Lactose intolerance is one of the most common food intolerances. A reduced ability to digest lactose is one of the major causes, and this affects 65 percent of the world’s adult population. (1) Many people choose to completely cut out dairy as a way to avoid the gastrointestinal symptoms that frequently come along with eating dairy foods. But is true lactose intolerance really the cause of their digestive distress, or are many people prematurely eliminating dairy because of a perceived inability to digest milk products? And is it possible to cure lactose intolerance, even as an adult?
The major reason some people can’t digest dairy products is they lack the enzyme lactase, which is necessary to break down lactose in the small intestine. It has been determined that continued genetic expression of this enzyme, known as lactase persistence, is dependent on ancestry and racial background. (2) The ability to consume dairy probably gave early herdsmen a distinct survival advantage, allowing for the spread of the gene in certain regions of the world such as northern Europe and parts of Africa; today, only about 40% of the world’s adult population maintain full lactase function following childhood. (3, 4) Lactase deficiency makes digesting dairy products more challenging for these individuals.
However, true lactose intolerance is rarely diagnosed by medical testing, and adults frequently mistake their gastrointestinal symptoms as a sign that they are unable to digest dairy products at all. Studies have shown that even diagnosed “lactose malabsorbers” are capable of consuming moderate amounts of dairy, tolerating an average 12 grams of lactose when administered in a single dose (the lactose content found in 1 cup of milk) with little to no symptoms. (5)
Can lactose intolerance be cured?
Why dairy is worth eating
You may be wondering why eating dairy even matters; after all, there are many examples of ancestral cultures that had no dairy in their diets and maintained superb health. However, it is believed that certain ethnicities may have had physical adaptations to their low calcium diet, and also traditionally consumed animal foods that are higher in calcium but probably not so appetizing to us Westerners, such as fish heads, bones, and skin. (6, 7) Therefore, they were able to meet their individual calcium needs without milk and dairy.
Calcium is a mineral that is difficult to get adequate amounts of in a modern Western diet without the inclusion of dairy. While the adequate levels of fat soluble vitamins A, D, and K2 reduces the amount of calcium an adult needs to maintain bone health, it can still be challenging to get enough calcium simply from leafy greens and bone-in fish. Several studies have shown that individuals with lactose intolerance have lower bone density and are at higher risk for fractures and osteoporosis, likely due to their inadequate calcium intake. (8, 9, 10) This risk is possibly exacerbated by low K2 consumption, as grass-fed dairy is one of the best sources of vitamin K2.
Pastured dairy products, in particular, are also a good source of the fat soluble vitamins A, D and K2 – which can also be difficult to obtain elsewhere in the diet. In fact, the only other significant sources of K2 are goose liver and natto, foods that aren’t typically eaten or easy to find. And, as I pointed out in a recent article, dairy is the primary source of the natural trans-fat conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which may have anti-cancer and other beneficial properties.
By taking certain kinds of probiotics and consuming fermented dairy on a regular basis you can improve, if not eliminate, many of the symptoms of lactose intolerance that come with eating dairy.
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Using probiotics to cure lactose intolerance
Studies have shown that supplementation with probiotics, in addition to consuming yogurt that has been enhanced with certain types of bacteria, can alleviate symptoms of lactose intolerance by modifying the metabolic activity of microbiota in the colon. (11, 12, 13) These bacteria may even produce their own lactase enzyme, and consuming lactose from dairy products can promote the growth of these bacteria in the colon. Over time, these effects can lead to greater lactase content in the gut, improved lactose digestion, and eventually the elimination of intolerance symptoms.
If you plan to use yogurt and probiotics to improve your digestion of dairy products, it’s important to start slowly and build up tolerance gradually. Often, negative effects from dairy consumption come from simply eating more lactose in one sitting than one’s gut can completely metabolize. I recommend starting with probiotic supplementation first, and focusing on bifidobacterium longum, a strain that has been shown to efficiently metabolize lactose. (14)
Jarro-Dophilus, a shelf-stable probiotic that doesn’t require refrigeration, is one option. Taking prebiotics is another way of significantly increasing bifidobacterium levels; in fact, some studies suggest prebiotics are more effective than probiotics at doing this. Biotagen is the prebiotic I use in my clinic. Remember to start at a very low dose and build up slowly over time with both pre- and probiotics to avoid any unpleasant side effects.
