Have you ever cooked with Lactaid milk?

[amyknyc]

We're pulling together the Thanksgiving menu and one of my favorite things are mashed potatoes, but the way my mom makes them they have a ton of dairy -- you know, the usual suspects -- cream, sour cream, etc.

So, I'm wondering, for the lactose-intolerant (like myself) is there a way to have our mashed spuds and eat them too? I know I can't do much about the sticks of butter, but I have to believe that even just taking out some of the dairy would help. Have you ever cooked with Lactaid milk (which is what I put in my coffee)? Do the potatos come out the same consistency? Any pointers would be great!

Edited October 28, 2004 by amyknyc (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

Not Lactaid but I have a kosher home which will not allow for any dairy products to be used with a meat meal .. so, when I make a Thanksgiving dinner, I use Coffee Rich in place of milk or cream in my mashed potatoes and my pumpkin pie filling ...

One caveat: Please be aware that Coffee Rich solves the lactose intolerant issue but makes the completed dish sweeter (bad for mashed potatoes, good for pumpkin pie)and it has a goodly amount of calories because of the oils in it ...

Perhaps Lactaid works better in recipes but because it is still considered to be dairy for kosher homes, I have yet to cook with it .. their website has numerous recipes:

Lactaid website recipe collection

[arielle]

I think that you'll find that you can cook with Lactaid just as well as regular milk. If you use 'whole' Lactaid, you may be able to cut back a little on the butter or cream, without losing buttery consistency.

May seem a little weird, but olive oil-mashed spuds are great too, especially if you include a little (or, for me, a LOT) of roasted garlic.....mmmmm, heaven.

Lactaid is just milk with lactase (an enzyme to break down the sugar in milk) - this is for all those lactose-tolerants out there who don't even know what we're talking about!

[achevres]

I am also lactose intolerant. I use Lactaid milk all the time--in cooking and my daughter drinks it also. She's not intolerant, but I get the one with extra calcium. I also like Lactaid cottage cheese.

Just because its from milk doesn't mean it has lactose. Heavy cream, butter, regular cheese, etc, do not have any significant lactose. For example, 100 grams of heavy cream have 0.11 grams sugars. 100 grams of cheddar cheese have 0.23 grams of lactose. 100 grams of butter have 0.06g gram of sugars. Basically nothing. This chart from Lactaid gives an overview: Lactose Chart. And this site: USDA National Nutrient Database is my favorite for finding exact amounts of sugar, fat, etc. in foods.

Lactose intolerance is not an allergy. Some people can tolerate more than others.

I also use Hood's Carb Countdown--only 3 grams of sugar (lactose) per cup (instead of 11). I tolerate that OK. But regular milk, yogurt or ice cream...forget it.

[amyknyc]

Just because its from milk doesn't mean it has lactose. Heavy cream, butter, regular cheese, etc, do not have any significant lactose. For example, 100 grams of heavy cream have 0.11 grams sugars. 100 grams of cheddar cheese have 0.23 grams of lactose. 100 grams of butter have 0.06g gram of sugars. Basically nothing. This chart from Lactaid gives an overview: Lactose Chart. And this site: USDA National Nutrient Database is my favorite for finding exact amounts of sugar, fat, etc. in foods.

Wow, that chart is really interesting. I knew about butter not being bad for lactose-intolerant people, but I was always told yogurt was fine because the enzymes eat up the lactose. Anyways, I just checked with my mom and the reason the potatos bother me is because she uses whole milk instead of cream... she's unwilling to cross completely over to cream, so we're going to give the Lactaid milk a whirl.

[achevres]

About the yogurt...that's how I diagnosed my intolerance. I was eating plain yogurt every afternoon as a snack. One week they didn't have my brand, so I snacked on something else. Wow! I was so "comfortable" that week, and finally figured it out that I was lactose intolerant. To think I lived for so many years with all those symptoms--I thought it was normal.

she's unwilling to cross completely over to cream, so we're going to give the Lactaid milk a whirl.

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I was just talking about mashed potatoes here at work. Mine were no good until I "crossed" over to cream, with just a little milk. Now they are fantastic.

[ludja]

Don't know if this will pertain to you or not... but some people that are lactose intolerant only seem have problems (or maybe it is just magnified) with dairy from cows. My friend that has a pretty severe dairy intolerance can eat dairy products from sheep or goat with no problem. I know she's sub'd goat and sheep cheese, don't know if she's used goat milk or yogurt.

