It may seem surprising, but over 65% of the world’s population have a diminished ability to digest lactose after early childhood (1).
While this intolerance is most common in East Asia, it affects people all over the world after their infancy (2).
Despite the widespread prevalence of lactose intolerance, dairy remains part of many people’s diet.
This article will look at a possible solution for lactose intolerance known as Lactaid pills.
First, we’ll examine what lactose intolerance is, and then move on to a review of Lactaid pills.
What is Lactose?
Lactose is the main sugar in milk and dairy products. As mentioned, many people cannot digest this sugar efficiently after infancy.
This change is specifically because of the enzyme called lactase—or the loss of it.
What is Lactase?
In brief, lactase is a digestive enzyme responsible for breaking lactose down into digestible simple sugars.
After our formative years, many humans lose the ability to produce the lactase enzyme.
As a result of not producing enough lactase, people cannot efficiently digest lactose in milk (3).
However, cultures with a long milk-drinking culture have developed a condition called ‘lactase persistence.’ This status refers to people who do not lose the ability to produce the lactase enzyme.
Lactase persistence is most widespread in Europe. In particular, the British have a high rate of lactase persistence; between 85-95% (2, 4, 5, 6).
On the other hand, the rate of lactase persistence in East Asia is only 5-10% of the population (2).
Seeing that lactase deficiency is the cause of lactose intolerance, several companies have developed products containing lactase.
Lactaid pills are one of these products.
Key Point: Lactase is a digestive enzyme that breaks down lactose in the body. Usually, lactase deficiency is the cause of lactose intolerance.
Symptoms of Lactose Intolerance
One of the interesting things about lactose intolerance is that many people have no idea they are suffering from it.
With this in mind, what should you look out for?
Fortunately, lactose intolerance has numerous ways of presenting itself; it’s just a matter of spotting them.
To point out a few of the common symptoms:
Bloated stomach
Stomach pain/cramps
Diarrhea
Joint pain
Gas
Acne
Chronic fatigue/lethargy
Generally speaking, these symptoms occur between 30 minutes and 2 hours after eating.
They can also range in severity from mild to unbearable depending on the extent of the intolerance, and the amount of lactose consumed (7).
If you are suffering from any of these symptoms and don’t know the reason, it might be best to check with your doctor.
Lactose Intolerance vs. Milk Allergy
It’s worth bearing in mind that—despite sharing common symptoms—lactose intolerance and milk allergy are not the same conditions (8, 9).
Specifically, milk allergy symptoms can be much more severe and even cause an allergic reaction.
To repeat; if you are experiencing any adverse reactions to dairy products you should speak to your doctor.
Key Point: Lactose intolerance has many symptoms. However, one to watch for is digestive discomfort aorund 1-2 hours after consuming dairy.
Lactose Intolerance Diet
In the event of lactose intolerance, people conventionally follow a lactose intolerance diet.
For the most part, this diet targets dairy products. In general, lactose-containing foods are either eliminated or reduced to a tolerable level.
For example, here are some foods that contain lactose:
Additionally, any food products containing milk derivatives (such as margarine) may contain small amounts of lactose.
Frequently, some people do still have some degree of tolerance for lactose (10, 11).
Therefore, lactose-containing foods can often be re-added to the diet after a short time following a lactose intolerance diet to recover.
If you try this, do it very slowly and gradually to find the level you can tolerate.
However, some people are intolerant to even the slightest amount of lactose. In such cases, the complete elimination of lactose may be necessary.
While milk is the biggest source of lactose, fermented dairy like cheese has a much lower concentration, especially hard aged cheese.
Key Point: Not only should all dairy be cut out on a lactose intolerance diet, but also any foods that contain milk derivatives.
What is Lactaid?
Lactaid is a brand that provides products such as drinks and tablets to help lactose-intolerant people consume dairy.
In particular, Lactaid pills are becoming increasingly popular.
The question is: do they work?
A Medicine for Lactose Intolerance
Lactaid pills are, in reality, a kind of medicine for lactose intolerance. In essence, they are lactose intolerance pills.
Seeing that many people love dairy foods, demand is high for a solution. Additionally, other people worry about getting enough calcium from their diet without dairy.
The idea is that if you take these Lactaid pills alongside lactose-containing food, you can avoid the symptoms of lactose intolerance.
Therefore—the manufacturers claim—the lactose intolerant have the freedom to eat the foods they want, whenever they want.
However, should we rely on a pill to eat the food we want? And could there be any side effects of Lactaid pills?
How Do Lactaid Pills Work
Lactaid pills contain the lactase enzyme, and owing to their active ingredient—work by breaking down the lactose in food.
Additionally, the manufacturers state the following about Lactaid Pills:
Lactaid pills contain the natural lactase enzyme and have an excellent safety profile.
Users should take a Lactaid pill with the first bite of their meal—not too soon or late.
Lactaid pills are safe to use every day, for every meal and every snack.
Assuming that the manufacturer’s claims are reality; Lactaid pills sound like the perfect solution to lactose intolerance.
However, as I’m sure you realize—manufacturers always say positive things about their products.
Therefore, let’s take a look at the actual evidence and whether or not Lactaid pills have any side effects.
