The diet for lactose intolerance aims to eliminate or reduce foods that contain lactose from the diet, such as cow’s milk, goat’s milk, yogurt, butter and cheese. Lactose intolerance varies from person to person and, therefore, it is not always necessary to completely restrict these foods from the diet.
Lactose intolerance is the body’s inability to digest lactose, which is the sugar present in milk, due to the decrease or absence of the enzyme lactase in the intestine, causing symptoms such as excess gas, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Learn about other signs and symptoms of lactose intolerance.
Furthermore, to avoid calcium deficiency in the body, it is also recommended to maintain a varied and healthy diet, prioritizing the intake of foods that contain good amounts of this mineral, such as spinach, flaxseed, sardines, almonds and tofu. See other foods with good amounts of calcium.
Foods that should be prioritized
Foods that should be prioritized in the diet for lactose intolerance are:
- All vegetables, including dark green ones, such as spinach, watercress, arugula, kale, bertalha, mustard, okra and caruru;
- Fresh fruit, such as orange, apple, banana, strawberry, pear, persimmon, mango, melon and watermelon;
- Lactose-free dairy products, such as lactose-free milk, lactose-free yogurt and lactose-free cheese;
- seeds, such as linseed, sesame, chia and sunflower;
- Fishes and sea foodsuch as salmon, sardines, lambari hake and shrimp;
- Whole grains, such as brown rice, wholemeal pasta, wholemeal bread and oats;
- Legumes, such as beans, soybeans, lentils and chickpeas;
- lean proteins, such as tofu, chicken, turkey, duck, quail and eggs;
- Tubers, such as cassava, yam, yam, cassava, potato and sweet potato.
In addition, it is also possible to include some yogurts and vegetable drinks fortified with calcium and vitamin D in your diet, such as yogurt and soy cheese, vegetable drinks made from oats, rice and almonds, for example.
Foods that should be avoided
In the diet for lactose intolerance, it is recommended to reduce or exclude foods with lactose, according to each person’s degree of intolerance. To achieve this, it is important to avoid or exclude dairy products with lactose, such as cow’s milk, goat’s milk, chocolate milk, condensed milk, cream, cheese, yogurt and whey protein. Check out other foods with lactose.
It is also important to read the nutritional information on the product label, as some cookies, breads and sauces may also contain lactose. Furthermore, depending on the person’s degree of intolerance, fermented dairy products, such as yogurt and some cheeses, can be well tolerated when consumed in small quantities.
Reducing or completely excluding foods with lactose should only be done under the guidance of a doctor or nutritionist, because these foods also contain other nutrients such as protein, vitamin D, vitamin A and calcium, which are essential to avoid situations such as rickets. , anemia and poor growth, for example.
Diet menu for lactose intolerance
The following table provides an example of a 3-day menu for the lactose-free diet:
The types and quantities of food indicated on the menu are just an example, as the diet can have many variations depending on each person’s degree of intolerance. Therefore, it is advisable to consult a nutritionist so that a complete assessment can be carried out and a nutritional plan tailored to individual needs can be created.
See other tips on what to eat if you are lactose intolerant:
Use of supplements and enzymes
The lactase enzyme can be recommended by a doctor or nutritionist to allow the consumption of dairy foods, facilitating digestion and avoiding symptoms, such as excess gas, diarrhea and abdominal pain.
Furthermore, low consumption of foods that are sources of calcium and vitamin D, in the long term, can increase the risk of deficiency of these nutrients in the body. Therefore, in some cases, the doctor or nutritionist may also recommend the use of calcium and vitamin D supplements.
How to improve calcium absorption
To improve the absorption of calcium in the body, it is recommended to practice physical activities regularly, such as weight training, running and walking, because impact exercises improve the absorption of this mineral by the bones. Check out other tips to improve calcium absorption.
Some foods with oxalic acid and phytic acid, which are compounds present in foods such as spinach, beans, lentils, nuts and brown rice, can reduce the absorption of calcium from food. Therefore, some measures, such as washing food under running water, soaking cereals and legumes, germination and cooking in water, help reduce these compounds, maintaining adequate calcium absorption.
Furthermore, it is also important to avoid consuming other foods that hinder the absorption of calcium, such as drinks with caffeine, such as coffee, black tea, mate tea and green tea.
