If you often go to supermarkets, you probably noticed bright boxes that say that they contain lactose-free milk. It is often associated with something artificial, different from a natural product, sort of like replacing sugar with its substitute. In fact, this is far from the case, although the need to eat it is due to the physiological characteristics of a person.
If you are completely healthy, you can safely use plain or lactose-free milk, but for a person with lactase deficiency there is no such choice. Eating ordinary milk will result in severe diarrhea for him, bloating, and digestion.
Lactose allergy
This is actually a form of food allergy. For unknown reasons, the body's immune system begins to perceive milk protein as alien, moreover, hostile to the body. A violent reaction is launched, which from the side is similar to food poisoning. Usually, 30 minutes after consuming milk (ice cream, cheese, cottage cheese), cramping abdominal pains, rumbling, and increased gas formation begin to appear. Often this results in nausea or vomiting, severe diarrhea with foamy discharge, as well as skin rashes. Possible swelling of the larynx and respiratory system.
In this case, it is recommended to completely eliminate the ingress of milk protein into the body. For mild manifestations of the disorder, it is sufficient to determine a safe dosage and not exceed it. In severe allergic reactions, both children and adults completely replace milk protein with vegetable analogues (soy milk). And sometimes this reaction extends only to cow's milk protein. Try a goat for a while and watch the body react.
Lactose intolerance
Often these two concepts are confused. Indeed, intolerance and allergic reaction are somewhat close, but have a different nature. In the first case, the immune system is not involved, which means we can’t talk about allergies. The cause of the problems is the inability of the body to digest milk sugar - a carbohydrate called lactose. If for an adult this is not such a disaster, then lactose intolerance in children often turns out to be stunted, problems with the gastrointestinal tract, especially for infants.
What happens in the body? Milk enters the stomach, and from there into the intestines. And here the problem begins: the lack of a digestive enzyme (lactase) does not make it possible to break down and absorb milk sugar, and it, in turn, serves as a breeding ground for putrefactive bacteria and microorganisms. So food intolerance is formed. Its main difference from allergies is that there are no skin rashes and Quincke's edema never develops. This problem is somewhat easier to solve, since today there is lactose-free milk, which can be used instead of usually, which will avoid unpleasant symptoms.
The main symptoms of lactose intolerance
Depending on individual characteristics, it can be vomiting, severe abdominal pain, bloating or diarrhea. It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish it from similar symptoms of food poisoning and allergies. Especially the diagnosis is difficult in young children. Be sure to contact your local pediatrician, he will help with the diagnosis and give some recommendations.
If the doctor is unavailable (if you are on vacation, outside the city), then simply cancel dairy products and observe the reaction. If it gets better, then after a day, offer the baby lactose-free milk. What is it, we will consider in more detail below. If within an hour the symptoms that arose earlier from ordinary milk did not appear, then you can breathe freely, this is not an allergy. If in your city there is a workshop for the production of soy products, then feel free to go to a point of sale to buy their milk, sour cream and tofu (cheese). These products contain vegetable, soy protein, are easily digestible and very nutritious.
Lactose-free mixtures for children
Faced with the problem of individual lactose intolerance in a small child, parents often begin to panic. After all, milk and a healthy child are two concepts that merge in our minds into a single whole. In fact, everything is not so sad. Cow's milk was originally intended for feeding a newborn calf, and it cannot be ideal for a child who has a completely different digestive system. Nevertheless, it is a valuable product containing a lot of calcium and phosphorus, which children need.
The easiest way is to give the child lactose-free milk. What is it, you will be happy to tell the local pediatrician or sales assistant in the company department. All the beneficial properties of milk are stored in it. A wide range of such products is presented on the market, from lactose-free mixtures for newborns to milk porridges for younger preschoolers.
The most famous manufacturers of children's lactose-free mixtures are Valio (Finland), Humana (Germany), Hipp (Hungary), Heinz (England), Nestle Holland. They make high demands on their products, because this is the main food for the smallest. That is why mothers around the world know and love these products. Pediatricians recommend gradually transferring children to mixtures with a low content of lactose, and then gradually try the usual products. Often, with age, the production of the enzyme (lactase) increases, and digestion fully returns to normal.