Key Point: Lactaid pills work by supplying the body with the lactase enzyme, which breaks down lactose allowing it to be digested.
Do Lactaid Pills Work?
Rather than blindly trust the manufacturers, what do we know about how well Lactaid pills work?
Unfortunately, there isn’t a wealth of information available in the way of published studies. Thankfully there are a couple of resources we can use to get a better idea, though.
As part of this, we’ll take a look at several studies on lactase supplementation, as well as some online reviews.
Studies
There are a few studies on the use of supplemental lactase, which provide the following peer-reviewed findings:
In a 2010 study, the active ingredient in Lactase pills (tilactase) was compared to a probiotic supplement (Lactobacillus reuteri) and placebo. When given to lactose intolerant people, the lactase pills sharply improved gastrointestinal symptoms. Further, they improved these symptoms more significantly than Lactobacillus did (12).
A 2014 study showed a similar pattern. Following oral consumption of lactase pills; abdominal pain, bloating and diarrhea were significantly reduced (13).
Lactaid Pills: Web MD User Reviews
Based on a total of 59 user reviews on Web MD, Lactaid Pills received the following rating out of 5 (14).
Effectiveness: 2.36
Ease of Use: 3.58
Satisfaction: 2.07
As we can see, the ratings for satisfaction and effectiveness are not especially reassuring. Looking through the comments, many users experience side effects such as sickness.
However, others say that the pill has been a great help and allowed them to eat what they want. In general, it’s a mixed bag of reviews.
Amazon User Reviews
On the other hand, Lactaid pills gain a much higher score on Amazon with a rating of 4.6/5 (disclosure: affiliate link).
While some of these reviews are almost perfect, others say that the product still made them very sick.
Key Point: Lactaid pills demonstrate positive benefits in the available studies. However, they receive mixed comments from user reviews. Given these points, it’s likely that Lactaid pills do have benefits for people suffering from lactose intolerance. On the negative side, these benefits apply to all users. Overall, it may be the case that those with a severe lactose intolerance don’t respond to the supplement the way that people with a mild intolerance do.
Side Effects: Are Lactaid Pills Safe?
As with most supplements and medications, unfortunately, Lactaid pills can and do have side effects.
Having read through many reviews; stomach cramps, nausea, and vomiting are some of the most commonly reported side effects.
Whether these side effects are due to the actual Lactaid pill itself is unclear. Instead, it could be that the pill didn’t work as well as expected, and the user experienced ill effects due to lactose intolerance.
Also, Web MD provides a more general side effect warning. “A severe allergic reaction to this drug is rare. However, get medical help right away if you notice any symptoms of a serious allergic reaction, including rash, itching, dizziness, trouble breathing” (15).
Key Point: While it appears Lactaid pills can have side effects, they are mild in most cases.
Non-Dairy Options: Substitutes For Milk
Providing you decide not to use Lactaid, are there any realistic alternatives for milk and dairy products as a whole?
The answer to that question is yes, but it depends on why you want a replacement—for calcium? Or to use as a substitute in the kitchen?
Non-Dairy Sources of Calcium
Despite how prevalent the idea of dairy being essential for calcium is, there are many non-dairy sources of the mineral.
Here are just a few:
Seaweed: Kelp contains 15% of the daily calcium value per 100g (16)
Almonds: these nuts provide 26% of the daily value per 100g (17).
Sardines contain 38% of the daily calcium value per 100g, in addition to omega-3 (18).
Brazil Nuts provide roughly 16% of the daily recommended value per 100g (19).
Spinach contains 9% of the daily recommended value per 100g (20).
Kale offers 15% of the daily recommended amount of calcium per 100g (21)
Chia Seeds provide 63% of the recommended daily calcium value per 100g (22).
As shown above, there are plenty of non-dairy sources of calcium.
Tasty Dairy Milk Replacements
As well as concerns over calcium, others just want a milk-type food that they can use.
In this case, I recommend the following three products:
Coconut Milk
In the first place, coconut milk looks identical to normal milk. The taste is quite different but has a similar creaminess to it.
It’s suitable for baking, drinks, tea/coffee, and in pretty much any food that contains regular milk.
Coconut Cream
Coconut cream is similar to the milk, with the only difference being a thicker, creamier consistency.
If you are confused about the difference between the two, the main point of differentiation is that coconut cream lacks the water. The cream is thick and like a paste (and much tastier, in my opinion!)
Almond Milk
While many milk substitutes (such as soy) are full of cheap additives, the quality of almond milk varies wildly.
Having said that, if you want to avoid all additives, then it’s probably better to make your own.
Key Point: Dairy is an excellent food group; it’s nutritious and extremely tasty, but it’s not essential. As can be seen, many substitutes for dairy are available.
Are Lactaid Pills A Solution To Lactose Intolerance?
Yes, they are… but not for everyone.
When it comes to nutrition, we should always remember that we are all biologically unique.
In short; what works for one might not work for another.
With this in mind; if you are lactose intolerant and wish to keep eating dairy, Lactaid pills might be worth a try.
Eat, monitor and adjust.
Listen to your body—it will let you know whether or not Lactaid pills are a good solution for you.
