Is there lactose in kefir, cottage cheese and other fermented milk products?

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Many doctors raise the issue of human intolerance to whole milk. About 30% of Europeans really cannot drink it, they feel bad after taking it. It's all about lactose (milk sugar). How to be, because milk is a wonderful and he althy product? But with age, it is not absorbed by some. Let's try to understand the reasons for this phenomenon. Is there lactose in kefir, cottage cheese, yogurt, cheese? Can they replace milk?

What is lactose?

Milk is a wonderful and very useful product. It contains a lot of proteins, various amino acids, fats, calcium. It also contains lactose. It is an important carbohydrate, milk sugar. Under the influence of hydrolysis, it breaks down into glucose and galactose. This milk sugar was discovered in 1780 by the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheel.

Bin women's milk, the percentage of this disaccharide is even higher than in cow's. Pure lactose can be represented as a white, odorless powder that dissolves well in water, but reacts poorly with alcohols. During the heating process, water molecules are lost and lactose remains. In the body, this chemical is broken down by the lactase enzyme. With age, the production of this enzyme decreases. Although the body needs milk sugar, it is absorbed worse.

If lactose in the stomach is poorly broken down, then bacteria actively develop, which leads to diarrhea, cramps, and bloating. This means that the body is lactose intolerant. Many people ask doctors the question of whether kefir is possible with lactose intolerance. Well, let's find the answer to it.

Foods with a high proportion of lactose

The highest concentration of lactose, of course, in dairy products. A glass of milk, for example, contains about 12 g of this carbohydrate. But in the production of cheese, its amount is minimized. There are only 1-3 grams per 100 g of product. This is very little. Feel free to enjoy parmesan, cheddar, ricotta, Swiss cheese.

There is about 25 g of lactose in nougat for sweets, 9.5 g in milk chocolate. Ice cream, depending on the variety, has from 1 to 7 g of lactose. In semolina, 6 g of milk sugar remains. Cocktails contain up to 5 g of carbohydrate. In whipped cream - 4.8 g per 100 grams. Yoghurts have 3 to 4 grams of lactose. There is very little of it in butter - 0.6 g, in sour cream - 2.5–3 g, in cottage cheese - 2.6 g.lactose in kefir, we'll talk a little later.

Where is lactose used?

From milk whey, as a result of drying, pure lactose is obtained. It is added to the production of drugs such as penicillin and other tablets. It does not affect the properties of drugs in any way.

Dry baby food is not complete without milk sugar. This is a great substitute for women's milk when feeding a baby. Lactose is part of feed vitamins.

Manufacturing of many products is not complete without this carbohydrate. An appetizing beautiful brown crust on bakery products is obtained thanks to him. Lactose has excellent taste, so necessary for sweets, confectionery. It is a part of chocolates, marmalade, condensed milk. Diabetic foods also contain components of this sugar. In meat products, it helps to eliminate s alty and bitter taste. To soften the taste of alcoholic beverages, lactose is also added there. It is with its help that an environment is created for the development of cells, bacteria.

Useful properties of milk sugar

With the help of this carbohydrate, vitamins B and C accumulate in the body. Once in the intestines, lactose has a beneficial effect on the absorption of calcium, which is so necessary for the body. Thanks to milk sugar, the microflora in the intestine is normal, so dysbacteriosis is excluded. Normal development of the central nervous system is impossible without it. Lactose is a prophylactic for diseases of the heart and blood vessels.

Lactose intolerance

Why is it that many people cannot tolerate dairy products, especially milk? It's all about lactose. In such people, the body is unable to break down milk sugar due to insufficient production of the lactase enzyme. This is more common with age or among residents of Asia, South America, Africa. In our country, about 30% of the population is faced with lactase deficiency.

