Lactose Intolerance: Therapy

Nutritional Medicine

  • Nutritional counseling based on nutritional analysis
  • Nutritional recommendations according to a mixed diet taking into account the disease at hand. This means, among other things:
    • A total of 5 servings of fresh vegetables and fruit daily (≥ 400 g; 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit).
    • Once or twice a week fresh sea fish, i.e. fatty marine fish (omega-3 fatty acids) such as salmon, herring, mackerel.
    • High-fiber diet (whole grains, vegetables).
  • Observance of the following specific nutritional recommendations:
    • Low-lactose diet: the individually tolerated amounts of lactose vary widely, ranging from 8-10 g/day for the majority of sufferers to about 1 g/day for very sensitive individuals. In addition, there is a small group of people who have a disorder in galactose metabolism (so-called galactosemia) and must eat virtually galactose-free and therefore lactose-free.
    • The following recommendations should be followed in case of lactose intolerance:
      • Intake of lactose-containing foods in combination with other foods or only in small amounts throughout the day.
      • Matured cheese (hard and firm cut cheeses such as Emmentaler, Gruyère, Tilsiter, Appenzeller) contains very little to no lactose, as this has been largely broken down during the maturing process; the longer the maturing process, the lower the lactose content
      • Soft cheeses have a relatively short maturation period and can therefore still contain lactose, although the amounts of lactose are usually so small that affected also tolerate these cheeses usually without problems
      • Fermented dairy products such as sour milk, yogurt, kefir, are usually well tolerated despite their relatively high lactose content, since the lactose-splitting enzymes of the living bacteria contained in the food lead to increased lactose breakdown in the food itself as well as in the small intestine
      • Dairy products such as cream and butter have a lowered lactose concentration, since during their processing the lactose is partially split or eliminated from the final product when separating the aqueous phase
      • Avoid or limited consumption of foods that contain lactose as an additive – soups, sauces, meat and sausage products, vegetable broth, baked goods, ready meals, chocolate and ice cream.
      • In case of pronounced lactose intolerance, lactose-reduced or -free milk and dairy products (special products) can be used

      Diet rich in:

      • Probiotic foods (if necessary, supplements with probiotic cultures).
  • Selection of appropriate food based on the nutritional analysis
  • See also under “Therapy with micronutrients (vital substances)”.