Michael works as a nutrition educator in a community setting and holds a Master's Degree in Clinical Nutrition. He believes in providing reliable and objective nutritional information to allow informed decisions.
44 thoughts on “Lactaid Pills: A Solution To Lactose Intolerance?”
Michael,
Great article. I especially like the non-dairy alternative. Coconut is abundant in Malaysia and other tropical countries. One can make COCONUT oil (MCT), milk, yoghurt, whey, kefir, sour cream, butter, etc. with it. It’s full of macro & micro nutrients such as lauric acids (close to Mother’s milk), caprylic/capric/myristic/palmitic/stearic/oleic/and linoleic acids; tocopheerol & tocotrienol, including vitamins and minerals. Dairy products also have casein that may cause celiac disease. My advice is do stay away from dairy (except if it’s raw and or fermented). A better choice is organic raw unpasteurized ghee. I make my own pasteurized ghee @ home (difficult to get organic unpasteurized & unsalted butter in Malaysia).
Health & Happiness.
“All Diseases Begin In The Gut” … Hippocrates, 460-370 BC
My 2 cents. Be happy 😉
Hi Alan,
Yes, I’m a little jealous about that – it would be nice to have lots of local fresh coconut products!
I think staying away from dairy is probably necessary for many – but not all. Also sometimes fermented
dairy is a lot better tolerated than milk.
Organic raw ghee sounds a great choice, but like you said – it’s difficult to get hold of for many people.
How does the ghee you made at home taste? That’s still something I’ve never tried so I should probably give
it a go.
Thanks for the comment – and have a great weekend!
LCHF cured my L.I.
I have been struggling with lactose intolerance for 16 years. Yes I’ve taken a lot of lactase tablets! (sometimes you need 2 for a meal). But I hated being dependent on them.
I started LCHF about a month ago. I was nervous about giving up lactose-free milk and using cream. But to my amazement, no problems!
Now I’m having heavy cream, sour cream, cream cheese and non-aged cheeses — without taking lactase tablets — and no gut pain afterwards! I feel like a normal person.
Feels like a miracle. Was sugar the problem all along?
(P.S. I take 1 good probiotic capsule a day, but I’ve been doing this for awhile. It helped my L.I. — but didn’t cure it.)
Hi Kristen,
That’s great to hear! An interesting story too, and not so usual.
There are reasons why your sudden lactose intolerance could have improved though, when our digestive system is in a stressed state then lactase is produce much less efficiently – which basically means lactose can’t be digested well.
So maybe something about your previous diet could have been causing digestive distress. Another possibility involves gluten. As gluten sensitivity shares similar symptoms to lactose intolerance, these two often get wrongly mixed up… if you felt better after quitting grains, maybe there could be some relation? I suppose this one is unlikely after 16 years though.
Anyway I’m happy you feel better after struggling for so long. Congratulations!
What is LCHF?
LCHF stands for low carb, high fat. A type of diet that typically contains < 100 grams (max) of carbs per day.
However, despite Kristen's success, I haven't heard anything specific about it resolving lactose intolerance issues before.
I am self diagnosed with a Lactase problem, found Lactaid many years ago and it worked wonders; been taking it religously with dairy for 30 years or so. Now all of a suden Lactaid is not working? Any solutions/suggestions?
Hi Duncan,
If you’re self-diagnosed then I’d really recommend checking with a doctor just to make sure.
30 years is a long time – it worked perfectly throughout that period? Lactase production declines naturally as we age, meaning there may now be a higher requirement, although that’s probably not it if it happened all of a sudden rather than progressively.
Hello – I am from Turkey and I have had Lactase intolerance for more than 30 years as well. I have been taking Lactaid during all those years and it worked for me. I also found out that I needed to take more tablets for more concentrated products (like ice cream). However, suddenly, I started having problems even though I am taking Lactaid. So, my question is: Can this medicine lose its effectiveness? Thank you for your help.
Sincerely, Haluk Bilgen
Hi Haluk,
It can – but it’s probably because of your body rather than the supplement.
For example, everybody (even lactose intolerant people) has some level of lactase in their body (the enzyme that breaks down lactose).
When you combine the supplement with the natural levels in your body, then usually people have enough enzymes to digest lactose.
However, our lactase levels can fall quite a lot (and sometimes suddenly) in the aging process – this is why some people develop lactose intolerance at an older age.
So, this is only speculation, but it might just be that your lactase levels have fallen a little and the amount of Lactaid you were previously taking isn’t enough now.
I could have written this comment, except I have been taking lactase supplements for 40 years! I’ve found that it helps if I spread out the dosage. For instance, if you take 3 Regular Strength, take one when you begin consuming your dairy product, one when you finish, one an hour later.
The things people do for their favorite dairy product!
To be honest, if I had a dairy intolerance I would probably be the same. A life of no cheese sounds terrible…
Could taking Lactaid every day have any affect on your potassium? My mother is in a nursing home and she’s having a very bad problem with her potassium level. She takes Lactaid three times a day. Could that be contributing to the potassium not being absorbed?
As far as I know, there is no reason why Lactaid would affect potassium levels.
I can’t really speculate on medical issues, but it might be worth discussing any specific concerns with your mother’s doctor.