Intolerance can be congenital or acquired. There are three main types of milk sugar intolerance:

1. Primary. It comes with age. The physiological feature of a person is that over the years he consumes less dairy food, so less lactase is released.
2. Secondary. Appears in connection with illness or injury. It can be caused by inflammation of the intestines, surgery, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and even complications from the flu.
3. Temporary. Occurs in premature babies. The function of the production of the lactase enzyme is laid only after 34 weeks of fetal development.

Intolerance symptoms

If a person does not produce enough lactase, this can be determined already half an hour after he drinks milk. What can speak of such a phenomenon?

• Diarrhea.
• Abdominal cramps, colic.
• Sometimes vomiting.
• Bloating (flatulence).

In infants with intolerance, there are constipation or, conversely, semi-liquid emptying. In this case, artificial feeding is chosen, after which the symptomsdisappear.

Intolerance test

The diagnosis of lactase deficiency is based on the results of coprology. It shows the level of starch, fiber, a decrease in the pH of feces below 5.5, iodophilic microflora. This diagnosis is carried out using a hydrogen breath test. Patients with lactase deficiency have an increased hydrogen content because the bacterial breakdown of lactose in their colon is enhanced. The small intestine cannot completely absorb lactose. With the help of a special diet, a molecular genetic study for lactase deficiency is also carried out.

Is there lactose in kefir, cottage cheese and fermented milk products?

If a person suffers from lactose intolerance, then he needs to follow a diet that limits foods containing lactose. Sometimes special enzyme preparations are prescribed that break down lactose. After all, it is impossible to completely exclude dairy products from the diet: they contain calcium that is very necessary for the body.

You ask if there is lactose in kefir or not? Of course, there is, but in it it is much less than in the milk itself. Most often, an adult has enough lactic acid bacteria to break down the milk sugar contained in fermented milk products. Yogurt, curdled milk, cottage cheese, hard cheeses contain a low amount of the described carbohydrate. It is not only possible to use them, but also necessary. Sour cream, cottage cheese paste, processed cheese, mayonnaise should be present in the diet inmoderate amounts. But milk, cocoa with milk, cream, milk chocolate, ice cream, buttermilk, milkshakes, powdered baking mixes should be consumed very carefully or completely excluded from the diet.

If lactose intolerance is so severe that you can't even eat fermented milk products, then be sure to look for an alternative to replenish calcium in the body. Replace it with seeds, beans, beans, oranges, broccoli, soy products. Make it a habit to always read the ingredients of the products you buy. If you have a problem with the absorption of the described carbohydrate, and you cannot do without dairy products, then special tablets containing lactase will help. They are sold in pharmacies.

Replace milk with kefir

Do you still doubt whether kefir is possible with lactose intolerance? If you can’t drink milk and don’t feel very well after drinking it, then you can safely get protein and calcium from kefir. People who simply do not like milk also make their choice in favor of this fermented milk product. Kefir does not create discomfort in the stomach and is suitable even for those who have impaired digestion.

Does kefir contain lactose? Yes, but it's very small. Kefir is useful during lunch with a high content of meat. With it, gastric juice is well secreted and protein is processed. With kefir, it is recommended to eat greens, vegetables, fruits. It can serve as an excellent dressing for salads. Often this fermented milk product is mixed with berries: blueberries,raspberries, cherries.

Many busy lunchtime people choose kefir as food for hot days. It contains a lot of valuable bifidobacteria, so the drink saturates well. This product is great for everyday snacking. Often, additional bacteria are introduced into one or another type of kefir to improve digestion. Their antioxidants serve to strengthen the body's defenses. You have already figured out whether kefir contains lactose, but it still has a high nutritional value due to its beneficial bacteria.

Calcium from kefir is absorbed much better than from milk. This fermented milk product is also endowed with protein, vitamins, amino acids, peptides. Kefir helps lower blood cholesterol, therefore, prevents cardiovascular disease. After you find out if there is lactose in kefir, we remind you that the drink is absorbed by the body in just an hour. It does not cause allergic reactions, quenches thirst. If you regularly use kefir, you can significantly lose weight and increase overall vitality. It removes toxins and unnecessary substances from the body.