Lactose-Free Milk: Benefits and Disadvantages

Gone are the days when you only had to choose between two percent and skim milk to pour over your breakfast cereal. Food manufacturers have even created lactose-free milk to cater to the growing number of people who experience lactose intolerance.

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Lactose-free milk is a good substitute

For the lactose intolerant, this replacement can satisfy their needs

 
Lactose is a sugar found in dairy milk. A certain amount occurs naturally in cow’s milk. It can also be found, in smaller traces, in goat’s milk and sheep’s milk. To put it simply, lactose free-milk is milk without lactose. 

Lactose-free milk is cow milk with added natural enzyme lactase, an enzyme that breaks down the milk-sugar lactose into more easily digestible sugars, glucose and galactose, so it’s easier to digest. Milk does have lactose, which is the naturally occurring sugar. The lactose in milk is hard to digest for some people (lactose intolerant), so adding the lactase enzyme breaks down the lactose into sugars making it more digestible for them. Therefore, since the lactose is converted to sugar, the term “lactose free”.

 
Is lactose-free milk real milk?

Lactose-free milk is real milk. The enzyme lactase has been added to break down the lactose, the natural sugar found in milk. Lactose-free milk and other dairy products allow people with lactose intolerance to enjoy drinking milk and eating dairy foods. Lactose-free cow’s milk, offers strong health benefits.

Nutrients: Lactose-free milk contains the same amount of calcium, vitamin A, vitamin D and protein as regular milk and dairy products.

Health benefits: Drinking lactose-free milk can prevent the symptoms of lactose intolerance, Helps in the development of strong bones and teeth.

Helps build and repair muscle tissue Vitamin D –helps in the absorption of calcium. Important for good vision, healthy skin and immune system.

Plays an important role in nerve function, muscle contraction and blood clotting.

Tips to include in diet: Add fortified lactose-free milk to your whole grain cereal for breakfast. As a snack, drink a glass of lactose-free milk every day. Lactose-free milk can also be used in soups, milkshakes, smoothies, lactose-free sauces, salad dressings, stews and desserts.

Disadvantages of lactose-free milk :

Despite its benefits, there are also a few negatives to drinking lactose-free milk. Lactose is a natural sugar, so manufacturers may add sweeteners to certain lactose-free products to replace it. However, this step is usually unnecessary since lactase breaks down the sugars in lactose, resulting in an overall sweeter taste.

Always check the nutritional label and ingredient list when shopping for lactose-free milk. Consuming food and drinks with added sugars may lead to sugar cravings which are harmful to your health.

Doctors always recommend a balanced diet which includes as few refined foods as possible. But technically, both lactose-free milk and regular milk are considered processed foods because they’re treated with heat and chemicals to make them safe for consumption. In fact, lactose-free milk sometimes requires more extensive processing than regular milk.  

It’s also important to note that eating processed foods, including lactose-free products, while on your period could aggravate your bloating symptoms.

Many of the disadvantages of drinking lactose-free milk are the same as with regular milk. New research is linking dairy products to cases of cancer and heart disease. So whenever possible, it’s best to make water your drink of choice to stay healthy and hydrated.

Is lactose-free the same as dairy-free? 

Lactose-free milk is still made from cow’s milk, so it is not the same as dairy-free milk. If you have a dairy allergy, do not eat any type of dairy, including those labeled “lactose-free.”

 

Categories: Health Tips and information