One thing to note though; if you buy actual Lactaid milk, that actually contains quite a bit of potassium – around 350 mg per cup.
Talking about lactase, I’m confused why so much mention is made of dairy products such as cheese and heavy cream that really have very little lactose. If these dairy items cause a problem, lactase won’t solve it. Another idea I consider a misconception, is the idea of removing milk from the diet for a period and then reintroducing it to see if there is a problem. Even in people with the lactase-persistence gene, there probably WILL be a problem because the intestines don’t squirt out lactase in response to lactose, they squirt it out in response to galactose, the simple sugar whose presence shows you are supposedly a child that is nursing. and this is exactly what you have stopped ingesting. This is why using a lactase product mixed with milk can restore endogenous lactase production–you’re drinking galactose and telling your physiology you need lactase because you are supposedly ingesting lactose! So, in a month or two, lactase production ramps back up and you don’t need the lactase supplement any more.
Citation needed.
That explains why I am more able to take dairy when I have been drinking lactose free milk Anker in New Zealand add lactose
If found that lactase pill works for you, consider also lactase/tilactase drops for milk/other liquid milk products for same reason
I just started taking the pills after 4 years is that good for the body?
Hi Samantha,
You started taking them after 4 years…?
My daughter (age 9) just found out the hard way that these types of pills do not work for her :'(
Sorry to hear that, Amanda.
Hope she’s feeling better.
Hi, I’ve been lactose intolerant my whole life and I didn’t even know it. I am East Asian. I do remember the struggles I’ve been through when I was a child. I don’t think my parents knew what lactose intolerance is. I had problems with things like yogurt, cheese and ice cream my whole life until I finally figured it out. One day many years ago I had a small amount of ice cream and I was sick afterwords for many hours. I experimented and stopped dairy for about a week until my symptoms went away. Then re-introduced a couple of bites of ice cream and I got sick again. That’s how I knew there was a part problem with dairy. Thinking back I started recalling times I’ve had dairy and gotten sick afterwards. It was most of my life. then I discovered Lactaid pills. I use them when I consume dairy by accident or if I suspect some dairy can be in the food that I’m ingesting. I am quite sensitive to dairy. I need more than the dosage they recommend all the time. Are usually just avoid milk, dairy, milk derivative products. But sometimes dairy just sneaks up by accident so that’s why I use Lactaid pills . Lactaid pills has saved me many times.
Hi Sally, sorry to hear about your problems with lactose. Hope you have been OK recently! I understand that a large proportion of East Asian people have problems with dairy, primarily because of lactase deficiency. It is interesting how our genes develop over generations based on what we do/don’t do. Glad that the lactose pills let you avoid those accidents – it must be quite frustrating because dairy is added to so many things.
However, I don’t know this for sure – it may be worth checking with the manufacturer just to be safe.
I’ve been taking Lactaid pills with just about every meal, and snack, for nearly 25 years (I’m severely lactose intolerant). I no longer drink but when I did it never had any adverse effects with my Lactaid nor did it cause it to not work. Hope this helps!
Thanks for that feedback, Shanna. It seems that they worked well for you!
I’m wondering if you drink enough Lactaid Milk along with a meal that contains other dairy products, will their be enough extra Lactase in the Lactaid Milk to assist in digesting Lactose? I am definitely lactose intolerant and love sour cream, however sour cream and ice cream causes me even greater distress than regular non-lactaid milk. To me, it seems as though the lactose is more heavily concentred in sour cream and ice cream, although it could depend on the brand as well. Do you know if there is any extra “available to the body” lactase in Lactaid milk, or is it all already used up to convert the lactose in the milk? Thank you, I can’t find any information on this anywhere I’ve been searching.
Hi Jay,
That’s an interesting question, but unfortunately (as you may have guessed) there is no research on this. I suppose it may help, but I really can’t be sure – sorry! If your reactions to lactose are not too bad, it could be worth progressively testing to see if it helps, but there is no point in making yourself feel ill.
I asked the question about whether there is extra available lactase enzyme in Lactaid milk or whether it is all used up already in the conversion process. I wanted to add that I can drink all the LACTAID MILK I want with no discomfort and it tastes better than regular milk. However, the Lactaid tablets do not work for me unless I take an inordinate amount of them, to the point where it’s not financially attractive to use them much or eat dairy other than consuming the Lactaid milk.
Glad that the Lactaid milk works well for you! And I agree, taking an inordinate amount of Lactaid tablets is not ideal – and I don’t think it can be healthy either.
I finally put all the pieces together and learned that I’m lactose intolerant. I just turned 56 years old (European descent). I did the normal thing of taking all dairy out of my diet for a month or so and felt so much better.
The problem comes when I travel or visit someone who doesn’t exactly understand what LI means. I have tried various brands and quantities of the lactase enzyme pills with various side effects: bloating, gas and the next day, constipation.
Is it possible that that a person is not helped at all by taking the pills? What alternatives are there for those ‘extraordinary’ situations where you have little control over what’s being served (besides starving.)
Hi Angie,
Sorry to hear about the lactose intolerance. It is possible that someone may not be helped by taking these pills, and some people find that they need more of them as time goes on.
