Lactose Introlerant--Weight Gain?

**k8mt** · 04-05-2011 06:49 AM

Okay so i just found out recently i MIGHT be lactose intolerant. I haven't been "officially" diagnosed but here is why i have made this assumption: 2 weeks ago i started a cleanse that said NO dairy, bread or alcohol. It was only a 10 day cleanse and i'm on the remaining part of this "challenge" where i am still limiting these things.
Up until about the day of the cleanse i had dairy products every single day. From milk to cheese to margarine to you name it i was having dairy. Breakfast was usually something with cheese, lunch always had cheese and every single afternoon i would have the worst stomach ache (gas, gurgling.. pretty much all the symptoms) So needless to say in these last 2 weeks i haven't had any dairy OR upset stomach (whoop!!) So last night i put just a little (i mean literally like a 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar) on a turkey burger taco salad(delicious btw) and about a half an hour later the gurgling, gassy, upset feeling was back with a vengeance. So here is my question.. Since i always drank milk and ate cheese not knowing that i could be lactose intolerant(don't worry i will stop now or grab some lactaid cause i hate that feeling and i'm glad it's gone) could this keep me from losing weight? Because since i've quit the dairy in the last 2 weeks i have lost weight (could have been the cleanse as well) but it has seemed easier in the last two weeks since it's been banished (except for last night) from my diet.
Any insight?

**Seeker_Advice** · 04-05-2011 07:21 AM

I am NOT a medical expert...

It's probably NOT lactose intolerance, it's probably an intolerance to dairy as a whole. As we are the only known animals that once we are weaned from our mother's, continue to drink milk (from other animals no less).

Dairy, IMO, is a nutritional double edged sword. There are many benefits to consuming it and there are drawbacks too. One must weigh the pros and cons for themselves before deciding what is best for them.

In many "diets" the consumption of dairy plays a pretty important role. So if you're trying to lose weight, you might consider the pros and cons of dairy as part of your weight loss plan before discontinuing the consumption of it.

I for one, don't believe in "diets" for long term health and fitness (that's why I put the word in quotes). To me, it's all about lifestyle changes and for me, lifestyle changes will go on throughout my life in an effort to improve my life.

YOUR body is a temple....treat it accordingly.

**k8mt** · 04-05-2011 07:45 AM

I'm pretty sure that what happens to my body every time i consume dairy is a con and i will avoid dairy now that pretty much goes with out saying.

But the question was: IF someone who is or COULD BE lactose intolerant consumes dairy/lactose.. can it cause them to gain weight or at least decrease their ability to lose weight. (I agree though.. i don't "diet" i tweak things IN my diet to make it healthier as an overall lifestyle change. I hate the word "diet".. i work in an office with 99.9% women and hear "I start my diet tomorrow" at least 4 times a week by the same like 25 women.. yet when i walk by their desks they have pop, fast food and chips out and ready to mindlessly snack on. Yuck. Not saying i didn't enjoy that stuff at one point in my life but i'm not sure how they do it.. day in and day out. My stomach would be pissed off all the time!!)

**WildChild** · 04-05-2011 11:51 AM

Doesn't matter what you label it and you don't have to be diagnosed. Checking for food sensitivities and intollerances is very simple. You take it out of your diet entirely for two weeks, then you consume a pretty good amount of the food being "tested" and see what happens over the next couple days. For example you remove ALL dairy products and by-products from your diet for two weeks, then have a meal with a glass of milk, cheese, maybe some ice cream. You may find yourself doubled up in pain but you will have your answer. I am dairy intollerant and that isn't just lactose, but if I keep it out of my diet or have a dairy product, ie cheese on pizza or a dish of ice cream, once in a while, I can handle it but if I have cheese today, ice cream tomorrow and the next day, I will have a problem.

