LTC3 - lactose in goats milk?

[Sam Baughn]

On page 15 on Low-Tech Companion 3, it says this:

Sheep and goat milks lack lactose, so they can be consumed where adult lactose intolerance is common...

However, as far as I can tell, it isn't true. Goat's milk at least seems to contain roughly as much lactose as cow's milk.

I only noticed it because I've recently lost my lactose tolerance and I'm really missing dairy products, so my first reaction when I read that was to start checking to see if I could eat goat's cheese. Sadly, this doesn't seem to be the case.

[Kazander]

Originally Posted by Perfect Organism

However, as far as I can tell, it isn't true. Goat's milk at least seems to contain roughly as much lactose as cow's milk.

I concur with this; I've been lactose intolerant for about 10 years now, and AFAIK there is no animal's milk that is lactose free. Even treated milk in the form of Lactaid still has a small amount of lactose in it. I can't tolerate even that.

Soy and rice-based milk substitutes are the only way to go to be completely lactose free. And watch out for anything that uses whey as a sweetener (at least based on the labelling laws here in Canada; may differ elsewhere).

I'm curious to know where the authors found this information; even a quick Google/Wikipedia search shows me the lactose content in goat's and sheep's milk, and it's roughly comparable to cow's milk.

[Purple Haze]

This seems a common myth. I've heard it from every doctor trained in the FSU. Of course all milk contains lactose.

[OldSam]

Well, I've read that for many people with lactose intolerance milk from goats / sheeps shows a better compatibleness, though it is not without problems, too. Of course it also contains lactose (but normally less than milk from cows). The same is true for cheese made from goats or sheeps and in that case I know it from first hand experience that it makes no problems for some people in comparison to cheese made out of conventional milk.

[nerdvana]

Originally Posted by Kazander

Soy and rice-based milk substitutes are the only way to go to be completely lactose free.

Another option is supliments you can add to the milk to predigest the lactose. We get drops we add to our milk because one of my daughters and I are lactose intolerant and it works well. The milk ends up sweeter, but that's not a problem.

[jacobmuller]

Oops - GURPS better issue an apology to cover against being sued for publishing misleading information likely to result in injury or death:)
Or is that covered by "it's a game - Do Not try this for real!"

PS: I switched to goat but the cost & smell aren't worth it. On soya milk and goat cheese.

[Kazander]

Originally Posted by nerdvana

Another option is supplements you can add to the milk to predigest the lactose. We get drops we add to our milk because one of my daughters and I are lactose intolerant and it works well. The milk ends up sweeter, but that's not a problem.

This depends entirely on your level of lactose intolerance (i.e. how much lactase enzyme your body is still producing.) Typically your stomach doesn't drop off to 0% of 'normal'.

I however, am not typical. My stomach produces very close to 0% of the 'normal' amount of lactase enzyme. The drops were the first thing I tried when I discovered I was lactose intolerant. It worked for a few weeks and then it ceased to be sufficient.

Like all chemical reactions, the drops do not induce a 100% perfect reaction. There is still lactose left after they do their work. The store-bought version of the milk with the enzyme already in it, marketed as Lactaid here in Canada, is better because the reaction is done on an industrial scale under controlled conditions--rather than in your fridge. You get about 99% lactose free. However, I still cannot tolerate that.

As I said, soy and rice-based substitutes are all that work for me.

Ze'Manel Cunha's synopsis on the topic is right on the money. There is a great lack of understanding the difference between a milk allergy and lactose intolerance. The first is an immune system reaction (like any allergy) to a milk protein, the latter is the inability to digest and absorb the milk sugar.

Edit: I'm just looking at Lactaid's website now, and they're claiming 100% lactose free now. It didn't used to be that way. I may have to check it out again.

[Ze'Manel Cunha]

Originally Posted by Kazander

Edit: I'm just looking at Lactaid's website now, and they're claiming 100% lactose free now. It didn't used to be that way. I may have to check it out again.

Yeah, if I recall, they wised up about 5 years ago or so.

You may also want to try the lactaid pills (fast-acting lactase enzyme), they're a life-saver IMO, and usually found in pharmacies next to other digestive aids like Beano and Pepto-Bismol, though since they're generic they don't tend to get good placement.

[Kazander]

Originally Posted by Ze'Manel Cunha

You may also want to try the lactaid pills (fast-acting lactase enzyme), they're a life-saver IMO, and usually found in pharmacies next to other digestive aids like Beano and Pepto-Bismol, though since they're generic they don't tend to get good placement.

Oh, yes I have been doing so for about.....10 years already. :-) It's the only way I feel safe eating at restaurants. The problem is always trying to guess how many you need for a given meal....and learning the hard way when you're wrong.

[cmdicely]

Originally Posted by Perfect Organism

However, as far as I can tell, it isn't true. Goat's milk at least seems to contain roughly as much lactose as cow's milk.

IIRC, its just a bit less. As I understand it, there are a couple other reasons why Goat's milk appears to be better for "lactose intolerant" people:

1. Some symptoms that are misinterpreted as "lactose intolerance" actually result from a mild allergy to particular proteins in milk, since goat's milk has a different mix of proteins, it is sometimes the case that when these symptoms result from an allergy to proteins in cow's milk they are not present when drinking goat's milk.
2. Goat's milk appears to have certain digestive advantages which result in it being generally easier to digest, which can result in reduced symptoms of lactose intolerance.

Because goat's milk is often easier (often to the point of no symptoms at serving sizes that produce quite noticeable symptoms from cow's milk) for people to drink with either actual or misperceived "lactose intolerance", it is sometimes misunderstood to be "lactose free", which is, as you note, not at all the case.