The reason for this is because lactose intolerance is caused by a deficiency of the enzyme lactase, our production of which falls with age, and so some people require more lactase than others as time goes by.
Unfortunately, I’m not aware of any alternatives for the situation you mentioned other than speaking to the chef prior to the order. I can understand how this is a big hassle! It might be worth speaking to your doctor to see if there are any medical options?
This is an extremely helpful and informative article. I have been diagnosed with IBS for years, but I have had a lot more problems lately, and have come to the conclusion I seem to be lactose intolerant. I was as an infant (colic) and for years as a child. The pain I have had recently has been terrible, so I cut dairy out, and noticed a huge improvement (although I wasn’t totally sure what had lactose in it and have made some mistakes). I am starting to become educated in the complications of lactose intolerance, and have been surprised there hasn’t been a lot of easily accessible information on the internet that has been helpful to me. This article is really well done and balanced. I have actually been trying to figure out why taking the lactaid helped some, but I still had terrible effects after consuming dairy. Now I know it doesn’t affect everyone the same way, and it doesn’t mean I don’t have LI even though the pills aren’t working. Thank you for all this balanced and extremely insightful information in one location!
Thanks for the nice words, Tarah.
I’m sorry to hear about your past digestive troubles though, and I hope you are doing much better now!
Your list of milk products containing lactose is not accurate. A biochemist (head of the department at a major university) once told me that cream and aged cheese do not contain lactose. I am very lactose intolerant and I have found this to be true. I don’t do well with so-called lactose-free milk, but I can eat any aged (hard) cheese without consequence and can eat ice creams that are mainly cream.
Hi Mary,
Cheese and cream do still contain (small) amounts of lactose, and as such the majority of people can tolerate them. Maybe this is what the biochemist who once discussed it with you meant.
However, the research is clear that people with more severe lactose intolerance can still have problems.
Aged cheese is generally fine because the milk sugars ferment for a longer time, but it does still contain trace amounts.
Hello and thanks for the great article! I realized that I might am a lactose intolerant just two years ago. It was enough just to eat some pancakes which contained a milk powder. I got a lot of stomach problems that day. I went to the doctor, he said that it might be a lactose intolerance. I strongly disagreed and I said that I am eating dairy products all my life and I never had any problems ( I am 47 now). I didn’t believed him until I got very weird rash around my mouth for four months. I never had any skin problems in my life! Nothing helped, any anti allergic cream. Dermatologist said that is either a stress or my makeup causes this rash, but it wasn’t truth, three months of antibiotics didn’t do any good, it was coming back all the time. One time my son said that his acne disappeared after he stopped eating diary and started to take probiotics. I thought, I see, doctor had right then, I am a lactose intolerant. Once I stop with the milk products all my skin problems disappeared. It’s still hard to believe because I am from Lithuania and we are using diary products daily. We have so much choice and good quality of dairy food and I never heard that anyone would have such a problem as I do. That would explain a very poor choice of a lactose free products in Lithuania. =) Now I live in Sweden for 14 years and I believe that it is a country to blame. Almost every Swede is allergic to something, I never heard about so many allergies in my life! What do you think what could be the problem in my case: country, age (maybe with the ago we are less tolerant?) or I already consumed my ”lifetime dairy amount”? I would be very grateful ,if you would answer. Thanks in advance!
Hello Daiva! Thank you, and thanks for your comment too!
I’m sorry but it is really hard to answer your question here… there could be so many different explanations. As mentioned in the article, we do produce fewer enzymes to digest lactose as we get older… so it could be that you never noticed a very slight lactose sensitivity until recently. However, there’s no way of knowing for sure. If it were me, I would ask the doctor for a lactose allergy test to confirm his/her opinion. The test is either a skin prick test or a breath test – very simple and quick, and it’s better knowing for sure rather than guessing.
I hope you work it out so that you can still enjoy dairy!
My question is, I am pretty sure I have lactose intolerance, but I am not 100% certain. Even if I don’t have it, is it still safe to take lactaid? Or should I see a doctor first because it can be dangerous?
I think it would be better to see a doctor just to confirm first – it’s a simple test to find out if someone is lactose intolerant, and using a product designed for those with lactose intolerance would be unnecessary for someone who didn’t need it.
Hi, I deduced a couple of years back that I was probably lactose intolerant. Once I stopped eating dairy and switched to lactose free milk alot of my stomach issues got better. However I still have issues with some sugars, high fructose fruit and sweeteners like sorbitol etc. I have always found that lactase pills help me in digesting milky products in the main . Earlier this year I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and prescribed levothyroxine which contains lactose. I tried the lactose free brand but also had difficulty with the mannitol in those. So I went back to the lactose brand and I take baby lactase drops with them. I take them as they don’t have any additives and they’re in a small amount that are gentler on the stomach as there must only be a small amount of lactose in the medication so guessed I’d only need a small amount of lactagyse. It seems to work when I remember to take it. Is it ok to carry on with this?
Hi Maz,
I don’t know the answer to this I’m afraid. I would recommend checking with your doctor, as he/she will be the best person to advise about potential interactions with your medication.
