Archive for the ‘Discussion Board on Remedies’ Category

Pharmacy Warning

Talk to your Pharmacist before taking supplements or prescription drugs.

Brace yourself for this one. Lactose is used as a filler in almost every prescription and over-the-counter drug (including birth control pills and calcium supplements) made by almost any pharmaceudical company!!! I can’t tell you how much email I’ve received about this. Although the amount of lactose used is sometimes so small that it isn’t even on the label–of course, making it difficult to detect–severely lactose intolerant individuals may feel the familiar effects of the lactose.

I’d like to tell you to read the label. But, often labels are covered with prescription labels, and sometimes ingredient lists exclude lactose because there’s not much in there. What you can do is talk to your pharmacist about your prescriptions and encourage him or her to call the specific company which makes your medication for ingredient information. Note that over-the-counter versions of some prescription medications may not have the same ingredients. Also, generic brands do not have exactly the same makeup as their brand-name counterparts.

So. . .call the drug manufacturer or have your pharmacist do it.

Dairy-free Chocolate

Five years ago, two chocolate loving friends, one a dedicated vegan vegetarian and the other allergic to dairy, were unable to get really good tasting chocolate they would be willing to eat. They decided to do something about their problem and made their own chocolate!

After much research and experimentation, they came up with a really delicious chocolate with no dairy. Realizing that there were a lot of other people in the world like them, they decided to form a company to market and distribute their dairy-free chocolates.

To find out more about their chocolates, check out Chocolate Decadence or call 800-324-5018.

Dark Chocolate
Did you know dark chocolate doesn’t have lactose in it? Its SAFE to have if your lactose intolerant!

Kirsten

Dairy-free Energy bars- what we can and can not eat

Looking for an energy supplement or quick appetite fix without lactose? Clif Bars, natural energy bars, do not contain dairy products and are available at many grocery and health food stores, including Whole Foods Market.

Clif Bar also makes dairy-free Luna nutrition bars for women. Both Clif and Luna bars are available in many flavors. My favorite is the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Clif Bar! Yum!

Unfortunately, many other “diet” or energy bars do contain lactose. Powerbar, maker of the most available energy bar, does not have a lactose-free version. (Hint: Hey Powerbar, maybe you should think about us? We’re great consumers with a lot of purchasing power!)

One disclaimer, you really should eat these before a workout, not just randomly, since they not only give you a lot of energy, but also are a source of extra calories you may not otherwise burn off. Yep, found that one out the hard way after eating one before a 2 hour plane trip–I just couldn’t sit still! Same goes for feeding them to your kids!

Kirsten

Okay, so soy products rival dairy for protein, but what about calcium? (Good question.) Many soy products are calcium-fortified, since manufacturers of soy milk and tofu know that people use those products as others use milk and cheese. Check the label to make sure.

Q: I know that it’s a good idea to add more soy to my diet, but I don’t like the taste of tofu. Do you have any suggestions?

A: Soymilk, TVP (textured vegetable protein), tempeh and miso are all fairly easy to find these days.

There are also products on the market that, if you weren’t told, you might never know were made of soy: frozen desserts that use tofu and natural thickeners to achieve an ice-creamy texture; barbecued and smoked tofu products that can taste like cuts of meat or smoked cheeses; soy “meats” that look like slices of bologna, hot dogs or ground beef; soy slices that are flavored like cheeses, and melt like them, too; even a sprinkleable soy “Parmesan”!

Some folks are put off by tofu’s taste, or rather by its lack of taste. But its blandness makes it a great backdrop for flavors imparted by herbs, spices, sauces and dressings. Long marinating helps impart flavor, and the way you slice or cube the tofu can help present as much surface area to the sauce or marinade as possible.

Other people have issues with its texture, but tofu is available in a wide range, from the custardy silken tofu to the toothy extra-firm. The softer the tofu, the smoother it will be in a purée; the firmer it is, the better it is for cutlets and sandwiches. Some recipes direct you to drain and press the tofu to get an even chewier feel. Breading and then frying or baking the tofu can also give it an appealing texture — crisp on the outside, but tender on the inside.

For some great soy recipes, check out The Whole Soy Cookbook, 175 delicious, nutritious, easy-to-prepare Recipes featuring tofu, tempeh, and various forms of nature’s healthiest Bean by Patricia Greenberg.

Kirsten

Flying the LI Friendly Skies

Guess what? You can order lactose-free meals on airlines !!!

Traveling is always difficult because its harder to control what is available to eat. But, there is good news about airplane food. You can request DAIRY FREE meals!

Just make sure to confirm your meal preference when you make your reservation. It’s free, and the food is often fresher and better than the regular airplane food. Plus, it’s likely you’ll get your meal first.

Even though your meal will have your name and “No Lactose” written on it, don’t forget to read the labels on prepackaged items like desserts. I have yet to get a lactose-free dessert with my lactose-free meal! However, many of the regular desserts like pre-packaged sugar cookies are lactose-free. Hey, I don’t set the airfare prices either. Read the labels.

Don’t ask for a vegetarian meal. You’re likely to get substandard lasagna.

Love your breadmaker

I got a bread machine for Christmas in 1999 and it completely rules. Now I make all my own lactose free breads, bagels, pizza crust, and even cinnamon rolls!

