After 17 years of dairy, I'm now lactose intolerant???

I have always consumed dairy with no stomach issues whatsoever. When I was a kid I would drink probably 5-6 glasses of milk/chocolate milk a day with no problems.

But about six months ago I started having issues with my stomach where I would feel extremely bloated even when I hadn't eaten barely anything. I tried eliminating wheat and I also tried eating some probiotic yogurt like activia etc.

None of that seemed to work but I just didn't think I could be lactose intolerant?

So, this summer I went to Europe for about a month and while I was there I had almost no dairy (besides gelato :P) but I had no problems with my stomach while there. The only milk that was ever available to us was warm whole milk for cereal (eww).

Well once I got home I started to think that maybe it was the milk products and now all I drink is water and light vanilla soy milk (occasionally juice, but rarely) and I feel sooooo much better!

I am just curious if anybody else has experienced this, just acquiring lactose intolerance at a random age??

Same here!!  They thought at first I has an intestinal infection or something b/c I was actually bleeding but it was from being diagnosed with IBS and being lactose intolerant.  I used to comsume a gallon by myself in a day or two but now I can only drink skim and that's if I take a Lactaid pill or something like that.  It's crazy that I am 18 and they just found this out!!!

I have a good friend who, at the advanced age of 52, discovered the same thing.  He'd noticed there was a link between eating dairy products and feeling unwell but that if he didn't eat them he felt OK.  Went to his doctor asking if he needed tests of some kind and the doc quite sensibly suggested that if he felt sick drinking milk and better when he didn't... then the tests wouldn't tell them anything they didn't already know 

I discovered I am lactose intolerant earlier this year. I'm only eighteen. I have a suspicion, though, that mine is related to having IBS as well. It's better to know, really. Have you been properly diagnosed, though, or is it a self-diagnosis? If you haven't talked to your doctor yet go to them, and explain what's been happening.

Normally, a lactose intolerant person can tolerate small amounts of lactose. Yoghurts, particularly, as the lactase in them tends to be a bit "pre-digested" by the cultures in them already. But if you're anything like me and your intolerance is pretty severe, you may not be able to manage even that. >_< You have a lot of options available to you though - soy milk as you have already listed, and then other plant milks like rice, almond and oat milks are good. There's many, many soy products that expand beyond milk, too - yoghurt, cheeses, puddings. I don't know where you are in the world but over here in the UK there's even soy custard! That one made me laugh.

Make sure you are getting enough calcium, whatever happens. There's a lot of plant foods that contain calcium. I use a combination of a full multivitamin, and then plant based and other sources. From http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/calcium.htm (Obviously, you might not be vegan, but looking at vegan sources considering is a good idea.)

Blackstrap molasses 2 Tbsp - 400mg
Collard greens, cooked 1 cup - 357mg
Tofu, processed with calcium sulfate 4 ounces - 200-330mg
Calcium-fortified orange juice 8 ounces - 300mg
Soy or ricemilk, commercial, calcium-fortified, plain 8 ounces - 200-300mg 
Commercial soy yogurt, plain 6 ounces - 80-250mg
Turnip greens, cooked 1 cup - 249mg
Tofu, processed with nigari 4 ounces - 80-230mg
Tempeh 1 cup - 215mg
Kale, cooked 1 cup - 179mg
Soybeans, cooked 1 cup - 175mg
Okra, cooked 1 cup - 172mg
Bok choy, cooked 1 cup - 158mg
Mustard greens, cooked 1 cup - 152mg
Tahini 2 Tbsp - 128mg
Broccoli, cooked 1 cup - 94mg
Almonds 1/4 cup - 89mg
Almond butter 2 Tbsp - 86mg
Soy milk, commercial, plain 8 ounces - 80mg

From http://www.vegsoc.org/info/calcium.html - (There are also dairy sources on the website)

