a few.
When eating out, take a lactase enzyme with your meal. This will provide added digestive support in case there is more lactose in the meal than you anticipated.

If you decide that dairy free is the best choice for you, make sure you find optimal replacements of calcium, vitamin D, and protein, since dairy can be a good source of these. This is achievable with proper guidance.

My goal is to widen your eating options and only avoid foods that you need to. Educating yourself in the intricacies of lactose vs. dairy will empower you to make better choices, increase variety in your diet, and maintain a happy belly.

Let me know if you have any other questions and thank you for reading!
Alanna

You’ve probably heard of intermittent fasting (IF), thought about trying it, or maybe have no idea what I am talking about (that’s ok!). Either way, here are my thoughts.

IF is a pattern of eating. It’s a framework where you allow yourself to eat during a specific window of time each day. Technically, we already do this when we sleep. The more well-known patterns are:

16:8 You fast for 16 hours and then eat during a window of eight hours. For example, only eat between 11am to 7pm.
5:2 Two days of the week you decrease caloric intake to 500/600 calories per day for women and men, respectively.

Focusing On 16:8

What Are The Benefits?
Research is generally positive but inconclusive; No long term studies have been conducted on humans.

IF requires very little though-process to implement. You technically don’t have to alter what you eat—you just have to eat within a certain window of time. Not much thinking involved, which is sometimes good enough.
It has helped with weight loss, although not much different than other more standard weight loss programs. There are also no studies showing that it can keep the weight off, which to some extent is the more concerning part of any weight loss program (avoiding the yo-yo effect)
Improves blood sugar control
Decreases insulin resistance levels and blood pressure
Reduces overall inflammation and controls chronic illness due to reduction in cells that cause inflammation (monocytes), reduces overall oxidative stress. This is very promising!
Better longevity and less age-related diseases (study in rats). Basically, DNA changes with age and that calorie restriction slows down the process of that change. Does The Okinawa Program ring a bell?

The Downfalls?

It may be too difficult to follow. After all, it involves fasting i.e. going without food for long periods of time, and who enjoys that?!
Some research has shown that skipping breakfast may lead to increased stress hormones, while eating within a few hours of waking improves weight loss and insulin resistance. We are still unsure how IF effects our circadian rhythm.
It can interfere with our natural hunger cues, which is basically disconnecting us (more) from listening to our bodies and its needs. Most people don’t like to feel hangry.
IF can increase mental fogginess, decreases alertness, and take a toll on your blood sugar levels (high and low)
IMPORTANT: It can lead to unhealthy obsession with food or promote an unhealthy relationship with food, especially if this is your natural inclination

Yay or Nay?
I generally like and follow some principles of IF. I like promoting the idea of “gut rest” to help your body catch up, to help promote better digestion, improve sleep, and improve GI symptoms such as bloating or gas. That said, I usually promote a 12-14 hour gut rest with emphasis on not eating towards the latter hours of the night and eating within 2-3 hours of waking.

Should You Try It?
It depends. Work hours, social life, and presence of health conditions determine whether it would be a good fit. Here are some tips to consider:

Try if you are generally healthy – maybe you discovered you have high blood pressure, prediabetes (elevated HgA1c), or want to manage your weight.
Avoid if you have uncontrolled diabetes, thyroid condition, hormonal changes i.e. menopause, or pregnant/breastfeeding.
Start slow. If you eat as soon as you wake up and snack in bed before going to sleep (fasting window of 6-7 hours), widen your fasting time by not eating for 1 hour after waking and 1 hour before sleep. If that feels good, extend by another hour and see how you feel.
Hydrate adequately. You can drink water, teas, black coffee while fasting, but mostly highlight water.
What are you hoping to get out of it? Check in with yourself to see if you are achieving it through IF. If not, then make adjustments.

If you try IF, please share your experiences. Feel free to tag me on Instagram or write me directly.

Lactose vs. Dairy Intolerance

The Lowdown On Intermittent Fasting