I've gotton goat milk at my regular supermarket (to make cajeta) and have seen goat yogurt at Trader Joe's.

edit to add: My info above is based on the experience of my friend only. I decided to look on the net after posting and some sites say that goat milk will not be helpful... Well-- It may be worth checking out, but I guess it is good to proceed cautiously...

Edited October 28, 2004 by ludja (log)

[RSincere]

I wonder, speaking out of total ignorance here--would heating up the Lactaid milk kill the added enzymes that help you digest the milk? If you make a dish with Lactaid and cream, might the enzymes in the Lactaid also help you digest the cream?

Maybe you could find that over-the-counter pill that's supposed to make you able to have dairy if you take it while eating dairy. Can't remember the name.

Just curious.

Daniel is intolerant, or has an allergy, or something. When I was breastfeeding him, and drinking a lot of milk, he'd nurse and cry and nurse and cry some more, for the first 6 weeks of his life. I stopped drinking milk and it was like he was a new kid. Also, his stool would literally make his skin blister and burn wherever it touched; that stopped as well after I stopped drinking milk. My doc said that the milk proteins that were going into my breastmilk were causing the problems. Something like that.

Anyway, he drinks soymilk but he can eat cheese and yogurt and ice cream as long as he doesn't overdo it. If he does, he has problems where his BM burns his skin and makes it bleed. Weird.

Edited October 28, 2004 by RSincere (log)

[suzilightning]

we use lactaid exculsively since johnnybird is very intolerant. i bake with it with no noticable change in texture, etc.

lactaid makes pills and there are several generic equivalents out there as well.

[andiesenji]

There is good news for the lactose intolerant. I don't have the information here at home but will be able to get it when I go in to work next Monday.

There is a new Once-A-Day pill for those that cannot tolerate even cream in their coffee all the way up to those that want to eat a quart of ice cream!!!

I just happened to see the article which was sent to the internist/toxicologist who shares space in our office. It is an over-the-counter medication and should be widely available within a few weeks.

I am sure that it will also be heavily advertised quite soon.

I just wish I could remember the name.

I will check one of the med-info sites to see if it is mentioned and will post again if I am successful.

[arielle]

I have no info on any new treatments (ie PILLS) for lactose intolerance, but please: BE CAREFUL!

I was taking the pills for a year, and developed a stomach ulcer (age 19!) I stopped taking them, the ulcer went away........6 months later, the Australian govt or medical profession (whoever is responsible for such action?) pulled them from shelves.

Yes, they may allow the intolerant to consume dairy, but is it worth the pain?

PS - I can consume "Lactaid" milk without difficulty, but to be honest, I stick mostly with soy milk now.

[mark918]

Maybe you could find that over-the-counter pill that's supposed to make you able to have dairy if you take it while eating dairy. Can't remember the name.

Do you mean Lactaid pills?

I've known I was Lactose Intolerant since I graduated from college and stopped eating three bowls of Cocoa Krispies for breakfast every morning, and started feeling MUCH better

I felt bad for a while, something about the words Lactose Intolerant made me feel like I just wasn't trying hard enough to get along with the Milk.

I've cooked with Lactaid milk hundreds of times, as it's the only kind I keep around. I've not noticed any differences in the final product as compared to that I see when someone else is cooking with regular old milk. When I'm at someone else's for meals that I know will be cooked with Milk, I bring along some of those Lactaid pills and pop one with the first bite. That works fine as well.

[Pan]

My father is lactase deficient and has always simply boiled normal (skim) milk to have in his coffee in the morning. As I understand it, when you boil milk, the lactose breaks down into its constituent simple sugars, glucose and galactose. So, unless I've misunderstood something basic, if you're cooking the milk through, you shouldn't need to use Lactaid. Please, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[achevres]

As I understand it, when you boil milk, the lactose breaks down into its constituent simple sugars, glucose and galactose

As you will see in the link below, cooked milk still has all its lactose. The link refers to evaporated milk, which is sterilized--so heat treated, but the point is the same.

Milk Ingredients.

Most lactose intolerant people can tolerate some lactose, and, I'm guessing, the amount your dad puts in his coffee is not that much. As an aside, I always heat my milk for coffee because it changes the taste of milk and makes better coffee. It's the difference between coffee and cafe latte.

I also carry around Lactaid tablets and find them most helpful.

[Jason Perlow]

BTW, it is possible to be Dairy Intolerant and not be Lactose intolerant. Or it is possible to be both.