Here's the general stats:
Pure Caucasians are about 5% dairy intolerant and that is mostly lactose intolerance
Africans or people of African decent are about 50% dairy intolerant
People of Asian or Native American decent are about 95% dairy intolerant - so the US government as part of its program to subsidize the beef and dairy industry buys tons of dairy products and sends it to the reservations to help Native People have "better" diets.
(Not to hijack the thread but has anyone else noticed that subsides to tobacco and the dairy/meat industry aren't on the table for budget cuts? Hmmmm?)

**kira** · 04-05-2011 12:13 PM

It's entirely possible it's lactose intollerance. You can take pills to fix the problem. I discovered my lactose intollerance by getting to the point of pooping blood from the inflammation in my intestines and eating next to nothing for a week to fix it. Then I tried taking lactase pills which you can get otc at any pharmacy whenever I ate dairy. Problem solved. I do try to substitute margarine or almond milk (silk is the most disgusting thing on earth and the reason most people give up on milk substitutes) but somethings just aren't the same without milk like ice cream and somethings don't cook the same without real milk. You can't boil down any type of sauces when using milk substitutes instead of milk. They also make lactose free milk but I do not think it's 100% lactose free because it still gives me problems if I use it plain. Cooked and cultured dairy products are not nearly as bad. I accidentally ate a dessert made with instant pudding a couple weeks ago though and thought I was going to die on the drive home.

If you try lactase pills and they don't work then you probably have a dairy allergy instead and will have no choice but to avoid all dairy. Also be careful of other sugar intollerances. Over the years I also developped fructose intollerance.

I do not think lactose intollerance would make you keep on fat. In fact because of the inflammation and not absorbing nutrients it often causes people to be too skinny. I was 105lbs until I solved my food intollerances. Dairy is high fat though so that can help you keep on weight and things that interfere with your digestive tract can make it seem you are keeping or gaining weight because you have backed up stool and inflammation leads to water being pulled in the intestines to help protect them. The loss of that extra water and stool could cause you to lose a fair amount of weight quickly but it would not continue without the typical diet and exercise suggestions.

**Seeker_Advice** · 04-05-2011 12:41 PM

Anybody else know that over the last decade a large percentage of those that were believed to be "lactose intolerant" were actually intolerant to one of the proteins found in cow's milk? It may be considered splitting hairs, but something to keep in mind all the same.

Two things I might be concerned with when you eliminate or try to eliminate all dairy from your diet: 1. Dairy is a good source of Vitamin D and most Americans are lacking in vitamin D consumption on a daily basis, and 2. Dairy is also a good source of calcium that all of us need for healthy bones and teeth. It is key for women in fending off osteoperosis too. "Just taking a supplement" in place of dairy may not be good enough. All forms of calcium available over the counter are not created equal nor are they absorbed by the body equally. So while you may be consuming 1000 iu's or whatever, your body may not be absorbing all that you are consuming.

Recently, the U.S. federal government has revised the recommended daily dose of several key vitamins and minerals. So please, everyone, do your "homework" and find out the most recent improved recommendations.

I wish that I, personally, could reduce my dairy intake, my sinuses would thank me, for one, but I love the stuff and at this point I choose not to do so. Hats off to those of you that can.

Please do some research regarding vitamin D and calcium, at least, so you know what your body needs of these two key elements on a daily basis.

Your body is a temple...treat it accordingly.

**ItsASecret** · 04-05-2011 02:10 PM

Anybody else know that over the last decade a large percentage of those that were believed to be "lactose intolerant" were actually intolerant to one of the proteins found in cow's milk? It may be considered splitting hairs, but something to keep in mind all the same.

It is not the cow's protein, it is a lab protein called rBST. Turns out making a protein that yields more money can lead to issues in human populations later on. And it is not going anywhere anytime soon because it gives rich nations more money to dive into. A lot of people are simply lactose intolerant, it just happens nothing to fret over, you modify the diet and you move on. Same with true allergies, which should not be diagnosed or treated by researching "allergy" on wikipedia and being your own doctor. Some people have taste aversions, it is not an allergy or real intolerance per se but it is simply something that the person does not like at all.

