Many doctors raise the issue of intolerance by the human body of whole milk. About 30% of Europeans really can not drink it, they feel bad after taking it. It's all about lactose (milk sugar). What to do, because milk is a wonderful and healthy product? But with age it is not acquired by some. Let's try to understand the reasons for this phenomenon. Is there lactose in kefir, cottage cheese, yogurt, cheese? Can they replace milk?
What is lactose?
A wonderful and very useful product is milk. It contains a lot of proteins, various amino acids, fats, calcium. It also contains lactose. This is an important carbohydrate, milk sugar. Under the influence of hydrolysis, it is broken down into glucose and galactose. This milk sugar was discovered in 1780 by the Swedish chemist Karl Wilhelm Scheel.
In breast milk, the percentage of this disaccharide is even higher than in cow. Pure lactose can be represented as an odorless white powder, soluble in water, but slightly reactive with alcohols. During heating, water molecules are lost and lactose remains. In the body, this chemical is broken down by the lactase enzyme. With age, the production of this enzyme decreases in humans. Although the body needs milk sugar, it is absorbed worse.
If lactose in the stomach is poorly broken down, then bacteria develop actively, which leads to diarrhea, cramping, and bloating. This means that the body does not tolerate lactose. Many ask doctors the question of whether kefir is possible with lactose intolerance. Well, find the answer to it.
High Lactose Products
The highest concentration of lactose, of course, is in dairy products. A glass of milk, for example, contains about 12 g of this carbohydrate. But in the production of cheese, its amount is minimized. 100 g of the product accounts for only 1-3 grams. This is very small. Feel free to enjoy parmesan, cheddar, ricotta, Swiss cheese.
About 25 g of lactose are in nougat for sweets, and 9.5 g are in milk chocolate. Ice cream, depending on the variety, has from 1 to 7 g of lactose. 6 g of milk sugar remains in semolina porridge. Cocktails contain up to 5 g of carbohydrate. In whipped cream cream - 4.8 g per 100 grams. Yoghurts have 3 to 4 g of lactose. In butter there is very little of it - 0.6 g, in sour cream - 2.5–3 g, in cottage cheese - 2.6 g. We will talk about whether there is lactose in kefir a little later.
Where is lactose used?
Pure lactose is obtained from whey as a result of drying. It is added to produce a drug such as penicillin and other tablets. It does not affect the properties of drugs.
Dry baby food is not complete without milk sugar. This is an excellent substitute for breast milk when feeding a baby. Lactose is a part of feed vitamins.
The manufacture of many products is not complete without this carbohydrate. Appetizing beautiful brown crust on bakery products is obtained thanks to him. Lactose has excellent taste, so necessary for sweets, confectionery. It is part of chocolates, marmalade, condensed milk. Diabetic foods also contain components of this sugar. In meat products, it helps eliminate the salty and bitter taste. To soften the taste of alcoholic beverages, lactose is also added there. It is with its help that an environment is created for the development of cells, bacteria.
The beneficial properties of milk sugar
With the help of this carbohydrate, vitamins B and C are accumulated in the body. Once in the intestine, lactose has a beneficial effect on the absorption of calcium, which is so necessary for the body. Thanks to milk sugar, the microflora in the intestine is normal, therefore dysbiosis is excluded. Normal development of the central nervous system is impossible without it. Lactose is a prophylactic for heart and vascular diseases.
Lactose intolerance
Why do many people not tolerate dairy products, especially milk? It's all about lactose. In such people, the body is unable to break down milk sugar due to insufficient production of the lactase enzyme. More often it occurs with age or among residents of Asia, South America, Africa. In our country, about 30% of the population is faced with lactase deficiency.
Intolerance may be congenital or acquired. There are three main types of intolerance to milk sugar:
- Primary. She appears with age. The physiological peculiarity of a person is that over the years he consumes less dairy food, so less lactase is secreted.
