Milk Protein Allergy? Lactose Intolerance? Casein-Free? Making Sense of Milk.
Categories: All, Baking Tips, Gluten Free 101, New Gluten Free Products
Tags: , Allergy Friendly, Almond Milk, Coconut Milk, Dairy Free, Daiya, Earth Balance, Food Allergies, Goat Milk, Lactose Free, Lactose Intolerance, Milk Protein, So Delicious, Tempt, Vegan
Many folks who go gluten free have done so because they have experimented with their diets and found that they simply feel better without gluten. Others have received a firm diagnosis that they must remove gluten from their diets for serious health reasons like celiac disease. For some, the health benefits are marked and immediate once they stop eating gluten; for others though, it takes time to feel truly better once they have stopped eating gluten. And sometimes, removing gluten is not enough.
For me and a majority of others with celiac disease (“CD”), eliminating dairy from our diets is required, as our bodies no longer produce lactase, the enzyme necessary to break down the milk sugar called lactose. When we eat dairy containing lactose, gastrointestinal discomfort to some degree is a sure result. Many of us with celiac disease developed secondary lactose intolerance/lactase deficiency from injury to our small intestines because of years of undiagnosed CD.
Lactose intolerance (primary or secondary) is quite common in the general population as well, though — in fact, most adults are lactase deficient. An estimated 30-50 million American adults are lactose intolerant, and certain ethnic groups suffer in far higher numbers, including Asians and American Indians who manifest lactose intolerance in 80-100 percent of their populations!
Lactose is naturally present in all milk by-products (from all mammals like goats, sheep, cows and humans), including butter, cream, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt and ice cream; many other foods and medications contain lactose though, so diligence in reading labels is essential for those avoiding lactose.
Hard cheeses and yogurts actually contain less lactose, and lactose-free (lactase added) milks are more and more common. Many new lactose-free cheese products have been introduced as well, opening up more options for those avoiding lactose.
The sugar (lactose) in milk products is not the problem for everyone though. Some people experience discomfort or a true allergy to the proteins in milk — primarily, casein and whey. (This is a similar condition to those with allergies to soy, as they are nearly always just allergic to the protein in soy, not other by-products like soy lecithin).
Casein is the curd that forms when milk sours, and whey is the watery portion that is left. Some people are allergic to either whey or casein, but others may be allergic to both; often it is difficult to determine exactly which protein is causing the reaction, and it can be difficult to find food products that separate those proteins as well.
Thus, for those with milk protein allergy or otherwise avoiding one milk protein or another, avoiding milk products altogether is the only safe solution. Note: if you are still experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms, even after removing gluten and dairy from your diet, you may want to experiment with eliminating other cross-reactive foods (there are 18 cross-reactive, non-gluten foods that may exacerbate the immune response for gluten sensitive patients). There is a good summary of these foods and the theory of cross-reactivity from Alisa at Go Dairy Free.
For those avoiding dairy altogether for whatever reason, there are fortunately more and more food solutions. I detail these dairy-free substitutions in my book, Free for All Cooking: 150 Easy Gluten-Free, Allergy-Friendly Foods the Whole Family Can Enjoy.
Everything from buttermilk to cream to evaporated milk and ice cream — and every dairy product in between — can be successfully substituted for in your baking. Consult with your doctor to be sure your nutritional needs are being met, and embrace the wonderful dairy-free products and recipes that are available to all of us now!
*For updated new product information from 2013′s Natural Products Expo West, listen to the free podcast of The Gluten Free Voice Radio Show.
Here are just some of my favorite ready-made dairy-free and gluten-free products & ingredients:
DaiyaTM Cheddar and Mozzarella-Style shredded & sliced dairy-free cheese
Lisanatti Foods® Almond Mozarella-Style Shredded Cheese
Earth Balance® Vegan Buttery Sticks
Earth Balance® Coconut Spread (vegan & soy-free)
So Delicious® Coconut Milk Beverage
So Delicious® Almond Milk + Protein (new!)
Earth Balance® Organic Soy Milk
Green Valley Organics® Lactose Free Yogurt
Follow Your Heart® Cream Cheese Alternative (soy)
Tofutti® Better Than Cream Cheese (soy)
Follow Your Heart® Sour Cream Alternative (soy)
Tofutti® Better Than Sour Cream (soy; non-hydrogenated)
Green Valley Organics® Lactose Free Sour Cream
Purely Decadent® Coconut Milk Ice Cream
So Delicious® Almond Milk Ice Creams (new!)