In addition to this supplement, I suggest consuming a few spoonfuls of a high quality full-fat yogurt every day, with each meal if possible. This will introduce beneficial bacteria into your gut that are effective lactose metabolizers, and by slowly increasing the amount of yogurt you eat every day, you may be able to work up to eating two or more servings of fermented dairy every day.
If you tolerate the yogurt well, and want to try diversifying your dairy intake, my next recommendation is to start including full-fat hard cheeses (raw if possible); these cheeses are great sources of calcium and vitamin K2 and are very low in lactose. One ounce of hard cheese contains about a third of the recommended intake of calcium, and gouda is the best source of vitamin K2 of all cheeses. (15) These hard cheeses are extremely low in lactose, and make a nutrient-dense addition to a whole foods diet. As you become more tolerant of dairy products, you can try higher lactose items such as soft cheeses, cream, and even fluid milk. Just remember to stick to the full fat and grass-fed versions as often as possible.
Of course, another option to try is raw milk. Anecdotal evidence from raw milk drinkers around the country suggests that many people who cannot tolerate pasteurized milk have no trouble drinking raw milk. (16) Research conducted on this theory, however, indicates that truly lactose intolerant individuals do not experience any benefit from drinking raw milk over pasteurized milk. (17)
The best way to figure out which dairy products work for you and your digestive system is simply to try them yourself. By taking the time to introduce lactose fermenting bacteria through probiotics and high quality yogurt, you may find your lactose intolerance symptoms decreasing over time. Of course, if you’d rather eat fish heads to get your calcium, feel free to skip the dairy!
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Hi mr.kresser
Is it okay for me to quote from some of the things you’ve said for my medical case ?
I have tried everything outlined above and in addition:
– Full CDSA2 by Genova Diagnostics
– Full IgE and IgG anibody test by Genova Diagnostics
– Removal of paratise (1 type) and non-beneficial yest
– Exteremely strict high fat, low carb, no gluten, no dairy, no allergen diet for 1.5+ years now
– Gut healing with L-Glutamine & Colostrum (lactose free)
– MSM + Slippery elm + marshmallow root + licorice
– Various probiotic strains (VLS#3, Dr Ohirra, Jarrow Dophilus +, Kyolic Dophilus 9, etc, etc etc)
– Supplementation with boullardii yest
– Naturally cascade fermented products (Regulat Pro)
– histamine reducing agents, inflammation reducing agents
– short fasting (catabolic healing)
– High supplementation with Bifidum Longum only
Have tried:
– raw (non-pasteurized), organic, grass fed, caseine type A2 cow milk
– organic, grass fed, cow butter (caseine type A2 and A1 tested separately)
– organic, grass fed, natural cow milk yoghurt (caseine type A1 and A2)
– hard, lactose free, organic, cheeses (cow milk, A1 and A2)
– goat milk & yoghurt, raw, organic
– clarified butter (non-organic)
With all of the the results are the same:
– Gas
– bloating
– diarrhea
– increase inflammation
– local spots & acute acne flares (not diagnosed, do not suffer from acne, if I don’t eat milk)
With this said and tested, I am ready to give up.
Even when I get milk products and I do not KNOW it beforehand, my body reacts and when I dig in and find out what I was eating, I find out that I was served milk products (usually cream or butter) against my specific request and at the mistake of the kitchen/restaurant.
So it clearly is not placebo / make-believe only in my case.
If anybody still has additional ideas on what to try (yes, I’ll still give Prescript Assist probiotic a go, when I can find a supplier that ships to EU), I’m all ears and eye.
Hopfully some of this will be useful to somebody else in their own search.
It’s the homogenization. I can’t drink a lot of milk from supermarkets but ok with non homogenized milk.