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Michael,
Great article. I especially like the non-dairy alternative. Coconut is abundant in Malaysia and other tropical countries. One can make COCONUT oil (MCT), milk, yoghurt, whey, kefir, sour cream, butter, etc. with it. It’s full of macro & micro nutrients such as lauric acids (close to Mother’s milk), caprylic/capric/myristic/palmitic/stearic/oleic/and linoleic acids; tocopheerol & tocotrienol, including vitamins and minerals. Dairy products also have casein that may cause celiac disease. My advice is do stay away from dairy (except if it’s raw and or fermented). A better choice is organic raw unpasteurized ghee. I make my own pasteurized ghee @ home (difficult to get organic unpasteurized & unsalted butter in Malaysia).
Health & Happiness.
“All Diseases Begin In The Gut” … Hippocrates, 460-370 BC
My 2 cents. Be happy 😉
Hi Alan,
Yes, I’m a little jealous about that – it would be nice to have lots of local fresh coconut products!
I think staying away from dairy is probably necessary for many – but not all. Also sometimes fermented
dairy is a lot better tolerated than milk.
Organic raw ghee sounds a great choice, but like you said – it’s difficult to get hold of for many people.
How does the ghee you made at home taste? That’s still something I’ve never tried so I should probably give
it a go.
Thanks for the comment – and have a great weekend!
LCHF cured my L.I.
I have been struggling with lactose intolerance for 16 years. Yes I’ve taken a lot of lactase tablets! (sometimes you need 2 for a meal). But I hated being dependent on them.
I started LCHF about a month ago. I was nervous about giving up lactose-free milk and using cream. But to my amazement, no problems!
Now I’m having heavy cream, sour cream, cream cheese and non-aged cheeses — without taking lactase tablets — and no gut pain afterwards! I feel like a normal person.
Feels like a miracle. Was sugar the problem all along?
(P.S. I take 1 good probiotic capsule a day, but I’ve been doing this for awhile. It helped my L.I. — but didn’t cure it.)
Hi Kristen,
That’s great to hear! An interesting story too, and not so usual.
There are reasons why your sudden lactose intolerance could have improved though, when our digestive system is in a stressed state then lactase is produce much less efficiently – which basically means lactose can’t be digested well.
So maybe something about your previous diet could have been causing digestive distress. Another possibility involves gluten. As gluten sensitivity shares similar symptoms to lactose intolerance, these two often get wrongly mixed up… if you felt better after quitting grains, maybe there could be some relation? I suppose this one is unlikely after 16 years though.
Anyway I’m happy you feel better after struggling for so long. Congratulations!
What is LCHF?
LCHF stands for low carb, high fat. A type of diet that typically contains < 100 grams (max) of carbs per day. However, despite Kristen's success, I haven't heard anything specific about it resolving lactose intolerance issues before.
I am self diagnosed with a Lactase problem, found Lactaid many years ago and it worked wonders; been taking it religously with dairy for 30 years or so. Now all of a suden Lactaid is not working? Any solutions/suggestions?
Hi Duncan,
If you’re self-diagnosed then I’d really recommend checking with a doctor just to make sure.
30 years is a long time – it worked perfectly throughout that period? Lactase production declines naturally as we age, meaning there may now be a higher requirement, although that’s probably not it if it happened all of a sudden rather than progressively.
Hello – I am from Turkey and I have had Lactase intolerance for more than 30 years as well. I have been taking Lactaid during all those years and it worked for me. I also found out that I needed to take more tablets for more concentrated products (like ice cream). However, suddenly, I started having problems even though I am taking Lactaid. So, my question is: Can this medicine lose its effectiveness? Thank you for your help.
Sincerely, Haluk Bilgen
Hi Haluk,
It can – but it’s probably because of your body rather than the supplement.
For example, everybody (even lactose intolerant people) has some level of lactase in their body (the enzyme that breaks down lactose).
When you combine the supplement with the natural levels in your body, then usually people have enough enzymes to digest lactose.
However, our lactase levels can fall quite a lot (and sometimes suddenly) in the aging process – this is why some people develop lactose intolerance at an older age.
So, this is only speculation, but it might just be that your lactase levels have fallen a little and the amount of Lactaid you were previously taking isn’t enough now.
I could have written this comment, except I have been taking lactase supplements for 40 years! I’ve found that it helps if I spread out the dosage. For instance, if you take 3 Regular Strength, take one when you begin consuming your dairy product, one when you finish, one an hour later.
The things people do for their favorite dairy product!
To be honest, if I had a dairy intolerance I would probably be the same. A life of no cheese sounds terrible…
Could taking Lactaid every day have any affect on your potassium? My mother is in a nursing home and she’s having a very bad problem with her potassium level. She takes Lactaid three times a day. Could that be contributing to the potassium not being absorbed?
As far as I know, there is no reason why Lactaid would affect potassium levels.
I can’t really speculate on medical issues, but it might be worth discussing any specific concerns with your mother’s doctor.
One thing to note though; if you buy actual Lactaid milk, that actually contains quite a bit of potassium – around 350 mg per cup.
