Intolerances

[Lucy27]

Hi everyone,

I found out I was coeliac last year and have been following a gluten free diet ever since. I also found out last year that I had an intolerance to cows milk, which I stopped having straight away. I went on holiday recently and had ice cream. To my surprise I was fine afterwards. So does anybody know if intolerances go away once gluten free?

Thanks Lucy

[Regalbirdy]

Hi Lucy27,

A lot of coeliac's are intolerant to lactose when first diagnosed, due to damage in the small intestines caused by eating gluten. Lactose is a sugar found in milk and is broken down in the body by an enzyme called lactase.

However many people find that after a period of time on a gluten-free diet their guts are able to heal and dairy can be reintroduced. You could be one of these people.

Others (like myself), find that they also react to the dairy protein called casein and have to avoid dairy on a more permanent basis.

I hope you find that you can enjoy many more ice creams!

[Hidden]

Hi Lucy27, Regalbirdy is quite right and just to expand, when we drink milk the lactose is broken down by an enzyme, lactate that is produced at the tips of our villi, so if the villi is damaged/flattened then the lactate is not produced but once the villi recovers so does the ability to absorb lactose in milk. So it is only a temporary intolerance to lactose. Some coeliac are permanently intolerant to lactose for a variety of reasons.

So it sounds like your villi has recovered and good for you.

[Venetia]

Just to add my bit, actually the two answers given are the ones i would have written, so hope you have started healing well, if it is only due to flattened villi and not for other reasons that you are lactose intolerant it can act as a help towards how well your villi have healed. I did have a blip and found a further resistance to lactose i think through some gluten ingestion, but it came right again, no matter how well intentioned we sometimes get caught out having gluten and its maddening, as we have to endure the reaction. My friends are less trustworthy than a restaurant never dreaming there could be gluten in a spice or stock cube !!!!!!!! or?

[Jacks]

Brilliant news, it shows you've healed.