Is low-lactose milk safe for people with lactose intolerance?

Milk and dairy products are foods that cannot be separated from the lives of many people. However, some people cannot drink milk or consume its products because their bodies cannot digest the lactose in milk. Therefore, some of them replace it with low or lactose-free milk.

What is low lactose milk?

Low-lactose milk is cow's milk which contains less lactose sugar than it should. This milk processing process utilizes the hydrolysis process to break down most of the lactose molecules.

Milk with a low lactose content is also added with the enzyme lactase and is pasteurized. The lactase enzyme functions to break down the remaining lactose. When this process is complete, the milk will be stored for twenty-four hours.

If the lactose level has decreased enough, the milk goes back through the pasteurization process to stop the activity of the lactase enzyme.

Generally, this milk contains only 30% lactose. Meanwhile, milk products without lactose are claimed to be lactose-free about 99 percent.

This milk is usually treated with the same procedure. However, this non-lactose milk is added with more lactase enzymes and is pasteurized longer until the lactose content runs out.

Benefits of low lactose milk

As previously explained, low-lactose milk is for those of you who experience lactose intolerance. In addition, there are other benefits that you can get from the low lactose content in milk.

Here are some of the benefits of milk without lactose.

Has the same nutrition as regular milk

One of the benefits of low-lactose milk is that it has the same nutrients as regular milk. This is explained in the journal Nutrients in 2019.

Experts reveal that reducing the levels of lactose in milk does not have a different nutritional effect on the human body.

When ingested lactose is consumed, glucose and galactose will still be absorbed in the small intestine. This also applies to people who have a tolerance for lactose sugar which has no difference in the process of gastric emptying.

This finding has been proven through studies comparing the consumption of lactose with glucose and galactose in mice.

This means that non-lactose milk is the same as regular milk, which is a good source of protein with important nutrients, such as:

• calcium,
• Phosphor,
• vitamin B12, and
• riboflavin.

That is why, replacing regular milk with lactose-free milk may not have an impact on the nutritional benefits provided to regular milk.

Easier to digest

Not only does it contain nutrients that are not much different from regular milk, low-lactose milk is also claimed to be easier to digest.

Look, most people, including you, are probably able to digest the sugar lactose in milk. Unfortunately, this ability may decrease with age and is known as lactose intolerance.

Some people may be able to digest lactose into adulthood, while others have decreased lactase activity. Lactase is an enzyme needed to digest and break down lactose.

If people with lactose intolerance consume plain milk regularly, they are at risk of experiencing digestive problems, such as stomach pain to diarrhea.

With the addition of lactase in lactose-free milk, it makes it easier for the body to digest the remaining lactose in the body. That is why, lactose-free milk is an alternative for those of you who want to keep drinking milk safely.

Lactose free milk alternative

For those of you who have difficulty finding low or lactose-free milk, you might try other alternatives to avoid sugar in milk, such as:

• almond milk,
• soy milk,
• oat milk, or
• coconut milk.

The four milk alternatives above are more often consumed when you want to avoid animal milk products, such as cow's milk. However, it doesn't hurt to try plant-based milk with low sugar levels to avoid symptoms of lactose intolerance.

Lactose-free vs. dairy-free products

Keep in mind that lactose-free products are different from dairy or dairy-free products dairy-free . Milk without lactose is still made from cow's milk, so it is not the same as milk-free products.

People who are allergic to milk should still avoid all types of dairy products, including products that claim to be low or lactose free. That is why, lactose-free milk and its products are not recommended for consumption by people who want to avoid dairy-free products (dairy free).

If you have questions about lactose-free milk, please discuss with your doctor or nutritionist to find the right solution.

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