Good Sources
Tofu (60g or 2oz) 304mg
Spinach, boiled (130g or 5oz) 208mg
Dried figs (4 figs) 168mg
Soya cheese (slice, 40g) 180mg
Chick peas, boiled (200g or 8oz) 92 mg
Baked beans (200g or 8 oz) 90 mg
Broccoli, boiled (95g or 3½oz) 72 mg

Fair Sources
Brown Bread (2 slices) 70mg
Brazil nuts (9 nuts, 30g) 54mg
Dried apricots (8 apricots) 46mg
French beans, boiled (100g) 41mg
Seasame seeds (15g or ½oz) 20mg

Poor Sources
Spaghetti, boiled (100g or 3½oz) 7mg
Brown rice (190g or 8oz) 7mg

Vitamin D aids with calcium absorption. Oily fish, such as herring, catfish, salmon, mackerel, sardines, pilchards, and tuna all provide natural vitamin D. So do eggs. Pilchards also contain calcium. And, of course, Vit D comes from the sun - so perhaps eat your calcium-rich foods al fresco. P:

same thing happened to me, but mine was that I was just not feeling well overall...besides slowly getting more bloated over the days, I thought it was only constipation but I decided to switch from normal milk to soy milk that happend to say that it has no lactose (because I have like 4 glasses of milk a day...I love milk what can I say lol) and actually liked soy better and kept having it..and now I have NO issues whatsoever...no more bloating and no more bowel problems...its amazing, but true :)  Plus I like the taste better :P The only product that I consume now that contains lactose is cheese, and I have that everyday but in moderation and I feel so much better.

lactose is evil lol at least for me it is :P

Original Post by gi-jane:

I have a good friend who, at the advanced age of 52, discovered the same thing.  He'd noticed there was a link between eating dairy products and feeling unwell but that if he didn't eat them he felt OK.  Went to his doctor asking if he needed tests of some kind and the doc quite sensibly suggested that if he felt sick drinking milk and better when he didn't... then the tests wouldn't tell them anything they didn't already know 

 I like Docs like that- no nonsense! LOL!

I agree with the sentiment though- if you feel better without, then don't have it? You know your body better than anyone else.

Yep, I was 22 when I developed it. It is linked to IBS which I went to the docs for and she suggested cutting out dairy and wheat for a while. I can eat wheat :) but not dairy. Like lalabanana I am severely intolerant and can't have anything, even something fried in a bit of butter sets me off. Have there been any major changes in your life recently? It's normally linked to stress and IBS. Mine began on the day I started my first proper job after uni!

But it is actually fairly common to get it late teens early twenties, in fact I seem to remember it being the time most people develop it.

I actually know someone in their 70s who just got diagnosed - so it really can happen at any age!

You can get loads of non-dairy dairy which is pretty good. Alpro make soya milk but they also do a range of milkshakes, yoghurts, custard, etc which are pretty good. Also all the main supermarkets have a "free from" range so you can get cakes and stuff (depending on whether you're dieting or not!)

Be careful with eating out - always ask if you're not sure whether something will come with dairy. I once ordered "pasta with chicken" and when it came it was "two gallons of CREAM with a bit of pasta and chicken" lol. Most prepackaged foods will contain dairy where you least expect it.

Beware of:

• sandwiches
• risotto
• prepacked pasta mixes
• low fat normally not dairy things (eg LF mayonnaise has cream in it (!))
• mashed potato
• gravy

I was 17, too! Over the years, I've discovered that it's not so much the lactose (milk sugar) as milk fat that causes me problems. Lactose-free milk still gives me issues, but skimmed milk and fat-free cheese don't. Cream makes me extremely bloated and crampy. It's miserable. Everyone has different tolerance levels, so it's hit*** or miss" until you figure out what works for your body.

My best friend has been lactose intolerant since birth and couldn't even take breast milk. For her, melted cheese is far worse than plain cheese or any other dairy product. Wierd, eh?

 *Edited to remove accidental profanity!

