Roberta Bell wrote:
>
> Dear Ariel,
> I became lactose intolerant around my 29th birthday. .... I can't do cheeses
> and lactaid doesn't seem to work for me.

In my experience in practice, it is very common for allergic symptoms to
become apparent in the late 20's and early 30's. I have written just
that. Many patients argue that they have never been allergic til some
other physical or emotional trauma preceded it. Anyway, digestive
reactions to dairy are not always just lactose intolerance. The presence
of lymph tissue (Peyer's Patches) in the colon and ileum explain an
allergic reaction that causes digestive symptoms. In these cases,
lactaid will not help. Of course, you can develop lactose intolerance
and allergy at the same time. Sometimes it's hard to figure out, but the
solution is always simple---no dairy.

If you react to milk and ice cream, but not cheese, your reaction could
be allergy to one of the protein factions of whey. Most milk allergy is
to casein, found in milk and cheese and all dairy foods and many non
dairy foods. Patients who react to casein can usually tolerate whey. But
whey is present in all dairy foods, except cheese.

Allergy is often hard to figure out. Some patients react to light
colored cheeses, but not dark ones. One patient who reacted to cheese
and all dairy went to Europe for three weeks. She warned me that she was
not going to avoid the great cheeses of Europe. She ate them with no
problems while she was there, but reacted to pizza on her first day back
in the states.

More confusion, huh?

Daniel A. Twogood, D.C.
>