What is lactose-free milk?
I must say that it is not much different from the cow. This is natural milk, from which milk sugar and carbohydrate were seized by complex membrane separation. If we take into account the technological subtleties, we can talk about the following: there is a lactose-free product and its twin brother, milk with a low content of milk sugar. What is suitable for you is selected - either empirically, or based on laboratory tests. The second way is faster and preferable.
Lactose-free product tastes slightly sweeter than regular milk. You have to get used to it. Otherwise, the content of nutrients is absolutely identical, therefore, if you do not have lactose intolerance, then it does not really matter which milk to eat.
Nutrition
Often we do not think of a table without sour cream, kefir, cottage cheese and cheese. These are the most useful products, which are primarily important for a growing organism. It turns out that children with lactose intolerance are deprived of the opportunity to eat right? No, today, import manufacturers have made sure that all the necessary lactose-free products are on the shelves.
This is primarily milk, kefir, cottage cheese and cheese. An additional line includes yogurts, curd or creams, as well as butter, which can be added to cereals. Shelf life depends on the product and packaging, for example, milk in soft packaging is stored for 8 days, and in a tetrapack for several months.
If you live in a small town, and therefore in supermarkets there is no such abundance, then you can use the home method. Purchased lactose-free milk is easy enough to ferment with capsules "Linex" or "Bifidumbacterin" to get a perfect yogurt. Having traced it through cheesecloth, you can cook cottage cheese, and if boiled and then hung in cheesecloth, you will enjoy homemade cheese. There are quick ways to get cottage cheese: to do this, heat the milk and pour a capsule of calcium chloride into it. You will get a special cottage cheese enriched with an important mineral. So you can diversify the diet of your baby, even if he suffers from serious lactose intolerance.
Valio Products
This manufacturer is known throughout Russia. He really helps out many mothers. According to statistics, today about 15% of babies suffer from lactose intolerance. Sometimes with age it passes, and sometimes not. What is lactose-free milk, we learned thanks to the "Valio". Our domestic companies are only going to launch such production, but for many this is an impossible task, since it requires serious investments that will not soon pay off.
For the first time, a Finnish company launched a production line in 2001. On the shelves of the northern country appeared products that are completely purified from lactose and with low fat content. This was really important, because the locals see little sun, and therefore suffer from a lack of vitamin D. It is best absorbed with calcium, so dairy products are vital.
If in the first years of the company’s work, lactose still remained in milk, albeit in small quantities, today a new production line can completely avoid this. Due to an imperfect filtration system, the product had a sweet taste. Some liked this, others didn’t. But manufacturers were looking for the opportunity to achieve perfect quality that would suit everyone. They succeeded. Now Valio lactose-free milk cannot be distinguished from ordinary shop milk.
If abroad this is already a familiar product, then the domestic consumer is just beginning to get acquainted with products that do not contain lactose. Moreover, its sales volumes exceed all planned. This suggests that the Russians appreciated the high quality of Valio's dairy products. There is a demand on the market, which means that domestic production with competitive prices for finished products is necessary.
Lactose-free milk producers
Almost the only flawless supplier to the Russian market today is Valio. Lactose-free milk of this brand meets all standards and is recognized as the best in its segment. There are a number of companies that tried to repeat this feat, but the lack of funds for the purchase of expensive equipment and debugging of technology led to the fact that only low-lactose milk began to be produced. In this case, the easiest way was chosen, digestive enzyme (lactase) was added to milk, this led to a partial decomposition of lactose into glucose and galactose. That is why the consumer felt an unnatural, sweet taste. Such a product is not safe for people with severe signs and symptoms of intolerance.
There are a number of studies that compare lactose-free products from various companies. Valio milk alone has a milk sugar content of 0.01%. Many low-lactose brands showed 4.8%, which is almost equal to the level of lactose in whole milk.
In the light of political events, sanctions and retaliatory measures, lactose-free milk has ceased to enter the domestic market. Manufacturers have lost enormous potential for growth and development, and many parents are an indispensable product for their children. It remains to use lactose-free infant formula, soy and goat milk. Today Belarus has launched the production of this important product under the brand name Savushkin Product.