Dr. Kresser:
When you say “true lactose intolerance is rarely diagnosed by medical testing”, to clarify, are you saying that medical tests like the hydrogen breath test and the blood glucose test are a waste of time and money? I am recovering from ulcerative colitis. One of the many suspected culprits is dairy intolerance, and part of my natural treatment regimen is elimination of dairy. I am almost cured (only occasional, light symptoms). I was resolved to avoid dairy for the rest of my life, but you have now convinced me that I should not. Should I bother taking medical tests to confirm the type(s) of dairy intolerance I have, if any, or should I simply assume I have them and pursue the regimen you recommend above to cure lactose intolerance (I already use probiotics but your regimen is much more comprehensive)?
I am unable to have milk, butter or cheese without experiencing stomach pain and bad heartburn. However when I eat real yogurt I experience no bad symptoms at all.
Has anyone else experienced this?
In summer I had a severe reaction to strong strength cheese where my glands swelled up in my throat which was pretty frightening!
The links in this article for Biotagen & Jarro-Dophilus are broken.
Thanks very much for this inspiring article!
I have been lactose Intolerant for a couple years now. I went from drinking milk constantly to not being able to at all. I had about a year of not drinking it very often. Now as soon as I have dairy my mouth salivates extremely and I throw up. Is that lactose intolerance or what. I haven’t beard of many people throwing up when they eat dairy. Can someone tell me what that is?
Something very similar happens to me too when I have milk/cheese etc. I throw up and my saliva glands salivate and often swell up to hard lumps under my chin i can feel them.
Still don’t know the reason for this however. I have eaten dairy problem free for most of my life, though as a child i sometimes had stomach acid pain perhaps this was connected to dairy.
I’m from Finland, the promised land of lactose intolerance. Your symptom is probably caysed by lactose because vomiting/feeling sick is almost always listed when talking about the symptoms of lactose intolerance. I have never experienced throwing up myself, but I have heard people say they get it (usually after eating big amounts of lactose).
If you want to have any hope, we have lactose-free version of almost every dairy product here – feta, halloumi, cottage cheese, milk, butter…. you name it!
Hi Chris,
I’m a very healthy african male, 42 years of age, who up until reading your article thought to be lactose intollerant.
But as I’m recently discovering…I may not be at all.
I found your article to very informative as I had never taken the time to research the question before.
Over a 15 year span, my system started to reject dairy products, all starting with whole milk.
I eventually went from whole milk to that 2% stuff and then Soy milk. I absolutely refused to drink the 1 percent stuff.
Eventually I had to cut them all out.
I now consume Rice Milk or Almond Milk….taste better anyways.
Mozarella started to destroy me almost immediately, so I had steer clear of most pizza and mexican dishes such as burritos and nachos.
But what you speak of makes too much sense to me as I believe I am proof of what you have suggested here with taking ProBiotics, the quality and amounts of dairy consumed in one sitting, and eating yogurt.
Ironically, most recently I’ve been on this Greek frozen yogurt tip and I believe it’s working.
I do believe that quality of dairy is most important to the system as well.
Conscious eating, yoga and excersise has been my thing for the past 8 years.
Without eating a lot of dairy I believe has assisted in my overall good health as I balance it out with the greens, smoothies and vitamin supplements.
Everyones system is different no doubt, but I suppose one has to really pay attention and observe what they eat…and how one might respond to different foods and not make assumptions…for as you have suggested it could be a false diagnosis…and for nothing.
peace, love & light Doc!
Keep it coming.
-mr anderson
please help, i have 3 year old daughter, that has always ate any food with no problems. at age 2yrs10mo she all of a sudden developed this rash or some redness on cheeks and chin. i have been trying to figure it out and i think its dairy related. i talked with my pediatrician, they dont know and don’t have any answers for me especially since dairy, wheat and soy allergy testing came back negative. after eating her cheeks get red, next day the skin dries up real bad and doc suggested i put neosporin on it and mosturize but then the skin peels and itches. it takes several days to go away. im really scared cause for the past few days she has said her tummy hurts and being potty trained for a while now, she seemed to not be able to hold it and pooped her pants and went poop like 6-8 times in one day. i just dont know if like overeating some food can cause this. the week that symptoms appeared she ate lots of dairy. cereal for breakfast, milk with crackers for snack, mac n cheese/fettuchini for lunch, cheese sticks for snack, potatoes with butter or cheese on top with sour cream salad and parmasean chicken for dinner…. and so on. can there be such thing as overeating dairy and now she is sensitive and reacts. can i wait it out like a month and resume regular diet? my doctor seems to not be sure what im talking about.. please help?
