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Milk and Dairy Intolerance |
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 An allergy or intolerance to dairy is experienced by roughly two per cent of the population.
A dairy allergy will produce a sudden reaction such as a rash, abdominal discomfort or wheezing. If you suffer from these symptoms then you're affected by one of the proteins in milk; albumin, casein or whey. Which one depends on whether you are allergic to all dairy products or you can tolerate certain dairy products such as butter, which does not contain albumin or casein.
A milk allergy typically develops in childhood but an intolerance can be more difficult to identify. The most common dairy intolerance is to lactose - the sugar contained in dairy. Lactose intolerance occurs when you are deficient in the enzyme lactase which helps you digest the sugar lactose in milk. As the digestion is impaired the lactose builds up, tiggering symptoms such as cramps, bloating and diarrhoea.
People of Asian and African origin are genetically prone to a lactase deficiency so people from these countries may suffer more. Other races can develop a lactose intolerance in early childhood, but typically Europeans develop it in later life.
People who thought they had problems such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are now discovering they actually have a lactose intolerance, which is fortunately easier to treat. If you suffer from lactose intolerance you can take lactase tablets which increase levels of the enzyme in your body or add lactase drops to milk to break down lactose before drinking.
If you need to be sure whether you are intolerant to a particular food you will need to follow an elimination diet. Remove dairy from your diet completely for one or two weeks and keep an honest symptom diary to see what changes for you. Gradually reintroduce dairy and see if symptoms reappear to identify food causes.
An elimination diet should be followed under a doctors supervision and if you have symptoms of wheezing or swelling or severe allergy symptoms you should always consult a doctor. Symptoms may also reappear two or three days into the elimination diet as you withdrawal from the trigger food.
If your symptoms don't reappear as you reintroduce dairy into your diet, then there is no intolerance. if they do, you will need to find your threshold for dairy - the level below which your dairy intake does not cause symptoms.
An important point to consider when eliminating dairy from the diet is that dairy is most people's main source of calcium, a healthy intake of which is linked to lower rates of osteoporosis. Milk is also a major source of Vitamin D and a deficiency has been linked to heart disease and cancer.
Therefore, if you are giving up dairy it is vital you get the missing nutrients elsewhere in your diet. Increase levels of fortified soya drinks, dark green leafy vegetables, oily and bony fish and egss.
Typically you will not need to give up dairy foods altogether, instead find your safe dairy threshold, a level of consumption which causes no negative symptoms at all.
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