Talking about lactase, I’m confused why so much mention is made of dairy products such as cheese and heavy cream that really have very little lactose. If these dairy items cause a problem, lactase won’t solve it. Another idea I consider a misconception, is the idea of removing milk from the diet for a period and then reintroducing it to see if there is a problem. Even in people with the lactase-persistence gene, there probably WILL be a problem because the intestines don’t squirt out lactase in response to lactose, they squirt it out in response to galactose, the simple sugar whose presence shows you are supposedly a child that is nursing. and this is exactly what you have stopped ingesting. This is why using a lactase product mixed with milk can restore endogenous lactase production–you’re drinking galactose and telling your physiology you need lactase because you are supposedly ingesting lactose! So, in a month or two, lactase production ramps back up and you don’t need the lactase supplement any more.
Citation needed.
That explains why I am more able to take dairy when I have been drinking lactose free milk Anker in New Zealand add lactose
If found that lactase pill works for you, consider also lactase/tilactase drops for milk/other liquid milk products for same reason
I just started taking the pills after 4 years is that good for the body?
Hi Samantha,
You started taking them after 4 years…?
My daughter (age 9) just found out the hard way that these types of pills do not work for her :'(
Sorry to hear that, Amanda.
Hope she’s feeling better.
Hi, I’ve been lactose intolerant my whole life and I didn’t even know it. I am East Asian. I do remember the struggles I’ve been through when I was a child. I don’t think my parents knew what lactose intolerance is. I had problems with things like yogurt, cheese and ice cream my whole life until I finally figured it out. One day many years ago I had a small amount of ice cream and I was sick afterwords for many hours. I experimented and stopped dairy for about a week until my symptoms went away. Then re-introduced a couple of bites of ice cream and I got sick again. That’s how I knew there was a part problem with dairy. Thinking back I started recalling times I’ve had dairy and gotten sick afterwards. It was most of my life. then I discovered Lactaid pills. I use them when I consume dairy by accident or if I suspect some dairy can be in the food that I’m ingesting. I am quite sensitive to dairy. I need more than the dosage they recommend all the time. Are usually just avoid milk, dairy, milk derivative products. But sometimes dairy just sneaks up by accident so that’s why I use Lactaid pills . Lactaid pills has saved me many times.
Hi Sally, sorry to hear about your problems with lactose. Hope you have been OK recently! I understand that a large proportion of East Asian people have problems with dairy, primarily because of lactase deficiency. It is interesting how our genes develop over generations based on what we do/don’t do. Glad that the lactose pills let you avoid those accidents – it must be quite frustrating because dairy is added to so many things.
Is it safe to drink alcohol after taking lactaid?
It seems like it would be OK based on the alcohol and medicine interactions list here: https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/Medicine/medicine.htm
However, I don’t know this for sure – it may be worth checking with the manufacturer just to be safe.
I’ve been taking Lactaid pills with just about every meal, and snack, for nearly 25 years (I’m severely lactose intolerant). I no longer drink but when I did it never had any adverse effects with my Lactaid nor did it cause it to not work. Hope this helps!
Thanks for that feedback, Shanna. It seems that they worked well for you!
I’m wondering if you drink enough Lactaid Milk along with a meal that contains other dairy products, will their be enough extra Lactase in the Lactaid Milk to assist in digesting Lactose? I am definitely lactose intolerant and love sour cream, however sour cream and ice cream causes me even greater distress than regular non-lactaid milk. To me, it seems as though the lactose is more heavily concentred in sour cream and ice cream, although it could depend on the brand as well. Do you know if there is any extra “available to the body” lactase in Lactaid milk, or is it all already used up to convert the lactose in the milk? Thank you, I can’t find any information on this anywhere I’ve been searching.
Hi Jay,
That’s an interesting question, but unfortunately (as you may have guessed) there is no research on this. I suppose it may help, but I really can’t be sure – sorry! If your reactions to lactose are not too bad, it could be worth progressively testing to see if it helps, but there is no point in making yourself feel ill.
I asked the question about whether there is extra available lactase enzyme in Lactaid milk or whether it is all used up already in the conversion process. I wanted to add that I can drink all the LACTAID MILK I want with no discomfort and it tastes better than regular milk. However, the Lactaid tablets do not work for me unless I take an inordinate amount of them, to the point where it’s not financially attractive to use them much or eat dairy other than consuming the Lactaid milk.
Glad that the Lactaid milk works well for you! And I agree, taking an inordinate amount of Lactaid tablets is not ideal – and I don’t think it can be healthy either.
I finally put all the pieces together and learned that I’m lactose intolerant. I just turned 56 years old (European descent). I did the normal thing of taking all dairy out of my diet for a month or so and felt so much better.
The problem comes when I travel or visit someone who doesn’t exactly understand what LI means. I have tried various brands and quantities of the lactase enzyme pills with various side effects: bloating, gas and the next day, constipation.
Is it possible that that a person is not helped at all by taking the pills? What alternatives are there for those ‘extraordinary’ situations where you have little control over what’s being served (besides starving.)
Hi Angie,
Sorry to hear about the lactose intolerance. It is possible that someone may not be helped by taking these pills, and some people find that they need more of them as time goes on.
The reason for this is because lactose intolerance is caused by a deficiency of the enzyme lactase, our production of which falls with age, and so some people require more lactase than others as time goes by.
