When I was a kid, I was told I was allergic to milk. When I was a teenager, I realized nothing happened when I drank milk, so I drank milk to my heart's content, pints of the stuff every day. When I was in my mid-20s, I found that drinking milk starting giving me queasy, uncomfortable feelings. I cut back. I cut back more. Eventually, I stopped drinking any milk at all.
But every once in a while, I'll drink milk again, just to see if I'm still lactose intolerant.
I am.
I should really just try Lactaid - milk modified for the lactose intolerant. But I can't help thinking it's not "real" milk. The same way decaf is not "real" coffee. But it's just milk with a lactase enzyme added to break down lactose into simple sugars (glucose and galactose).
The lactase comes from fungi, and the process was developed in the 1980s by a scientist in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (her work also led to the development of reduced fat mozzarella, which I am far less motivated to try).
I love milk. ADORE it. But lately I've been feeling a little lactose intolerant. I know I'm stubborn, but I'm just trying to power through it. I drink it almost every day. I cannot give it up. Please, world, don't make me!
ReplyDeleteLactaid milk is a good solution. It is "reak: milk, but tastes just a little sweeter than most milk because the lactose has been changed to another sugar by the enzyme. I can't drink milk or use many milk products without getting sick, but with the Lactaid products, I can have ice cream, put milk on a bowl of cereal, etc.
ReplyDeleteI'm not 100% intolerant or allergic. Maximum consumption before I blow up like the Hindenberg is about a cup. So a bowl of cereal or a scoop of ice cream, I'm okay. However, I do carry around Lactaid pills to take when I want to indulge in, say, a milkshake. It helps a LOT.
ReplyDeleteAgreed with Anonymous about Lactaid milk. I tried that out for a while too.