Is there an equivalent lactose intolerance site on HU?

[roobarb]

If not, I am interested in opinions on soya milk. Many people on here seem to have both dairy & gluten intolerance/allergy.

I think it may be contributing to my health problems, & almond milk is not an option due to nut allergy. I'm still not sure where I stand with oats either, & avoiding them at present.

Any help would be gratefully received.

[Regalbirdy]

Hi roobarb,

Have you tried coconut milk? It's becoming increasingly available. Koko I believe is one of the brands now in some of the supermarkets.

I have to stay away from soya these days because it brings on a bad bout of fatigue each time I have any. It took me awhile to work out that it was also contributing to my problems. Having a large serving of soya 'cheese' one lunchtime was what caused the penny to finally drop. Shame because I loved eating Tofu...

I personally prefer to use the almond and hazelnut milks most of the time (thankfully I've no intolerance to these - yet!), but will drink coconut milk when I want a change.

Good luck!

[pretender]

I am a twice diagnosed (1955 & 2007) with a top confirmation (2011) investigation , (not accepted or understood). With the lastest diagnosis I also have a problem with dairy, milk cheese etc so changed over to Soya milk. I had issues when I first changed over which was finally put down as the sweetner ingredient "Maltodextrin". Maltodextrin can and mostly is a wheat derivative that not all Coeliac's can tolerate which is why the "Gluten Free" term is misleading and only applies to those who can tolerate it. As a Coeliac who has on-going health issues it is the ingredients that need to be looked at not just the product ie Soya milk. Elimination trials find the culprit.

Hope this helps

[Regalbirdy in reply to pretender]

Hi pretender,

I'm not sure if this will help you, however 12 months ago I emailed Alpro. In the response I got, they categorically stated that they used potato maltodextrin all their products. This is a portion of what they said: "Maltodextrin is the carrier of B12 and is derived from potato. It can be used as a sweetener but more commonly in our range of products, it is used to enable the calcium in the product to remain evenly dispersed in suspension."

They also stated that all their products were wheat free and used no wheat based ingredients.

I hope this info is useful to you.

Take care

R.B

[pretender in reply to Regalbirdy]

Thank you for this but having been on a low income before retiring I had to find the cheaper brands that did not have maltodextrin as an ingredient. There are several on the market.

[keebarr66]

You could try rice milk

[Cherrychip]

Hi, I am afraid with me, I have ended up mostly doing away with any form if milk. I mostly have black drinks and flavour them with honey (i cannot take any other sugar) or sometimes with spices although you have to be careful with how they are prepared., as sometimes the powders have anti-caking agents in them. I drink white tea as black tea tends to affect me., and I can tolerate it better without milk, taste wise. The only time I crave milk is in the evening and although probably not the best idea, as like you I find soya affects me, I have if I am craving it, some in my evening drink. By the way, as you get over soya a bit, you may tolerate miso or tamari, because they have been fermented and miso is meant to be very good for the stomach., and is also a lot easier to digest than unfermented soya.

Also by the way Pretender, thanks for your comment about maltodextrin, because that clears up a bit of an issue up for me. As, I have been wondering why I reacted to foods with it in and as long as I avoided those foods I was ok. Even same types of food, but just without the malto in it.even though they said gluten free, and now I am incredulous. I thought it was simply because, of it being some type of sugar and I have to avoid that. The scd diet is largely helpful for me., but I am vegetarian so include a little bit of sheeps feta as it is lower in lactose naturally, than goats milk . With eggs you have to be careful, because of what the chicken has been fed on, whether it is grass fed (pastured or not) or grain fed.but I react mostly to them now anyway.

Anyway, thanks everyone.

[Mabes]

I second the Koko (coconut milk) - it has a nice, mild taste. Also there's hemp milk or rice milk.

[katemtms]

There is rice milk, too. I'm sensitive to soy but I wasn't always. We ate soy beans until they were coming out of our ears in the 1970s!! I know. I know. I'm old. I had an ELIZA test (blood test for food allergies) twice. The first, in the 90s, showed allergies to many things. The latest test, about a year ago, showed only baker's and brewer's yeast as a problem. Though I don't and can't eat those things that came up twenty years ago, either. Good luck. It's a cold, cruel world out here.

[freelancer]

I had problems with Rice Dream rice milk (woke with mild nausea every day, which I couldn't pin down to anything specific). While technically gluten free, it apparently uses barley in the processing, and the nausea vanished when I stopped using it. I think some of the sweetened types of other milks may also involve low levels of barley, so it's worth checking this out (or sticking to unsweetened) if it's likely to be a problem.

[Penel]

Hi Roobarb

I gave up all milk for some time, can't stand soy. Eventually found I could tolerate lactose free or lower lactose products, like cream. I tend to drink a lot of fruit teas now and don't eat any cereals, so not much need for milk.

From what I've read eating/drinking soy may not be a good idea if you have thyroid problems.

Good luck sorting it out.

[Venetia]

carbohydrates are digested on top brush borders of villi in intestine, so as these heal on gluten free diet the lactose and sugar digestion improves but if coeliac one has to remain gluten free, but often can re include lactose, depends on damage , one's tolerance of lactose can sometimes be an indication of one's healing. some people however do have these intolerances as well. …...this may be an explanation of why the CHO intolerances occur .

[Venetia]

just adding another bit i just thought of……….another nuisance, is that as we age our villi also flatten, causing digestive problems, !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[happydays1]

Hi I an gluten and lactose intolerant, I have lots of other allergies, but nuts is not one of them. Oats are,a definite no no. I am a soya fan something I can eat and drink.