I am for the most part intolerant to dairy products (it will either make my stomach upset, or in some cases depending on the product, cause me to have an allergic reaction to it which involves shortness of breath, sneezing, and coughing up phlegm) but it is because to of the high Casein content of certain cheeses and cow's milk -- although I have a mild lactose intolerance as well. However stuff like fresh Mozzarella cheese, which has a high amount of Casein and Lactose, can really make me sick if I eat it in quantities that are too large for my system to handle. This doesnt prevent me from eating ice cream and pizza though, I just usually suffer the consequences afterwards.

Casein is the key ingredient in stuff like Elmer's glue. There are actually four varieties of Casein, which can affect you in different ways depending on the quantities of them.

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html

[Pan]

As you will see in the link below, cooked milk still has all its lactose. The link refers to evaporated milk, which is sterilized--so heat treated, but the point is the same.

Milk Ingredients.

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Yeah, I see that evaporated milk is boiled. I wonder why that method works for my father. I'm gathering that, considering that (I think) he doesn't tolerate unboiled milk well, it could be a placebo effect? I suppose that's possible; stranger things have happened.

[andiesenji]

The treatment for intolerance to dairy is not the Lactaid pills which have to be taken with meals or every time you consume dairy. Those have been around for some time. This is something fairly new, and apparently there have been clinical trials, I believe I saw a reference to clinical trials in New York city, but can't swear to it.

As I recall the starting dosage was 1 or 2 tablets twice a day or every 12 hours for a week or so then 1 or 2 tablets daily in the morning.

It apparently re-establishes or re-introduces the critters into the bowel that produce the enzymes that convert the dairy components to a digestible type.

The things such as Lactozyme and Lactaid are the enzymes themselves and will convert the dairy products but are not self-sustaining.

Jason, This is not a treatment for allergy to dairy, that is something altogether different. However I can say that the Astelin nasal spray (by prescription only and expensive) is great for people with allergies that do not respond well to other drugs. Your doctor should be able to tell you if it will work for you. Since I have been using it I have not had a single severe allergy event. I didn't even get itchy eyes from the local anesthetic in the drops the opthamologist used when he tested me for glaucoma. I usually have a reaction to it - I can't have injections of local anesthetics because I get laryngeal edema which can close my airway. Before using the Astelin my eyelids would get red and puffy within a few minutes of the drops being administered and I would get a rash in the typical "butterfly pattern" on my face. Astelin stopped that.

My allergist did a scratch test with Xylocaine and Lidocaine on my back and the reaction was much less than in the past but I am still allergic to it, just my reaction is not as severe. And I have had no hay fever at all, even in the midst of the worse season for me.

[andiesenji]

This site has a good explanation about using Lactaid dairy products.Dairy products/lactaid.

and this page has an explanation of dairy allergieson this site.

This is Dr. Dean Edel's Health Central. A lot of good, no-nonsense advice.

[Pan]

I've used Astelin before, but note that it's a steroid. Steroids can be really useful but shouldn't be used lightly.

[andiesenji]

I've used Astelin before, but note that it's a steroid. Steroids can be really useful but shouldn't be used lightly.

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Not a steroid, Astelin is an antihistamine, azelastine HCL.

[Pan]

You're absolutely right. I just checked this website. I guess the reason it's available only with a prescription is perhaps the degree of prevalence of side effects? Who knows. Anyway, carry on.

Edited October 29, 2004 by Pan (log)

[andiesenji]

The internist just called me from the office, he stopped in and the exchange told him I had called about the article regarding treatment for lactose intolerance.

The medication is over the counter, the name is "Digestive Advantage" - He said he thinks the vitamin store chains carry it and most drug stores should have it soon.

I don't have the problem myself but have friends that do. The doc said that it certainly can do no harm and has the potential to do much good. A similar product that became available last year is named Dairy Care but the lacto-strain in Digestive Advantage is more stable at greater ranges of temperature and moisture resistant, etc., so has a longer shelf life and remains active in the bowel longer.

[EdS]

Lactose intolerance is the norm for most people in the world beyond early childhood. It is not abnormal. It is only in those of northern European ancestry that the majority of people can tolerate lactose. The U.S. has a relatively high proportion of people of northern European ancestry which gives the perception that most people can freely consume dairy products in large quantities without a problem. Perhaps most Americans, but that is changing as the population mix changes.

Here are some links explaining this issue:

Foodintol.com

NHS

US Pharmacist

[peter_nyc]

Could milk in recipes be substited with, say, soy milk? In terms of beverage, I've recently made the switch to soy, but still cook with real milk for fear of a totally inedible result. Is my fear justified?

[peter_nyc]

Woops. Thanks to my crappy wifi connection, I posted twice. Please ignore this one.

Edited November 5, 2004 by peter_nyc (log)