That sounds like what my daughter had. We narrowed it down to milk protein sensitivity. One whole year no milk protein in anything, it worked!
Does anyone have any idea why mother’s milk contains lactose and not glucose?
Wouldn’t it be easier for a baby to metabolize glucose directly rather than to produce lactase to cleave lactose?
Could it be that lactose is produced to support the growth of non-pathogenic bacteria?
Matt – from my primitive understanding on the matter, and I do hope folks with more knowledge will fill us both in, the “lactose” is human, rather than bovine, and that is the key. It’s called galactose: http://www.galactose.org/ … and intolerance is extremely rare: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactosemia.
HTH.
I get UTI’s from dairy products. I take probiotics and other products. Hard cheese is very hard on my system. Is there anything natural that I could take before taking in dairy products? Would appreciate any help I can get.
Thanks
My naturopath had me on liver+kidney support tonics, strong doses of probiotics in the morning and evening, citricidal, and I started drinking kefir. My digestion was feeling so good, I started drinking small amounts of milk again and felt fine. I was drinking almond milk, but my supermarket was sold out so I just bought organic cow’s milk, and I was surprised that I felt completely fine after putting them in my protein shakes. Problem solved! I can’t believe it. I missed it so much, I love dairy products, I’m drinking it everyday.
Melissa….simple message …Go away Vegan troll
Hey did you ever think so many people are lactose intolerant because we are not meant to drink another species breast milk?. (cow milk). I mean it makes sense as to why we cannot digest it properly and why so many people have issues. Cows milk is for fattening up a 100 lb calf into a 2 thousand pound adult cow. No wonder humans have issues when drinking it. It’s not meant for us. It actually weakens our bones not strengthens them. That is why one of the persons above mentioned that drinking/eating dairy causes them joint pain and it makes sense. You don’t have to be all that smart to realize that cows milk is for cows and not humans. Once people understand that, it will be easy to make change. Good luck my friends and I recommend the documentary Forks over Knives and Food Matters.
About four years ago, I began suffering from lactose intolerancy. I loved cheese and ice cream. However, it actually began to cure after a while. Even though I would suffer extreme digestive upset, I still at dairy foods to build up my intolerance.
I found this site because I actually just ate a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting and I did not yet sick. It’s been 2 hours.
I still get sick from dairy but there has to be “direct” lactose in the product. For example, chocolate that says “milk ingredients” I can eat. But if it says “lactose” than I will get sick from it. But still, when I do, I don’t have to run to the bathroom anymore. It is usualy controllable.
I healed myself by slowly builsing up on dairy. I used to excerice alot too. Now, I take probiotics (despite them saying take one a day, don’t. It will make you constipated and your body may become dependent on them — this would be bad since your body produces probiotics on its own). I take half a pill every week to two weeks and it helps with my overall digestion (which I’ve had major problems with for 4 years now). I took one this morning actually. My advice, detox first than take the pill. By doing this, your digestive tract is cleansed and empty. This way, the probiotic can really heal the tract because there are no two-day old toxic waste in there. And when I say detox, I mean drink at least 1L of water then take a powerful laxative.
Nevertheless, that cupcake and frosting was good. I feel unhealthy but considering that I just detoxed this morning, I think it was good to introduce dairy to my system again. Sometimes, going a long time without a certain food can be bad, that is why although I try to eat natural (no artificial flavor, color, perservative), I still do once in a while. I don’t want my body to begin rejecting these chemicals that are used in so many products today. It is almost like a vegetarian eating meat — it’s like new to the body so they usually throw up or something.
I don’t see any posts on lactose added as fillers or ingredients in medications and supplements. I seem to have the most problems with this type of lactose?? Anybody have any information or advice on that except ‘do not eat it’?
