At 6:08 PM -0500 9/16/97, DAVID POHLE wrote:


<snip>

>Questions lead to answers which lead to questions...but
>first:  I'm 3/4 German and 1/4 southern Italian with no
>Jewish background.
>
>With regard to the onset of my chronic diarrhea:

>Being lactose intolerant in NYC:
>
<snip>

>foods and kosher restaurants.  Also, the billions of
>coffee bars that have sprung up on every other corner
>in Manhattan never seem to serve Lactaid or non-dairy
>creamer.  Gone are my days of drinking iced
>cappuccino at a little table on the street at Cafe
>Rafaella (if not from NYC, imagine classic urban leisure
>scene and you get the idea!).  Iced coffee served black
>just doesn't do.


I also live on the Upper East side, though I'm 4/4ths Jewish.  I've been
lactose intolerant since about the age of 20.  Lactaid (taken in hefty
doses) usually does the trick.  But I've noticed that coffee (by itself)
has a laxative effect.  Good coffee has less, and I can tolerate espresso
without much problem.  So, it's not the caffeine that's causeing the
problem, it's something else, perhaps the acidity, though cola drinks, even
in quantity are not a problem, and they are stringly acidic.

- HH


ps:  I make a point of asking for Lactaid or soy milk at coffee bars, even
if I know they are unlikely to have it.  Some Starbucks (not the one at
87th & Lex, though) do stock soy milk.  It's up to the manager's discretion.


pps:  Has anyone tried making ice cream out of Lactaid 100% milk and
Lactaid-treated cream?  Why don't the lactaid people just go ahead and make
ice cream?  It would probably be cheaper than soy-based substitutes.