If you’re lactose intolerant, it can be a challenge to find dairy products that you can enjoy. Often, the solution is to choose non-dairy beverages that can provide some of the same nutrients as traditional milk. However, farm fresh lactose free milk is a great alternative that still provides the dairy-based calcium, protein and vitamins that many people need in their diets.
Dairy milk is a natural product made by animals, usually cows but also buffaloes, goats and sheep. It contains a sugar called lactose, which our bodies naturally digest by making an enzyme called lactase. If we don’t have enough of this enzyme, or if our body stops producing it at an early age, we can become lactose intolerant leading to digestive symptoms like gas, bloating, cramps and nausea.
To make lactose free milk, the dairy industry either adds a synthetic version of the lactase enzyme to the regular milk or completely strains the lactose out. This breaks down the lactose into the two simple sugars of glucose and galactose so that it can be digested normally in your body.
This process does change the flavor of the milk a little, but not in a way that people who are lactose intolerant can’t stomach. The conversion of the lactose into the simpler sugars of glucose and galactose allows the milk to retain its natural dairy milk flavor, while at the same time providing a better option for people who are unable to tolerate the naturally occurring lactose in milk.