For some time I have suffered with stomach difficulties ranging from being bloated and having stomach cramps to struggling with wind and the runs. This has been happening on and off however I’d put it down to being “one of those things”. I work A LOT, I dont always get the rest I should and to be fair just assumed it was something to do with that.
Recently someone suggested looking at my diet and the possibility of being intolerant to something. I follow Slimming World and eat a healthy and balanced diet however the one thing that did jump out was the amount of dairy I was having on the plan. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth and dislike choclate but I do like my cheese products!
I looked up all of the UK guidance I could find on being lactose intolerant and as suggested on the NHS website set to on an elimination diet. The end result was that having removed a number of foods and reintroduced them at a later date it has become clear that certain foods no longer agree with me.
By cutting a range of dairy product out of my diet I have found that all symptoms have disappeared completely. I can tolerate small amounts of fat free natural yogurt and quark however dairy yogurts, milk, cheese (hard and soft) and similar kick-start the rather unpleasant symptoms with vigour.
So, is it safe to assume that I am lactose intolerant? I know that lactose may be found as a hidden ingredient in a number of foods however as I follow SW and eat a lot of basic foods such as meat, vegetables, fruits, grains and no processed / few snack foods I haven’t come across these so much myself.
I have to admit that before researching the topic I knew little about lactose and being lactose intolerant. I assumed that it was generally something you were born with (I was wrong) and that you coulddn’t eat anything at all dairy-wise, again a presumption which appear incorrect. Regardless of the outcome of my own situation it once again seems apparent there there is so much that a lot of people don’t know about allergies and food intolerances.
So what now? I could go to my GP however from NHS info and individual accounts it seems unlikely that they will do anything other than suggest an elimination diet and changing what I eat, which I have done. I’ve reintroduced milk and yogurt via alternatives and manage that fine so do I just plough on as long as the symptoms have disappeared with the lactose-freee eating?
If you are lactose intolerant or know something about this I’d love to hear from you! Any experiences and advice is welcome.
**UPDATE 9/6/14 – I’ve seen the GP today who pretty much confirmed my suspicions that I am lactose intolerant. There is of course no treatment however she suggested I continue what I am doing diet-wise as it clearly helps and continue monitoring. Any advice on products (what is good, what is not) and non-dairy specific foods that contain lactose would till be appreciated. I’m sure many others will find all advice and experiences useful.