Unfortunately, I’m not aware of any alternatives for the situation you mentioned other than speaking to the chef prior to the order. I can understand how this is a big hassle! It might be worth speaking to your doctor to see if there are any medical options?
This is an extremely helpful and informative article. I have been diagnosed with IBS for years, but I have had a lot more problems lately, and have come to the conclusion I seem to be lactose intolerant. I was as an infant (colic) and for years as a child. The pain I have had recently has been terrible, so I cut dairy out, and noticed a huge improvement (although I wasn’t totally sure what had lactose in it and have made some mistakes). I am starting to become educated in the complications of lactose intolerance, and have been surprised there hasn’t been a lot of easily accessible information on the internet that has been helpful to me. This article is really well done and balanced. I have actually been trying to figure out why taking the lactaid helped some, but I still had terrible effects after consuming dairy. Now I know it doesn’t affect everyone the same way, and it doesn’t mean I don’t have LI even though the pills aren’t working. Thank you for all this balanced and extremely insightful information in one location!
Thanks for the nice words, Tarah.
I’m sorry to hear about your past digestive troubles though, and I hope you are doing much better now!
Your list of milk products containing lactose is not accurate. A biochemist (head of the department at a major university) once told me that cream and aged cheese do not contain lactose. I am very lactose intolerant and I have found this to be true. I don’t do well with so-called lactose-free milk, but I can eat any aged (hard) cheese without consequence and can eat ice creams that are mainly cream.
Hi Mary,
Cheese and cream do still contain (small) amounts of lactose, and as such the majority of people can tolerate them. Maybe this is what the biochemist who once discussed it with you meant.
However, the research is clear that people with more severe lactose intolerance can still have problems.
Aged cheese is generally fine because the milk sugars ferment for a longer time, but it does still contain trace amounts.
Please see the University of Virginia’s ‘Lactose Content of Common Dairy Foods’ for reference: https://med.virginia.edu/ginutrition/wp-content/uploads/sites/199/2014/04/Lactose_Content_of_Common_Foods-11-2017.pdf
Hello and thanks for the great article! I realized that I might am a lactose intolerant just two years ago. It was enough just to eat some pancakes which contained a milk powder. I got a lot of stomach problems that day. I went to the doctor, he said that it might be a lactose intolerance. I strongly disagreed and I said that I am eating dairy products all my life and I never had any problems ( I am 47 now). I didn’t believed him until I got very weird rash around my mouth for four months. I never had any skin problems in my life! Nothing helped, any anti allergic cream. Dermatologist said that is either a stress or my makeup causes this rash, but it wasn’t truth, three months of antibiotics didn’t do any good, it was coming back all the time. One time my son said that his acne disappeared after he stopped eating diary and started to take probiotics. I thought, I see, doctor had right then, I am a lactose intolerant. Once I stop with the milk products all my skin problems disappeared. It’s still hard to believe because I am from Lithuania and we are using diary products daily. We have so much choice and good quality of dairy food and I never heard that anyone would have such a problem as I do. That would explain a very poor choice of a lactose free products in Lithuania. =) Now I live in Sweden for 14 years and I believe that it is a country to blame. Almost every Swede is allergic to something, I never heard about so many allergies in my life! What do you think what could be the problem in my case: country, age (maybe with the ago we are less tolerant?) or I already consumed my ”lifetime dairy amount”? I would be very grateful ,if you would answer. Thanks in advance!
Hello Daiva! Thank you, and thanks for your comment too!
I’m sorry but it is really hard to answer your question here… there could be so many different explanations. As mentioned in the article, we do produce fewer enzymes to digest lactose as we get older… so it could be that you never noticed a very slight lactose sensitivity until recently. However, there’s no way of knowing for sure. If it were me, I would ask the doctor for a lactose allergy test to confirm his/her opinion. The test is either a skin prick test or a breath test – very simple and quick, and it’s better knowing for sure rather than guessing.
I hope you work it out so that you can still enjoy dairy!
My question is, I am pretty sure I have lactose intolerance, but I am not 100% certain. Even if I don’t have it, is it still safe to take lactaid? Or should I see a doctor first because it can be dangerous?
I think it would be better to see a doctor just to confirm first – it’s a simple test to find out if someone is lactose intolerant, and using a product designed for those with lactose intolerance would be unnecessary for someone who didn’t need it.
Hi, I deduced a couple of years back that I was probably lactose intolerant. Once I stopped eating dairy and switched to lactose free milk alot of my stomach issues got better. However I still have issues with some sugars, high fructose fruit and sweeteners like sorbitol etc. I have always found that lactase pills help me in digesting milky products in the main . Earlier this year I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and prescribed levothyroxine which contains lactose. I tried the lactose free brand but also had difficulty with the mannitol in those. So I went back to the lactose brand and I take baby lactase drops with them. I take them as they don’t have any additives and they’re in a small amount that are gentler on the stomach as there must only be a small amount of lactose in the medication so guessed I’d only need a small amount of lactagyse. It seems to work when I remember to take it. Is it ok to carry on with this?
Hi Maz,
I don’t know the answer to this I’m afraid. I would recommend checking with your doctor, as he/she will be the best person to advise about potential interactions with your medication.