Health Help

How do I know if I’m lactose intolerant?

Different from a milk allergy, lactose intolerance is a condition in which you’re unable to digest lactose, a sugar found in milk and dairy products. Symptoms may include abdominal pain and cramps, nausea, bloating, gas and diarrhoea. These typically start between half an hour and two hours after drinking milk or eating dairy products, and the severity of symptoms depends on the amount of lactose ingested. However, it doesn’t cause damage to the lining of the digestive tract.

Diagnosis may be confirmed if symptoms resolve after eliminating lactose from the diet or replacing milk with lactosefree milk. Other tests are sometimes necessary if the relationship between lactose elimination and symptoms is inconclusive; lactose intolerance can be tested by a hydrogen breath test.

It’s important to note that lactose intolerance is different from a milk allergy, which is a more serious condition. Milk allergy is an adverse immune reaction to a milk protein called casein. It’s tested by a skin prick or blood test.

Lactose intolerance is typically managed by decreasing the amount of lactose in one’s diet, or taking lactase supplements available over the counter. People with lactose intolerance are usually able to drink small amounts of milk or eat small portions of yoghurt or hard, matured cheese without developing significant symptoms.

While it’s not necessary to remove dairy from your diet completely (unless specified by a doctor), you may want to reduce your daily intake of lactose by replacing normal milk with lactose-free milk or plant-based milk alternatives, using fresh products that contain lactose in small quantities, and avoiding hidden sources of lactose like processed meat or fish, gravy stock powder, pasta or veggies with cream sauces and fast foods.