Lactose Background

  I was born in the 90’s.  Back in the day, people knew of Lactose intolerance,(... and gluten intolerance, and other food problems) but, I don’t think they were as commonly talked about as they are today. When I was young, I would get sick often. My stomach would hurt, or I would have bathroom issues, or I would just throw up. My mom took me to the doctor trying to figure out what was going on.

   The doctor had a hard time pinpointing the cause. Despite her frustration, my mother kept on trying to solve the “mystery” that my doctors couldn’t.  It took my Mom writing down everything, EVERYTHING I ate and drank to figure out what was going on. She found out that the common thread with my issues was dairy. If I had more than 3 servings of dairy I would get sick. I was “Lactose sensitive”.  She later explained this to my physician. After this discovery, doctors deemed that it would not be safe for me to start taking Lactaid until I was 12. Until then, we were to keep track of my dairy intake and after 3 servings, avoid dairy. And drinking a glass of milk was out the question.  

The glass of milk thing was a big deal at first. I don’t know if it was a 90’s thing or if it was a family thing, but all of my cousins and my sister would have either a glass of milk at dinner or before bed.  I remember my stomach feeling uncomfortable or hurting if I participated, and me feeling left out if I didn’t. As my sensitivity grew, I could no longer drink milk at dinner like my sister or my cousins.

   In the 90’s there were not a lot of dairy alternatives. I remember my mom bring home a few different milks for me to try. I don’t remember the names of the brands or types of “milk” they were, but I do remember them not tasting good. My mom would always try the lactose alternatives with me. This helped remind me that it was normal to try new things, and that I was not alone.

    I remember one day my Mom come home from the store so excited because she found a dairy free chocolate milk. I was excited too. She poured out two small glasses. We were standing in front of the kitchen sink, the sunlight from the summer afternoon lighting up the room. Hoping for the rich sweet coco smell, I took a whiff.  I said something along the lines of, “Mom it smells chocolatey.” We both took a sip... and... spit it out into the sink. Mom said something along the lines of, “Oh, that does not taste good”.  The “milk” was thicker than one would expect. It also did not have a chocolaty taste. It was more like canned meat with coco on top. We poured it out in the sink soon after.  Finally, I turned 12 and was able to take Lactaid.  

    My family has Italian heritage; so, needless to say, I am surrounded by amazing food, which happens to contain a lot of dairy. Lactaid makes life easier. As I have gotten older, my lactose intolerance has gotten worse. The start of my 20’s has brought new issues, Lactaid doesn’t always work as well as it once did. Luckily the world is filled with more dairy alternatives now, (many of which I plan on reviewing here, so that you may avoid the kitchen sink spit take).

 For my health, I have cut back a lot on my dairy intake, I use dairy alternatives when I can, I try and take my Lactaid no more than once a day, and have dairy free days as often as I can.  Please check back here for recipes and reviews