Ask the Expert: Can my child and I still enjoy dairy foods if we are lactose intolerant? 

Dr. Gregory D. Miller, Executive Vice President Science and Innovation for National Dairy Council (NDC). This is an excerpt from an October 2007 interview Miller gave for Gather.com, addressing 3-A-Day members’ questions.

When you're lactose intolerant, you don’t make enough of the enzyme to break down the milk sugar lactose.  So you would be able to tolerate hard, aged cheeses better, like Cheddar, Swiss and Edam because they have very small amounts of lactose.

Another approach is by starting out with small amounts of milk and increasing it little by little over time, and you will see that your tolerance will build. Yogurt with live and active cultures seems to be tolerated well, too, because the cultures help the digestive system break down lactose.  If you are going to have milk, have milk with a meal, because again, it helps the emptying of the food into the intestine and helps with digestion too.  There are also lactose free milks and enzyme supplements that you can take before consuming dairy foods to help with digestion, so you can still get the nutrition and enjoyment from consuming these foods.

*******

 
Dr. Greg Miller is our resident health expert on all things dairy. He is an international authority on dairy and nutrition and a frequent lecturer. Dr. Miller co-authored the Handbook of Dairy Foods and Nutrition, has co-edited three books, and written countless articles and abstracts on diet, nutrition, and toxicology.