One convenient notation that helps a lot is the labeling
of kosher foods, since, under the Jewish laws
of "kashrut," it's essential to eat milk and meat
separately and therefore to know which is which. Look
for the word "Pareve" on the food wrappers. That's an
indication that the foods have been prepared dairy-free,
according to the laws of kashrut. If you see a
letter "D", that indicates that the food contains dairy
ingredients; if it contains the letters "DE", that
indicates the food's been made on dairy equipment.

Not every food is labeled in this way. Then you have to
read the labels more carefully.

Look for ingredients such as milk, milk fat, non-fat
milk solids, whey, cream, cheese, curds, yogurt, casein,
caseinate, lactose, lactalbumin, lactoglobulin,
margarine (unless all margarine ingredients are shown
and are non-dairy), calcium (unless declared milk-free),
caramel coloring and flavoring, high protein flour,
lactate, lactic acid (some), hydrolyzed milk protein,
natural flavoring.

When going dairy-free to look for an improvement, go
completely dairy - not just "mostly". That means being
vigilant about all forms. Conventional wisdom says that
only the proteins are allergenic. But it's not entirely
clear that other milk ingredients do not contribute.
It's possible that the lactose, for example, is
contributing to a "leaky gut" situation. It's best to go
completely off of all milk-derived ingredients - you can
always try adding them back later to see if any of them
exacerbates the condition.

Keep in mind that many pills - medications and vitamins -
 are buffered in lactose. Do your best to find
replacements. Ask us - many of us know about substitutes.


Consider visiting (and possibly joining) the Food
Allergy Network, http://www.foodallergy.org/.  They have
lots of good resources.


Good luck. You're doing the right thing by trying this.

Mark
> Hi,
> We just started my son (age 8) on a dairy free diet after discovering he has
> a milk (casien) intollerance.  Can anyone tell me if the minute maid juices
> with added calicum are dairy (casien) free?  How about Famous Amos cookies?
> The ingredient list looks ok and it is nice that they are in a lot of
> vending machines.  Are there any good store brand hamburger/hot dog buns
> that are dairy free?
>
> Thanks for your help.
> Lori