- Secondary. Appears due to illness or injury. The cause may be past bowel inflammation, surgery, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and even complications after the flu.
- Temporary. It occurs in premature infants. The production function of the lactase enzyme is established only after 34 weeks of fetal formation.
Symptoms of Intolerance
If a person does not secrete enough lactase, this can be determined within half an hour after he drinks milk. What can say about this phenomenon?
- Diarrhea.
- Abdominal cramps, colic.
- Sometimes vomiting.
- Bloating (flatulence).
In infants with intolerance, there are constipation or, conversely, semi-fluid emptying. In this case, artificial feeding is chosen, after which the symptoms disappear.
Intolerance study
The diagnosis of lactase deficiency is established by the results of coprology. It shows the level of starch, fiber, a decrease in fecal pH below 5.5, and iodophilic microflora. Such diagnostics are carried out using a respiratory hydrogen test. Patients with lactase deficiency have an increased hydrogen content, because the bacterial breakdown of lactose in their colon is enhanced. The small intestine cannot fully absorb lactose. With the help of a special diet, a molecular genetic study for lactase deficiency is also carried out.
Is there lactose in kefir, cottage cheese and dairy products?
If a person suffers from lactose intolerance, then he needs to adhere to diet therapy, which limits products containing lactose. Special enzyme preparations that break down lactose are sometimes prescribed. After all, dairy products cannot be completely excluded from the diet: they contain calcium, which is very necessary for the body.
You ask, is there lactose in kefir or not? Of course, there is, but it is much less in it than in milk itself. Most often, an adult has enough sour milk bacteria to break down the milk sugar found in sour milk products. Yogurt, yogurt, cottage cheese, hard cheeses contain a low amount of the described carbohydrate. It is not only possible to use them, but also necessary. Sour cream, curd paste, processed cheese, mayonnaise should be present in the diet in moderation. But milk, cocoa with milk, cream, milk chocolate, cream ice cream, buttermilk, milkshakes, powder mixes for baking should be used very carefully or even be excluded from the diet.
If lactose intolerance is so strong that you can’t even eat dairy products, then be sure to look for an alternative to replenishing calcium in the body. Replace it with seeds, beans, beans, oranges, broccoli, soy products. Make it a habit to always get acquainted with the composition of the products you buy. If you have a problem with the assimilation of the described carbohydrate, and you can not do without dairy products, then special tablets containing lactase will help. They are sold in pharmacies.
Replace milk with kefir
Do you still doubt whether kefir is possible with lactose intolerance? If you can’t drink milk and after eating it you’re not feeling well, then you can safely get protein and calcium from kefir. In favor of this sour-milk product, people who simply do not like milk also make their choice. Kefir does not create discomfort in the stomach and is suitable even for those whose digestion is impaired.
Does kefir contain lactose? Yes, but its quantity there is very small. Kefir is useful during lunch with a high content of meat. With it, gastric juice stands out well and protein is processed. With kefir, it is recommended to eat greens, vegetables, fruits. It can serve as an excellent salad dressing. Often this dairy product is mixed with berries: blueberries, raspberries, cherries.
Many people busy at lunch choose kefir as the food for hot days. It has a lot of valuable bifidobacteria, so the drink saturates well. This product is great in everyday life for snacks. Often additional bacteria are introduced into this or that type of kefir to improve digestion. Their antioxidants serve to strengthen the body's defenses. You already understood whether kefir contains lactose, but it still has high nutritional value, thanks to its beneficial bacteria.
Calcium from kefir is absorbed much better than from milk. This dairy product is also endowed with protein, vitamins, amino acids, peptides. Kefir helps lower cholesterol in the blood, therefore, prevents cardiovascular disease. After you find out if there is lactose in kefir, we recall that the drink is absorbed by the body in just an hour. It does not cause allergic reactions, quenches thirst. If you regularly use kefir, you can significantly lose weight and increase your overall vitality. It removes toxins and unnecessary substances from the body.