Ever heard about lactose free milk? What exactly is it? You can miss out on some pretty serious nutrients if you are intolerant to lactose.

In short, lactose is a sugar which is found in almost all milk products. An enzyme called lactase should be present in the human body for the digestion of the sugar. In the small intestine, heavy sugars are split into simpler sugars and digested with the help of lactase. People who have a low amount of lactase in their body aren’t able to digest the heavy sugar and thus are intolerant to lactose. When they consume this sugar, it reaches their large intestine in an unchanged form and thus it becomes difficult to digest it.

Approximately 70% of the world’s population suffers from lactose intolerance and it affects mostly adults.

Does this mean, that these people should completely stop consuming it? If people stop consuming such an important nutrition source, they would be unable to obtain all the important nutrients through a single source. This is where the milk for lactose intolerant come in. It is very beneficial for lactose intolerant people who can substitute their dairy products with products which contain low sugar contents. Let’s take a look at five things you should know about the milk for lactose intolerant.

How is it prepared:

For those who are intolerant to dairy sugars, consumption of dairy products can cause stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhoea, headaches, etc. But this doesn’t mean that they should just cut out the primary source of nutrition from their diet.

Reputed brands have come up with variants in milk to solve this problem- Milk for lactose intolerant. Unlike the name suggests, is not milk free from all lactose content. It is highly impossible to drain out all the complex sugars from dairy beverages. During the manufacturing, milk undergoes certain processes which split lactose in sugars like glucose and galactose. These are simple sugars and are easier to digest. No other nutrients other than the sugars content changes and thus enables people intolerant to dairy sugars to receive their daily dose of nutrients.

Extended shelf life:

The shelf life of this dairy product is longer than the regular milk. It is ultra pasteurised to elongate the shelf life. It undergoes a very high temperature for a short period of time which elongates the life of the product. As the demand for these types of milk variant is very less compared to the regular ones, the product is supposed to have a longer life.

Taste:

The dairy product is sweeter in taste as simple sugars taste sweet on your tongue. This is because of the complex sugars been broken down into two simple sugars- glucose and galactose. Simple sugars taste sweeter compared to the complex sugars. The taste is also slightly refined.

Nutritional benefits:

As we mentioned earlier, many people suffer from the intolerance of these sugars, lactose-free milk can help prevent the symptoms it causes. The older you get, the lesser is the lactase production in the body. Mostly, the countries which do not consume dairy products on a regular basis face these problems. Though it doesn’t cause very serious illnesses, avoiding the consumption of products with dairy sugars is the only solution.

Generally, it is rare for babies to develop lactose intolerance. A baby’s body generates lactase which helps in the digestion of complex sugars. In babies, lactose intolerance is more common in the ones who were prematurely born. Thus, there also is milk for babies which contains a low level of sugars. This helps the mothers around the world to give the right nutrients to their babies. Body decreases the generation of lactase as the child grows, hence, rather than milk with low lactose for babies, it can be chosen for kids.

Non-dairy Alternatives:

There are many non-dairy alternatives, now, which do not contain cow’s milk. They are prepared from soybeans, almonds, etc. These do not contain the exact nutrition which cow’s milk provide but it is very beneficial for people suffering from lactose intolerance.

Consuming lactose-free milk is all the easier now because you do not have to walk down to stores looking for the products. In today’s world, when you can order anything at just one click, buying lactose-free milk online is also pretty easy. You can buy it from various sites which provide you with groceries and products which are required in day to day life- like the dairy products. You can just find a trusted source and order dairy products online. One such hassle free site which provides you with dairy products online we can list out for you is awesomedairy.com.

Thus, to answer our initial question, you do not have to miss out on your daily nutrition dose if you are lactose intolerant. There is milk for lactose intolerant people. Milk contains essential nutrients and it is recommended that everyone should include it in their daily diet. These sugars are not only included in milk but also in all other dairy products like cheese, curd, yoghurt, etc. Just read the precautions on the packs before consuming the product. Eat right! Stay healthy!