Yes, there’s a cure for lactose intolerance, and that’s bacteria found in probiotics and prebiotics. While there are a few different strains of the good bacteria found in probiotics and prebiotics, just of few of the probiotics and prebiotics are responsible to take care of the lactose found in many dairy products. For sake of completeness, we’ll show you three products that are popularly used as a lactose intolerance cure, although two of them are not a cure but rather hide the symptons in such a way that technically you will no longer be lactose intolerant.
Digestive Advantage (available on Amazon) – Results: Better; Speed: Relatively Fast
This probiotic contains the bacteria Bacillus Coagulans which if consumed over time will settle with enough numbers in your gut that it will produce the lactase necessary to digest the lactose. We tried this ourselves and it worked wonders. Notice if you read the ingredients that Digestive Advantage contains also Lactase Enzyme. Why you ask. Well, most people are going to be taking this and the very first day go and eat lactose containing foods. Without the lactase Enzyme, this product wouldn’t work from the get go. In fact, many experts recommend taking Digestive Advantage probiotics for at least 2 weeks before trying to eat lactose foods.
Over time, your capacity to eat more diary products will increases and there will be virtually no dairy food that will take you running to the toilet.
So what’s our complain about this? This type of probiotic doesn’t reproduce itself. What this means is that you will always have to buy and take these probiotics until the day you die. Chances are once you stop taking them your lactose intolerance will return so we can’t really call this a cure. Nevertheless, it is very effective to combat the symptoms of lactose intolerance so buy it, take it every day, and 2 weeks later you can start eating lactose foods without fear of repercussions.
BIG WARNING: When taking probiotics you WILL go to the toilet frequently for the first few days. In fact, that’s how you know the probiotics are working. It is a common effect of probiotics, they flush out all the bad stuff in your gut and get you ready for the good bacteria. So don’t be discouraged if you’re taking frequent trips to the bathroom for the first few days.
Lactaid (available on Amazon) – Results: OK ; Speed: Fast
Not the best of solutions. Lactaid pills contain the lactase enzyme. Lactase enzyme is what the body naturally produces to help digest diary products which contain lactose. While the population percentage that are lactose intolerance varies with ethnicity (for example, European descent populations are less likely to be lactose intolerant than Asian descent populations), most adults eventually become lactose intolerant. Nobody is sure why but the theyory is that as the consumption of milk decreases as one ages the body has less of an incentive to produce the lactase enzyme.
So, your body doesn’t produce the lactase enzyme necessary for the processing of lactose, then just swallow some of that lactase enzyme and problem solved, you’ve found the cure for lactose intolerance, right?
Wrong. Lactaze enzyme needs to make it’s way all the way to the small intestine roughly at the same time as the lactose and there’s no way of guaranteeing that. To make matters worse, the exact quantity required to counteract the effects is largely unknown and will vary depending on the type of lactose containing foods you eat.
There’s a lot of trial and error. We tried some of these lactase caplets and sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t. We even tried to take a lot more of the suggested amount before, during, and after consuming dairy foods and sometimes it worked and other times we paid for it with diarrhea, gas, and acid reflux.
We are very suspicious of the high amount of 5-star reviews found on Amazon.com
So lactaze enzyme is far from being a Lactose Intolerance Cure. At the best it is a temporary relief for many of the diary products. But if you’re going to a business meeting or on a date, it’s better to play it safe and avoid foods that contain lactose unless of course you use the following probiotics and prebiotics.
Hyperbiotics Pro-15 (Available on Amazon) – Results: Best; Speed: Slow
This is what we would call a cure for lactose intolerance. Yes, they’re also probiotics but the strain of probiotic, bifidobacterium longum, has been scientifically proven to produce its own lactase and unlike the Digestive Health probiotics, this brand also includes Prebiotics (depending on which kind you get, the nutrition facts will either have the word prebiotic or Actazin Kiwi).
Prebiotics increase the levels of the bifidobacterium longum in your gut. This means one thing: After several months of taking these probiotics and prebiotics, your body will naturally start producing the lactase on its own without having to keep on taking the probiotics. Usually this process takes 6 to 12 months. However, taking probiotics is good for you so beyond the purpose of using it as a cure for lactose intolerance you should consider taking probiotics for your overall health overall.
Again, the warning is that for the first few days the probiotics are going to make you take several trips to the toilet. Don’t despair, this is normal. But, you are going to have to ingest dairy foods little by little. Your body is going to have to get used to eating lactose on a regular basis so if you take all the probiotics in the world and go a year without having lactose products chances are you’re still going to be intollerant.
And last word of warning, always consult your doctor before trying anything.
Also, please read our interesting article on Lactose Intolerance Butter