By Sharon Natoli, Accredited Practising Dietitian and Director of Food & Nutrition Australia

Do you suspect you are sensitive to foods containing lactose or gluten?

If you answered ‘yes’, it is important to confirm this with a health professional to ensure you’re not removing foods unnecessarily from your diet and to rule out any other medical issues that could be causing your symptoms.  The following provides some general information on what to do if you suspect you have digestive issues that may be linked to your intake of lactose or gluten in foods and drinks.

1. Lactose sensitivity

Lactose sensitivity can be difficult to diagnose based on symptoms alone as the same type of symptoms can also indicate other conditions. If you suspect you may react to lactose, it can be useful to firstly eliminate cow’s milk from the diet to see if the symptoms improve.  However, to get a more definitive diagnosis a hydrogen breath test is recommended¹.  The hydrogen breath test measures the amount of hydrogen in a person’s breath. Very little hydrogen is usually detectable. However, if undigested lactose gets through into the colon it is fermented by bacteria and produces various gases, including hydrogen². High levels of hydrogen in the breath indicate a person is not digesting lactose efficiently and may therefore benefit from a diet low in lactose.

2. Gluten sensitivity

Gluten is a protein found in certain cereal grains including wheat, rye, barley, spelt and triticale.  There can be different causes of gluten sensitivity, one in particular which can have serious long term implications.  It is therefore important to obtain an accurate diagnosis of your gluten sensitivity before cutting foods out of your diet.  If you suspect you have a problem with gluten, seek advice from your doctor who may refer you for an initial blood test or may refer you to a specialist for an accurate diagnosis.  If you do have a sensitivity to gluten, an Accredited Practising Dietitian will be able to advise you on a suitable diet to ensure you meet all your nutritional requirements while also managing your symptoms.

What should you do?

Before you remove foods containing lactose or gluten from your diet, visit your GP or an Accredited Practising Dietitian who will assess your symptoms, their regularity, determine the best approach to identifying your problem foods and provide you with suitable alternatives to ensure your nutritional needs are met.

For more information visit:
www.coeliacsociety.com.au
www.gutnsw.edu.au

To find an Accredited Practising Dietitian visit:
www.daa.asn.au

References:

1 Casellas F, Malagelada JR. Applicability of short hydrogen breath test for screening of lactose malabsorption. Dig Dis Sci 2003;48:1333-8.

2 Di Camillo M, Marinaro V, Argnani F, Foglietta T, Vernia P. Hydrogen breath test for diagnosis of lactose malabsorption: the importance of timing and the number of breath samples. Can J Gastroenterol 2006;20:265-8.

By Sharon Natoli, Accredited Practising Dietitian and Director of Food & Nutrition Australia

Do you experience tummy pains, bloating, diarrhoea or gas after drinking milk?

If you answered yes, take heart in knowing you’re not alone. One of the most common reasons¹ people have trouble digesting milk is related to lactose, a naturally occurring sugar found in milk and many other dairy products.

Lactose that comes from foods and drinks normally gets broken down into simpler sugars by an enzyme in the small intestine called lactase.  These sugars are then absorbed into the body and used for energy.

However some people don’t have enough of the lactase enzyme to breakdown all the lactose they consume. This means the lactose goes into the colon where it is used as a food source by the bacteria that live there.  When these bacteria break down the lactose, they produce a type of gas which can lead to a change in bowel habits, bloating and stomach pains¹.

People who have trouble digesting lactose can often tolerate small amounts of lactose in their diet, however need to avoid larger intakes².  This is where Pauls Zymil can be particularly useful.  If you have a problem digesting lactose, you can continue to enjoy the nutritional benefits of milk, while minimizing your intake of lactose by including a milk such as Zymil as part of a healthy eating pattern.

These three tips will help you lower your intake of lactose while helping you meet your daily nutritional needs, in particular, your calcium needs:

1. Swap your normal milk with a lactose free milk for example, Pauls Zymil.  You can also try including small amounts of regular milk with meals to test your tolerance level.
2. Include a small tub of lactose free yoghurt daily, for example, Vaalia Lactose Free Yoghurt. Standard yoghurt can also often be well digested due to the natural bacterial cultures is contains.
3. Add reduced fat cheese to your sandwich. Most cheeses have minimal amounts of lactose.

Overall, aim for 2-3 serves of dairy foods daily, where a serve is equal to 250ml milk, 200g yoghurt or 40g cheese.  This way you’ll meet your daily calcium needs while also managing your digestive system!

References:

1 Vesa TH, Marteau P, Korpela R. Lactose intolerance. J Am Coll Nutr 2000;19:165S-175S.

2 Suarez FL, Adshead J, Furne JK, Levitt MD. Lactose maldigestion is not an impediment to the intake of 1500 mg calcium daily as dairy products. Am J Clin Nutr 1998;68:1118-22.

The spotlight is once again on men’s health with “Movember” now here.  Every year during the month of November, thousands of men from around the world take up the challenge of growing a moustache to help raise awareness and funds for men’s health.

Here at easy2digest we thought it would be interesting to look at the ways consuming dairy products can lead to improvements in men’s health and fitness.

Milk boosts muscle mass

The proteins found in dairy foods can help build and maintain lean muscle mass.  Research has shown that the branched chain amino acid Leucine contained within the whey proteins in milk stimulates the building of new muscle protein, while dairy protein has been shown to directly stimulate muscle building.¹

Another study indicated that young men who had completed a heavy weight workout would gain almost twice as much muscle over a 10 week period if they consumed two cups of skim milk compared to if they drank the same amount of protein in a soy drink.²

Healthy hearts thanks to milk

Eating well and staying physically active can help to keep your heart in good shape. Recently scientists have found that as part of a healthy balanced diet, people who regularly consume dairy foods were more likely to have better cardiovascular health than those who don’t.³

These are just some of the reasons why men should be sure to include milk in their diet as there are powerful benefits in every glass.

1 National Dairy Council (2006) Emerging health benefits of dairy proteins. Dairy Council Digest. July/August, Vol. 77, No. 4.

2 Wilkinson et, al. (2007) Consumption of fluid skim milk promotes greater muscle protein accretion after resistance exercise than does consumption of an isonitrogenous and isoenergetic soy-protein beverage. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 85, No. 4, 1031-1040.

3 Dairy Australia
http://www.dairyaustralia.com.au/Health-and-Lifestyle/Health-and-Wellbeing/Cardiovascular-Disease.aspx