Am I Lactose Intolerant?

This diet is different to any you may have done before. Rather than to restrict what you can eat, this diet will help you to establish your tolerance levels, which will help you to reintroduce the foods you love which have been causing you digestive discomfort. This diet is to help, not hinder your appetite!

What the diet firstly helps you to do is remove lactose from your daily intake for two weeks – if your symptoms improve during this lactose free period then you may be lactose intolerant.

If your symptoms improve after the 14 days, you will need to start the second stage of the diet. Within the second stage, we will help you to gradually reintroduce lactose to your diet in order to assess how much lactose your body can digest without discomfort.

When combating digestive discomfort, awareness of what exactly is going on in your body is the first step to winning the battle and this diet helps you to do exactly that.

Most people can successfully undertake an elimination diet without the help of a doctor, however if you have any concerns whatsoever, you should consult your GP or a health care professional.

Diet Overview

Remove milk, dairy products and other lactose containing food products for 2 weeks

Reintroduce lactose gradually, keeping a food and symptoms diary

Improvement in symptoms

Stick to personal lactose intolerance levels
Ensure adequate calcium & vitamin D intake
Use reduced lactose products
Check food labels

No improvement/worsening of symptoms

Seek professional help

Step 1 Eliminating The Lactose From Your Diet

What to avoid

The ingredients and foods listed below must be avoided during your two week lactose elimination. We understand it’s not easy to know the contents of everything you eat and you can email us at Lactofree@outsideline.co.uk if you’re unsure if a certain item or ingredient contains lactose.

To help you keep track of the foods you are eliminating and to monitor your symptoms, it would be useful for you to keep a food diary.

Lactose Detector tool coming soon!

After successfully undertaking Step 1, how do you feel?

Were your symptoms reduced in the lactose free period?
Reduced symptoms indicate that you possibly have lactose intolerance, which means you can enjoy a real dairy diet with the Lactofree range – start with a small piece of cheese or a cup of tea to ensure you still have no symptoms.
If you wish to further investigate and understand your lactose intolerance we can help you to discover how much lactose you can comfortably have in your daily diet by slowly reintroducing lactose in Step 2 of the diet.

Did your symptoms persist in the lactose free period?
Unchanged symptoms indicate it is unlikely that lactose is the cause of your discomfort and you should speak to your doctor or dietitian for further advice.
Please note that the Lactofree range is not suitable for those with a cows’ milk allergy.

Ingredients

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Food Groups

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Lactose Content Table

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Step 2 Reintroducing Lactose To Your Diet

Firstly, we’re going to see how much lactose your body can comfortably digest at one time. Stop the reintroduction as soon as you start to feel symptoms, whether this is on Day 1 or Day 7. Regardless of the day you stop, go on to Step 3 of the diet.

Day 1: In the morning, eat a portion of food containing 1g lactose.
If you experience discomfort, this is your lactose limit.
If you don’t experience discomfort, eat another 1g lactose meal on the morning of Day 2.
Day 3: In the morning, eat a portion of food containing 2g lactose.
If you experience discomfort, this is your lactose limit.
If you don’t experience discomfort, eat another 2g lactose meal on the morning of Day 4.
Day 5: In the morning, eat a portion of food containing 5g lactose.
If you experience discomfort, this is your lactose limit.
If you don’t experience discomfort, eat another 5g lactose meal on the morning of Day 6.
Day 7: In the morning, eat a portion of food containing 10g lactose.
If you experience discomfort, this is your lactose limit.

Stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhoea and nausea are all common symptoms of lactose intolerance.
Lactose intolerance affects up to 15% of people in the UK? That's almost the population of London!
There's lactose in some breads and chocolates, pizza bases, salad dressings and even crisps!
According to research, 70% of the global population cannot tolerate lactose in adulthood.

Step 3 Discovering Your Tolerance

Within this final stage of the diet, we’ll help you to discover how much lactose your body can comfortably digest over one day.

Day 1

In the morning, eat a portion of food containing the amount of lactose you established as your limit in the previous stage.

Repeat again in the evening. If you experience discomfort, this is your daily lactose limit.

If you don’t experience discomfort, you should repeat this again for Day 2.

Day 3

In the morning, eat another portion of food containing the amount of lactose you established as your limit in Step 2.

Repeat again at midday and in the evening.

You can become lactose intolerant after having surgery or a gastrointestinal infection.
Many types of tablets contain lactose. Check your medications with your doctor or pharmacist.

End of The Diet

We hope our Elimination diet has helped you to learn more about your lactose intolerance. By understanding your lactose intolerance you will be able to control the amount of lactose you consume, avoid digestive discomfort and begin to reintroduce some of the foods you have missed!

Living lactose free or within your tolerance level can help you to control the symptoms of lactose intolerance, stopping you from feeling restricted by what you can eat. But please remember that milk is a very important source of calcium and cutting out or limiting the amount of dairy in your diet can put you at risk of calcium deficiency.

We suggest to ensure you eat a wide range of calcium-rich foods such as:

Fish with soft bones (canned sardines, salmon and anchovies)
Calcium fortified fruit juices
Green leafy vegetables (kale, broccoli, spinach, turnip greens, collards and okra)
Fortified Soya products
Cereal, nuts, seeds, pulses and dried figs
Lactofree Dairy Drink and Yogurt

Visit the Lactofree Recipe Club so you can sample and submit delicious lactose free and calcium rich recipes.