**WildChild** · 04-05-2011 02:37 PM

Nations with the highest dairy consumption also have the highest rates of osteoporoses. Calcium can be taken from many other sources such as spinach. In many the cases the real problem is a magnesium deficiency and a need for weight bearing exercise.

You can get vitamin A from many vegetable sources such as carrots, sweet potatoes and kale.

**CHANDLERS WISH** · 04-05-2011 03:32 PM

Dairy productServing sizeLactose contentMilk, regular250 ml12 gMilk, reduced fat250 ml13 gYogurt, plain, regular200 g9 gYogurt, plain, low-fat200 g12 gCheddar cheese30 g0.02 gCottage cheese30 g0.1 gButter1 tsp0.03 gIce cream50 g3 g
Just for people's reference who are lactose intollerant......

could this keep me from losing weight? Because since i've quit the dairy in the last 2 weeks i have lost weight

Everything has calories, do a search and you will find an excellent site that provides you with a calorie count on every single thing you put into your body...

Cheese is known for it's fat component and alcohol has alot of calories, if you are reducing to almost nil those products and are eating more fruit, vegetables which offer less calories yes, you will continue to lose weight.

Do a search as well as to what else has lactose in it, and also gluten free products and introduce those into your diet as well.

It won't hurt you to eat gluten free products as well, as they (gluten products) also offer the same symptoms as bloatedness, gas...

CW

**kira** · 04-05-2011 04:49 PM

We are kind of brainwashed by the dairy industry into thinking we can't live healthy without milk but it really isn't that hard. There are far healthier sources of calcium and vitamin D. Particularly when we are talking about the quality of US milk and if we take in to account how well humans actually digest dairy even when they don't have problems like lactose intolerance. I've found plenty of research that shows humans like most adult animals benefit from a dairy free diet. Eat healthy vegetables, drink fruit and veggie juices, and a small amount of low fat meats and/or eggs (true free range not vegetarian fed from the farmer's market preferably) and you will get a far more useful dose of vitamins and minerals. Most milk substitutes are also heavily fortified to have even more calcium and vitamin D than regular milk to make up for those people who don't eat healthy. Spinach is actually not that useful for calcium due to a high oxalic acid content. Oxalic acid binds to calcium to prevent it's absorption so spinach is no longer recommended when trying to add calcium to the diet and in animals at least it's been known to cause bladder stones from the large amounts of bound up calcium being excreted. Most dark leafy greens are good for that purpose though. Kale has 135mg of calcium to milk's 128mg. Fortified orange juice contains more vit D and seafood contains 3-10 times as much naturally than even milk with added vit D. If you do a google search for "usda nutrient database" you will find a good site to search up any food item and get the exact numbers and ratios.

I do eat greek yogurt but I have bacteria issues in my digestive tract which is what triggered the fructose malabsorption to appear. A big contributor to intolerances and IBS is bacterial overgrowth of the small intestine. I think one study found 80% of people diagnosed with IBS had bacterial overgrowth. This can be treated with antibiotics but in nearly all of the cases it returns within months so doctors rarely diagnose or treat it and instead just diagnose the resulting intolerances and IBS symptoms. Keeping the bacteria balanced by taking pro and prebiotics (acacia powder is a good flavorless prebiotic fiber supplement) or eating yogurt, if you can, helps lessen the symptoms of any food intolerance or allergy. I also can't resist occasional ice cream and this one type of cheese I can only get 1 month out of the year. If there is some dairy product you can't give up, frequently eating very small amounts of dairy that is less likely to cause symptoms like cultured or well cooked products will make you less sensitive to those occasions you indulge. Not eating any dairy at all for an extended period of time will make the symptoms worse when you do eat it. It's due to a complicated process involving certain bacteria that like lactose.