TemptTM Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert (hemp milk ice cream)
Mimic CremeTM Creamer, Cream and “Healthy Top” whipped topping (nut-based)
15 Comments
We'd love to hear yours!
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
-
-
03. Apr, 2011
[...] Turns out, most adults are actually lactose intolerant, just like me – on average, 60% of us are. Throw in celiac disease on top of that and I didn’t stand much of a chance of being one of those “lucky” folks whose bodies continued to produce enough of the lactase enzyme necessary to digest lactose. Knowing this now, I always counsel fellow celiacs to try going dairy-free (“DF”) if they still aren’t feeling all the way better off of gluten. Removing this secondary dietary culprit often does the trick. (See my article summarizing the different reasons for eliminating dairy from your diet: Milk Protein Allergy? Lactose Intolerance? Casein-Free? Making Sense of Milk.). [...]
-
-
31. May, 2011
[...] Milk Allergy, Lactose Intolerance, Casein-Free, GFCF – why & how … [...]
-
-
29. Oct, 2011
allergic…
[...]Milk Allergy, Lactose Intolerance, Casein-Free, GFCF – why & how to go Dairy Free[...]…
Leave a Comment
Here's your chance to speak.
- 5-lb bag of Jules flour
- 1-lb bag of Jules’ Oats
- 1.3-lb bag of Jules’ Cookie Mix
- .8-lb bag of Jules’ Cornbread Mix
- Nearly Normal Cooking e-book
- Cookie Mix e-book
- Bread Baking e-book
- FREE shipping!
New to Jules Gluten Free?
Say Hi to 50% OFF:
Brittany said: on January 1, 2011
My family has been dairy-free since I was born, and I enjoy everything on your list. I also love So Delicious coconut milk ice cream (especially their almond bars!)
I’ve never had real whipped cream, but Soyatoo Healthy Top are amazing, aren’t they?
Judy said: on January 2, 2011
Having been raised in the Dairy State and newly milk-free, I’ve been really missing cheese. Thanks for the great list of milk substitutes!
Kati said: on January 2, 2011
My favorite dairy-free cheese is Galaxy Rice Shreds! It’s the closest to “real” cheese I’ve found since I cut out gluten and lactose last year!
Amber K said: on January 2, 2011
My problem is finding super yummy substitutes that are dairy-free, soy-free and coconut-free in addition to gluten-free. Makes me wonder why I even bother, lol!
Jules said: on January 2, 2011
Galaxy Rice Shreds are a really good soy-free, coconut-free, lactose-free cheese option. However, they do contain casein, which is why I made the distinction above in my article. Depending on your reason for cutting dairy, this may be a solution for you. As far as milk and ice cream go, hemp (Tempt brand) and almond (Blue Diamond brand) are great bases for dairy-free, soy-free, coconut-free options.
martha said: on March 27, 2012
Cecelia’s Marketplace
Gluten/Casein/Soy-Free Grocery Shopping Guide
2011/2012 Edition
Thomas said: on January 6, 2011
Hi Jules!
I recently posted a review of the book Go Dairy Free by Alisa Fleming which is an outstanding resources for all things dairy free. I mentioned your post since it was so timely and your take on the need for celiacs to be dairy free is interesting. Here is the link:
http://gfcfexperience.blogspot.com/2011/01/gfcf-review-experience-go-dairy-free-by.html
~Thomas
Kris said: on July 8, 2011
I love that you listed Daiya first…definitely the best cheese alternative out there!
Alaine said: on July 26, 2011
So many of my favorites are here! Daiya, Soyatoo, Earth Balance, and of course, So Delicious!
@Amber try the Daiya Cheeses. They’re wonderful!
vi said: on December 19, 2011
I’d like to add that sometimes people who are also allergic to mold can have reactions to lactaid free milk if they use an aspergillus process. That’s my problem and am still debating whether so delicious is bothering me a little bit. Maybe there can be allergies to casein plus dairy intolerance. It’s really a struggle to avoid premade juices, dairy, nothing made fermented, absolutely no mushrooms, etc. due to milk and mold problems.
Eloisa Falin said: on July 31, 2012
Casein also contains lots of calcium and magnesium. When doing bodybuilding, i prefer to use casein as a protein source compared to whey protein. ;,,`”
Kindest regards http://www.foodsupplementdigest.com“>
Dedra Peeks said: on March 14, 2013
Milk, by itself, somehow saved lives. This is odd, because milk is just food, just one source of nutrients and calories among many others. It’s not medicine. But there was a time in human history when our diet and environment conspired to create conditions that mimicked those of a disease epidemic. Milk, in such circumstances, may well have performed the function of a life-saving drug.