I hear more and more people talk about becoming dairy intolerant as they are older - and sometimes I have to wonder - we are the only "animal" that ingests milk from another animal (routinely without human interference)... perhaps our bodies are just rejecting  it - I know I hit that same point you are all talking about - just started feeling awful, bloaty, sick - and even with the lactose free stuff - or taking lactaid etc -  just not good - so I completely cut out all dairy - period - and wow what a difference! I loved milk, cheese, yogurt etc - but I can not image going back to being  a dairy eater now.  You just get used to it! 

Original Post by meeshellmabell:

I hear more and more people talk about becoming dairy intolerant as they are older - and sometimes I have to wonder - we are the only "animal" that ingests milk from another animal (routinely without human interference)...

 we are the only animal that drinks milk after we become adults, period.  Again, without humans encouraging it (in the case of domesticated pets, etc)

I've been lactose intolerant since birth, and it has gotten worse as I get older. I now take these lactaid pills that you only take once a day and I'm usually fine, but I still can't take cream or anything too milk-y even with the pills. Straight milk would send me straight to bed with severe stomach cramps, bloating, and nausea. Good times. Fortunately, I don't really like creamy stuff or milk anyway, so the only stuff I have to watch myself around are chocolate, yogurt, and (rarely) cheese. 

I was curious as to why this happens. Is it a part of genetics? Was it always there? If you develop it, can you build up a resistance to make it go away? If you don't consume 'regular' milk for a long period of time and then switch back to 'regular' milk - will your body reject it? I'm not lactose intolerant, but I would be interested in knowing the answers to some of these questions for anyone who knows!

http://www.emedicine.com/PED/topic1270.htm

I find this topic of adult onset allergies very interesting having developed many strange allergies in my mid-late 20s.  Lactose intolerance in adults is actually very common- ~20% of adults in the US have it.  This is due to a slow down in your body's production of the enzyme that breaks down lactose. 

The link above has some information and other links to sites that can help you regarding lactose intolerance. 

I'm sorry you have to deal with this down... I feel your pain.  I almost wish all these strange allergies I have developed had been with me all my life so I would not miss certain things that I miss now.

A food allergy is not the same as an intolerance. A person who has lactose intolerance is not allergic to milk, nor lactose.

Humans aren't supposed to consume dairy.

When I was a kid, I hated milk and my parents didn't buy other forms of dairy often, so now I'm lactose intolerant because I never built up the enzyme to digest lactose.


We're not naturally born w/ that enzyme; we develop it and can stop developing it if we consume too much dairy; it like throws your stomach into overdrive.

You sure could... lactose-intolerance is something that creeps up on you as you get older. Most people are able to handle it as children but their ability to digest lactose gradually decreases over time. I used to drink GALLONS of milk when I was a kid, but when I was about 25 I realised that it wasn't my friend any more... I gave up dairy entirely for about five years, and then I started having lactose-free stuff instead. Now I've switched back to regular dairy and it's fine as long as I only have a small amount each day. I'm fine with one cup of milk for my cereal and ONE piece of cheese or ONE serve of low-fat icecream. Actually it seems that milkfat is more my enemy than actual milk - changing from whole milk to 2% made a big difference in my ability to handle it. I've never liked creamy things...

oxymoron00 is right; our ancestors did not drink milk beyond infancy and consequently stopped producing the enzymes necessary for lactose digestion as they grew older. This is why people develop an intolerance to lactose: it's natural!

Human beings are the only species in which the adults continue to drink milk. The milk of another animal, nonetheless. In that respect, I like to think of us who are lactose intolerant as the normal ones =]

I had the exact same thing happen to me. I'm 30 now and never had an issue with dairy products until about a year ago when all of a sudden I could no longer tolerate milk (although cheese was fine, weird). It only lasted about 5 months. But even the smallest amount (like in my coffee) was enough to make me ill for at least 24 hours.

