For many years now I’ve suspected that I am, to some degree, lactose intolerant. That is, I cannot or do not produce in sufficient amounts, the enzyme that properly breaks down lactose. Over the years, the results of ingesting foods with lactose have been varying. I’ve chronicled my experiences with Starbucks frappucinos. Some foods with dairy leave me with no ill effects. Other times, I’ll be left with bloating and massive amounts of gas. The worst is the explosive pooping. Oh dear, the explosive pooping. Often it’s not the type of dairy, it’s the amount that determines the outcome. I also belong to an ethnic group that is predisposed to being intolerant to lactose. Many Asians cannot drink milk or eat ice cream without suffering from ill effects.
I think it’s time for me to experiment with taking lactase supplements. There are two things that have led me to this decision. First, we’re having an ice cream party at work in a few weeks. This is our reward for 100% participation in some survey that we had to fill out. Now despite my uneasiness with dairy, I love ice cream, always have. It’s possible for me to just eat a tiny bit of ice cream and be done with it but that’s smacks of being responsible. What if I want to eat lots of ice cream? Second, I went out for dinner with a friend last night. We had poutine. It was delicious but remember that poutine is made with cheese curds which contains lactose from the milk. I wound being gassy the whole night afterwards. I was passing wind like an F5 tornado.
Now the gas could have been from just the greasy fries and I might be able to eat lots of ice cream with any problems but why leave it up to chance anymore? I’m going try taking a lactase supplement with any of my meals that might contain dairy. The ice cream party will be a good test. I’ll report back with the results.
Hate to break it to you, but I am pretty sure that cheese curds have very little lactose in them. I think you are just gassy!
What? Lame! Way to sprinkle milk on my parade.