The trick to this is simple: use dairy free ingredients. I use vegetable oil or unsalted margarine in bread, along with the other normal (naturally lactose free) ingredients. I completely skip adding the dry milk ingredient, and have never had a problem with the bread turning out. The dry milk only acts as a preservative, so your bread might not last as long, but if your place is like mine, fresh bread disappears in a day.

An the best part is you know what’s in the bread because you made it yourself! Oh, go ahead, stamp a big ‘ol parve on your head. It’s all so exciting.

This just in…check out Easy Breadmaking for Special Diets: Wheat-Free, Milk- And Lactose-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Yeast-Free, Sugar-Free, Low Fat, High To Low Fiber by Nicolette M. Dumke.

Kirsten

Gimme my CHEESE… (without symptoms).

I never thought the day would arrive, but after much speculation, much nervousness, and much hesitation, I heeded the call of my message board posters and tried eating Kraft Shredded Cheese. I know, the label reads “Contains 0 grams of lactose per serving” but, leary about labels and their interpretations, I wasn’t willing to try it. But then I did.

And the SUN broke through the CLOUDS, because after consuming a whole plate of quesadillas I had virtually none of my normal LI side effects! Still speculative, though, I tried it again, this time on tuna melts. Again, no gas.

I’m still kind of scared to try out my discovery in public, but I suppose I could take a Lactaid just to be safe. So, if you don’t believe me, try it yourself. No guarantees, but I am actually considering having people over for homemade pizza on Friday. Wish me luck.

(Update: I had people over. They happily stayed for a significant amount of time after the meal. Enough said!)

Anyway, if you’re still skeptical about eating cheese, try some recipes from The Uncheese Cookbook : Creating Amazing Dairy-Free Cheese Substitutes and Classic ‘Uncheese’ Dishes by author and vegan educator Joanne Stepaniak.

Kirsten

Eat this!

Okay, so you know what you can’t eat, but what can you eat? You can probably eat yogurt. Yes, I know this topic has been debated thoroughly, but according to All You Want to Know About Yogurt!, thanks to the “live active cultures” in yogurt, it is digestible by lactose intolerant people. I’ve experimented with this, and I have no trouble digesting it without any of my normal intolerance side effects. I don’t even get canker sores, which I get from other dairy products even if I take a lactase supplement with them. So, as long as you’re lactose intolerant and not allergic to dairy products, I think yogurt is probably the best natural calcium source available easily in your local grocery store.

You can eat semi-sweet chocolate chips and dark chocolate, as long as they don’t have added dairy products like whey or butter. Two brands I’ve used which do not have lactose in them are Baker’s and Log House semi-sweet chocolate chips. Ghirardelli’s dark chocolate is also dairy free. Hershey’s Cocoa and Syrup are dairy free.

A great substitute for ice cream is sorbet. It is a water (as opposed to dairy) based frozen dessert. Most sorbets (like Ben and Jerry’s) are even fat free and cholesterol free. Yum! Ben and Jerry’s sorbet is one option, but Haagen Dazs (you can also read their page in Japanese) and other frozen dessert companies market it as well. Way to go! A big Non-Dairy THANK YOU from the lactose intolerant community!

Parve foods do not contain dairy products. This is one type of kosher label. Other kosher symbols to look for on packaging include a U in a circle, a K with leaves above and below, and a K in a triangle; these foods may or may not have dairy in them–read the label. Sometimes these symbols have a D by them, which means they definitely do have dairy in them. If there are no dairy ingredients listed and you see one of these symbols, you’re probably safe. To be sure, look for the word parve on the label. Chances are you never noticed these little letters before, but they can really help you out at the grocery store.

Public Service Announcement: Eggs do NOT contain lactose, and neither do potatoes. I receive an OBSCENE amount of email from people who think eggs are a dairy product. Eggs are just chickens, and potatoes are just potatoes! Okay? Okay. Thank you for your attention.

As a lactose intolerant sufferer, its important to know what others are doing about their condition.

In a recent 2007 survey, I asked 300 lactose intolerant individuals what they did to coup with their lactose intolerance. Here are the results:

32% - Avoid dairy completely
32% - Take lactase supplements with dairy foods
12% - Consume lactose-free/dairy-free substitute products
24% - Suffer the pain

** It is interesting to note, that in a similar survey1999 showed that a whopping 53% of lactose intolerant sufferers avoided dairy, while only 24% took lactase supplements when consuming dairy products. **

If any of these ingredients are listed on a product, it may contain lactose. Watch out for whey, curds, dry milk solids, milk by-products, and nonfat dry milk powder. More ingredients to watch out for are listed here.

Lactose Content of Dairy Foods

Aside from foods naturally considered “dairy”, you may find lactose in meats and other products! (Who knew?) Poultry, especially those big beautiful Butterball or Norbest or Perdue turkies sold for holiday dinners (frozen and fresh), are injected with butter, sodium nitrates, soy products and many other ‘flavorful’ ingredients. Many canned tuna and salmon producers have recently started adding milk to their products as well. Anything with seasoning sticking to it (seasoned french fries, Stove Top stuffing) is also suspect. These products contain whey because (you guessed it) it makes spices stick to things. Don’t eat Burger King’s “new” fries! They are laced with lactose!

Bottom line…read the label! And don’t be afraid to call the 800 numbers listed on products with difficult to decipher labels. Calling the company will 1. assure you of a solid answer with respect to dairy ingredients, and 2. alert the company of the needs an concerns of their lactose intolerant customers!