Production technology
While in Russia there is no company that could buy or create its own technology. Valio keeps professional secrets a secret. Even journalists admitted to their production do not have the right to photograph production facilities.
The production of a lactose-free product requires high-tech equipment, special technology and multi-million dollar investments. Moreover, the development of a new product may take several years. The world famous company Valio took 15 years to develop. Only after that they were able to patent and market their milk and other products. They can be consumed by a person with an extreme degree of lactose intolerance, while the taste is no different from ordinary dairy products.
To start your own production, you do not need to reinvent the wheel; a license to use Valio technology is sold worldwide. It has already been successfully used in Norway, the USA and France. Domestic manufacturers are interested in new opportunities, but fear that due to large financial investments, the price of finished products will be unattractive to the consumer.
Lactose-free milk: benefits and harms
For a healthy person, milk is a valuable product, a source of minerals, vitamins, amino acids. With lactose deficiency, a person experiences discomfort, but this is not a problem of milk, but the characteristics of his body. For such people, a real find is lactose-free milk. It contains the same set of beneficial substances, but it does not lead to unpleasant reactions from the gastrointestinal tract.
If lactose-free milk is not expired, all sanitary and hygienic standards are observed, then it can not harm the body. In addition, you should not dwell on a fresh product, because there are many derivatives on the market. In fermented milk products, the amount of lactose decreases naturally, as bacteria break down milk sugar (carbohydrate) during fermentation. If the side effects from the use of dairy products are not too pronounced, you can use a little fat-free cottage cheese and kefir. Set the amount experimentally, for some it’s 400 g of cottage cheese per day, and for another it’s a maximum of 100 g.
There is another option that will allow you to diversify your table without harm to health. A gastroenterologist may prescribe special medications containing digestive enzymes (lactase). Due to this compensation of enzymes, digestion will be brought back to normal with the use of regular milk. This is not a treatment, as soon as you stop taking drugs, digestion will return to its original state, since the body itself does not produce enough of this enzyme. But this may be a justifiable way in order to organize full feeding to the baby. At a more mature age, you can get the necessary substances from substitute products.
Secrets of a beautiful figure: is it better to choose natural or lactose-free milk?
All women strive to look beautiful and often sit on different diets. The most effective are protein fasting days. The body spends a tremendous amount of energy to digest such products, in addition, protein is consumed daily for internal needs. To compensate for the costs, you have to use fat reserves, which you need to get to.
In foreign countries, everyone who wants to lose weight has long been using lactose-free dairy products. The difference between them and the usual milk, kefir and cottage cheese is quite noticeable. This is about the same as drinking tea with or without sugar on a diet. The difference is due to the presence or absence of lactose. This is a carbohydrate, milk sugar, which breaks down into glucose and galactose and causes a quick release of sugar into the bloodstream, after which we quickly feel hunger again.
In the production of lactose-free milk, all lactose is removed from it, and only useful substances remain. In this case, the number of calories is reduced by 20%, and carbohydrates - by 35%. Accordingly, the effect of your diet will be one third higher, but for this you will not have to reduce the diet or subject yourself to additional, power loads. According to statistics, with a regular curd diet, it is possible to lose 5 kg in a week, and when using a lactose-free fat-free product - 7 or more kilograms.
How affordable is the product for the buyer
If residents of megacities already know everything about newfangled milk, cheese, cottage cheese and butter, then for small towns and rural districts the question of where to buy lactose-free milk will be quite relevant. If someone from the family often travels, you can order him to bring a box of tetrapackages. Even at room temperature, such a product can be stored for a very long time. Option two is to ask for lactose-free milk daily at a nearby store. In the end, sellers will find the opportunity to purchase goods that are in demand.
To summarize
It can be said that lactose-free foods are an opportunity for many people to return to a normal healthy diet. From ancient times, milk and its derivatives were considered a source of strength and health, not to mention how tasty they are and how much of all of them can be prepared. What to give to the child for breakfast? Of course, milk porridge, and for an afternoon sandwich with cheese and butter. The modern food industry makes this a reality, even if the baby has lactose intolerance.