Anyone out there who is lactose intolerant? Think you can’t eat any dairy foods at all? Think again. Or are you allergic to milk, but can still eat cheese and wonder why? Nicole from Grandvewe explains.
I spent a bit of time out at Grandvewe recently, in the cheese room, and the conversation got around to lactose, and the rising number of people who claim they’re lactose intolerant.
Watch and listen to Nicole, the cheese maker, explain exactly the difference between being actually lactose intolerant and not. Most people have lactase enzymes in their small intestine which change the milk sugar into absorbable compounds – glucose and galactose.
Without getting too technical, the problem is usually congenital. But lactose intolerance can be brought on by illness or iron deficiency. I came back from Egypt once with a bad dose of almost dysentery. A miserable complaint. My doctor then told me that the bugs that cause this destroy the enzymes in the system that digest lactose.
At the time, and for some years, I couldn’t digest any cream or milk. It would just sit in my stomach and ferment. Awful. And I was at my busiest with restaurants and kitchens to run. However, I did recover, and with the help of lactase.
In the simplest terms, Nicole sheds light on this bubbling problem.
And if lactase doesn’t work, see your doctor!
Does this shed light on a sticky problem? Know someone who could benefit with this simple explanation? Do share!
Chrissie