Dairy: yogurt is not the answer

[redbird]

After avoiding dairy for about a week, I had a bowl of yogurt with raspberries for breakfast about 3/4 of an hour ago. I'd debated between trying that first, or trying milk in my tea first; I went for the yogurt because I was feeling a little tired of cold cuts every morning.

My digestive system did not like the yogurt: I noticed on the way back from the Greenmarket that I really needed to get to the bathroom. *sigh*

After dealing with the immediate problem, I took a Lactaid pill, less because I really think it will help than because it seems harmless and possibly useful.

I may try milk in tea in a day or two, on the theory that it's a much smaller amount of dairy (maybe a teaspoon, rather than a cup or more [that's about a factor of 15, for those of you who think in metric]); if so, I'll take Lactaid with that, not afterwards. Or maybe try a little butter or lemon curd on bread, similar quantities, since I've been reasonably happy drinking tea without milk. Yesterday I pulled out an apricot-flavored Ceylon from Cha Noir that I'd put aside because it didn't go well with milk; that was pleasant.

The other thing I may try is sheep's-milk yogurt, but that would be awkward enough to get (and, I think, enough more expensive) that it won't make a good everyday breakfast, and much of the point of the yogurt has been that it required little thought or preparation. (I have emailed adrian_turtle to see if she remembers, or can find out, whether the yogurt she got for my last visit was sheep's milk; if it was, that's probably not a solution.)

Comments

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Lactaid pills may be useful, but I've found they only work if you take them before eating the dairy products. 30 seconds before eating ice cream is good enough, in my experience. After the stuff is well into your digestive tract and is causing symptoms is much too late.

may try milk in tea in a day or two, on the theory that it's a much smaller amount of dairy (maybe a teaspoon, rather than a cup or more [that's about a factor of 15, for those of you who think in metric]); if so, I'll take Lactaid with that, not afterwards.

Another thing one can do with small amounts of dairy is adding grated cheese to tomato sauce or various other things. Aged parmesan can be grated very fine, and it doesn't take much to transform the flavor of a dish. I would do a lot more with this if it wasn't a migraine trigger

>The other thing I may try is sheep's-milk yogurt,

The yogurt you had here last week was made from cow's milk, but I could get yogurt from sheep, and sometimes goats, without crossing the street. It is more expensive, though.

[redbird]

That's useful to know (about the lactaid).

Small amounts of parmesan are definitely on the list to try again.

I may ask you to get sheep's milk yogurt, or maybe pick up some cold cuts by way of breakfast protein.

[kightp.livejournal.com]

Your Lactaid experience mirrors mine. Pop the pill, eat the dairy, no problems. It really does help, and it's a cheap fix.

Since I started carrying them around with me, I very rarely have lactose issues unless I go nuts on ice cream.

[ailsaek.livejournal.com]

I can't do yogurt anymore either. Oddly, I don't react badly to ice cream (or I haven't yet), but yogurt affected me much the same way you're reporting.