For some reason, lots of people of eastern european origin (and asians) have more incidence of lactose intolerance than people with western european ancestry - and the supposition is that dairy consuming cultures running back several thousand years have body chemistries more predisposed to producing lactase (the enzyme that digests milk sugar, lactose) longer into adulthood.

When I finally got diagnosed with it in my early 40's, I had to run the whole route of a gastoenterologist, hydrogen/methane detection tests, etc.  In the end, it was simple lactose intolerance and IBS (the IBS I already knew about and had had it under control). Whether it was genetics, or a bad case of gastroenteritis that shut down my body's production of lactase (which happens), the end result was the same...lactose intolerance.  Now my doctor said I should try to gradually eat slightly larger quantities of lactose containing food without lactose pills, because you can apparently push your body into producing more of the enzyme again, so the theory goes.

Since I love cheese and yoghurt, I still eat those, albeit with lactaid(tm) or other brand of pills...the Webbers extra strength ones sold at Costco work really well for me.

Plain yoghurt with lots of probiotic and prebiotic cultures, low in fat, and WITHOUT any added whey (which is the part of milk that the lactose is concentrated in) I can usually tolerate without any pills.

But milk...despite having no allergies to milk protein or fat, even with lactase pills, or even "predigested" in the form of Lactaid(tm) milk - i can only do a tiny, tiny amount or I get the usual bloating and so on.

So I've learned to love soy "milk", usually vanilla flavoured, in my cereal, coffee, etc.

As others have said, you've got to watch it with pre-made food of any kind. Food manufacturers add whey powder to a myriad of products, because it's a cheap way to boost the protein score (sort of a non-deadly version of adding melamine to milk powder :-P).  Foods that should be rights never have anything dairy in them will often have whey dumped in.  It's a pain!  You learn to read labels when you buy, or take pills with just about everything.  Oh, you can buy products that are labelled Kosher Pareve (pareve is non-dairy and non-meat), so you're guaranteed it won't contain anything diary, including whey/lactose).

Store bought food you can read ingredients and check, but restaurant food?  I usually take a pill with anything that is a mix or recipe, just in case.  Margarine is often loaded with whey, and most restaurants use margarine instead of butter, which does have some whey, but not that much.  Even store food labels are ambiguous at times..."milk ingredients"??? is that milk protein? milk fat?  or whey (i.e, lactose).

And again, to reiterate what's been said before, if you've got to cut back on dairy, really watch that you're getting enough calcium - I take supplements.

If you're lucky, it may be a temporary thing.  But being lactose intolerant isn't such a huge deal, being gluten intolerant (celiac "disease") is more of a hassle, and then there's having deadly food allergies.

It's quite common to get temporary lactose intolerance, after a bad bout of food poisoning or another kind of intestinal infection. The various <symptoms> of these illnesses can eliminate the lactase from your intestine (lactase is the enzyme that breaks down lactose). So you can have "secondary lactose intolerance" like this for several months or up to a year until your body builds your lactase back up

lalabanana- It is basically a self-diagnosis but my chiropractor did say at one point that I could possibly lactose intolerant (not really proper diagnosis :P). I can tolerate small amounts of lactose like that of packaged foods but not much beyond that so, I'm like 99% I am lactose intolerant and not something else.

Thank you for all the resources and the calcium info! It is hard for me to get all the nutrients that I need because I also don't eat alot of meat (the majority of what I eat is fruit, veggies and grains) so, I am often lacking in protein and iron.

Right now I think I am still in the experimental stages though. I am trying different things and seeing what I can tolerate and maybe it is just temporary, but I actually feel better now that I'm not consuming dairy like some others have said too.

It's good to know that I'm not the only one this has happened to! Before I always just thought that people were born with it but apparently not! I actually only know one person that is lactose intolerant (besides me) but I never asked them whether they always were or not.

I do find it strange though that we are the only species that consumes dairy in adulthood?? I guess maybe that's saying something!