A source of both confusion and debate.

Lactose is milk sugar. Conventional wisdom is that lactose is typically
pure enough that those with allergy to dairy proteins will not have trouble
with lactose, unless they are also lactase deficient (lactose intolerant).
You can be dairy-allergic without being lactase deficient. I, for one have
both.

There are some who say that dairy-allergic people should avoid all
milk-derived products, including lactose. It all depends on your situation.
If you're hair-trigger anaphylactically allergic to dairy, you probably
want to stay away from all milk products, including lactose. If lactose
provokes any symptoms, or if you're in general more symptomatic when eating
foods that contain it, you'll want to avoid it.

BTW, having the letters "lact" does not guarantee that the product was
derived from milk. Some ingredients, e.g., lactic acid, can be derived from
other sources. Bottom line is that you have to check with the manufacturer
to determine if a product has any dairy-derived components.


At 10:17 AM 10/22/2001 -0400, you wrote:
> >>If the product says milk, casein, lactose,
>whey, then it contains dairy.<<
>
>I am a bit confused about lactose. I am allergic to the protein in
>dairy. Do I=20
>need to avoid anything that contains the word lactose? How about when it
>is
>a word that is similar to lactose lact----? (I'd have to look up
>specific examples at home).
>Thanks for any help.
>
>A