I’ve been lactose intolerant for the past 3 decades. It started with milk and by degrees has becomes more sensitive over the years. Now I’m limited to hard cheeses… no yogurt. At one point I could have one brand of yogurt but not others. And yes, labels – I have to read labels. Lactose fillers/ingredients cause the classic “race for the restroom”. Preconsumed lactaid tablets work for the things I must/want to consume with lactose that are SOLIDS. Liquids can be pretreated with lactaid liquid drops (available on amazon). You can pretreat yogurts, milk with the drops – 24 hours in the fridge and it is safe to consume.
(please keep this edited comment and delete my previous comment)
Great article. I will be trying this with my son who was found to be clinically lactose intolerant at the age of 6. By that age, he had spent at least two years of his life on antibiotics for ear and throat infections. Eventually, because I was extremely reluctant to proceed with surgery for ear tubes, he had his adenoids and tonsils removed at the age of 9. This was due to the fact that his sleep was compromised due to enlarged adenoids, even though by this time the infections subsided (through use of a essential oil remedy). It may be the case that the continual infections could have been instigated by the lactose intolerance. It occurred to me while reading your article, that if one can introduce probiotics back into their gut and begin to tolerate milk consumption again, then the reverse could also be the case. The reverse being that after taking antibiotics one could become (even if temporarily) intolerant to milk due to a wipe-out of probiotics in the gut (along with the offending bacteria). Would this be the case? Could it have caused or exacerbated the lactose intolerance in my son?
Also, in Canada, I have never heard of having raw milk available unless you purchase your own cow. This is due to the fact that unpasteurized milk is illegal across Canada. However, I do have non-homogenized, flash pasteurized, grass-fed milk available to me from the one and only organic dairy in my province of Alberta. Would this be an acceptable alternative to raw milk?
Thank you so much for the work that you do. I am new to finding an amazing breadth of whole-foods-can-heal style of health information. I am so grateful for it and have gone from a defeatest-attitude to a hopeful can-do attitude and it’s fueling a great passion in me to learn more. So, thank you!
My ancestral background is Native American and European. As a child I had a severe allergy to dairy. I managed to get my hands on a glass of milk and one sip sent me into anaphylaxis quickly. After growing out of the allergy, we found any dairy, even a pat of butter really killed my gut. I love dairy and still consume it despite the consequences. I’ve tried raw milk, probiotics and so on with no results. Oddly, with the results of a thyroid panel, I was still in ‘normal’ range but on very very end and I display strong hypo signs. I started taking raw thyroid and I’m not sure on the connection, but within a couple weeks I find my discomforts have greatly subsided. Any possible connection?
Hi Chris,
Great article Chris, I’m going to try your cure for lactose intolerance, I am a happy lactose tolerant who enjoys full fat dairy regularly. Thank you so much for sharing.
Chris question; BTW you might know if there’s dulcolax for children? Do you think, that can work?
Thanks a lot!
Dairy contains hormones that are transformed in the human body into growth hormones that stimulate the growth of cancer. Most people’s bodies stop producing lactase after the toddler stage for a reason, you body doesn’t want it, doesn’t need it. To suggest that the human body, which has evolved for millions of years, is somehow wrong, and you, doctor for a few years, are right, is laughable. You can say all you want, but to consume milk from a huge cow, that is originally intended for the calf to become as large, and as such contains significant amounts of hormones, is simply not healthy, or very logical. Europeans evolved to keep lactase production up during their lives, because in that time, if they didn’t consume milk, they would die. That is not the case anymore today, so no need to consume dairy past 3 years of age. Oncologists are actually advising their cancer patient not to consume dairy..
What nonsense. Everything in your post is vegevangelist bullshit.
Dairy foods are highly nutritious, a valuable source of important nutrients for thousands of years, and they are strongly protective against at least seven types of cancer — IF CONSUMED IN THEIR NATURAL STATE. Low-fat and no-fat milk have been associated with higher cancer risk, possibly because of the synthetic vitamins added to them, but full-fat milk has never been linked to any disease or disorder. It is only beneficial.