Navigating life as a lactose-intolerant person isn’t easy. Not only does it stop you from enjoying your favorite treat, but a little slip-up ends in health consequences.
However, a simple trick revealed by a doctor lets you relish your favorite food and drink when you can’t tolerate lactose. And no, you don’t have to give up on dairy entirely.
How to eat dairy when lactose intolerant
London-based doctor Karan Raj explains in a TikTok video that you can enjoy dairy items when lactose intolerant by not avoiding them entirely.
He says consuming small doses of dairy regularly trains your gut to “adapt and reduce symptoms over time.” He further explains: “This is due to colonic adaptation. Regular lactose exposure increases the growth of lactose-digesting bacteria in your colonic microbiome.”
You can further enhance colonic adaptation by consuming probiotic-rich foods such as yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, and others. The live bacterial cultures in these foods produce their own lactase, an enzyme that digests lactose.
However, you shouldn’t eat dairy products on an empty stomach. The doctor advises taking them with your regular food as it slows down the stomach emptying “overworked lactase enzyme” in your small intestine. The delayed process gives more time to digest lactose.
Symptoms to look out for
Lactose intolerance occurs in people who can’t digest the sugar in milk – lactose. This can cause several uncomfortable symptoms such as bloating, intestinal gas, nausea, vomiting, cramps, and diarrhea, notes the Cleveland Clinic.
As the food you intake takes about 24-36 hours to travel through the large intestine where lactose is broken down, the symptoms might occur a day or two after eating dairy products.
Aside from training your gut to tolerate and digest lactose, you can manage the symptoms of the condition at home. A naturopathic doctor shows a simple move to relieve gas and bloating, which only takes a couple of minutes.
Dr. Karan Rajan is a certified NHS surgeon from London with over seven years of experience. After graduating from Imperial College London, he’s currently serving as a lecturer at Sunderland University.
He is best known for his TikTok videos related to health and medicine which he uses to educate his followers. He identifies himself as a ‘speaker’ and ‘educator’ with millions of followers across social media, which he has gained by combining his expertise with entertainment.
