If you’re lactose sensitive¹, eating out or buying processed foods can be a bit of a minefield. Lactose isn’t just found in cows milk – it’s also in a surprising number of foods you would not expect to find it in.

Lactose can be present in some processed meats, sausages, hot dogs, sliced meats, margarines, sliced bread, lollies, chocolates, some soups, salad dressings and breakfast cereals particularly as milk powder and milk solids. Yes folks, it’s also found in some brands of your favourite tipple – wine!

And don’t be fooled into thinking that foods labelled ‘non-dairy’, such as powdered coffee creamer and whipped toppings, are lactose-free. They may actually include ingredients that are derived from milk and therefore contain lactose.

Your best bet is to make sure you read food labels carefully and look not only for milk and lactose, but also for words such as whey, curds, milk by-products, dry milk solids, and non-fat dry milk powder. If any of these words are listed on a label, the product may contain hidden lactose.

The other place to keep an eye out for lactose is in prescription and over-the-counter medications. It’s estimated that 20% of prescription medicines and 6% of over-the-counter medicines contain lactose². It can be found in many types of birth control pills, and some tablets for indigestion and stomach upset as well. Unfortunately lactose is not always listed among the ingredients in medicines, so make sure you tell your doctor if you have any problems digesting lactose or dairy foods.

1 Parmalat Australia:
http://www.pauls.com.au/information/information.cfm?/section/2/subsection/8/

2 National Digestive Diseases Information Clearing House:
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/lactoseintolerance/#hidden

If you are lactose sensitive or have problems digesting ordinary cow’s milk, you’ve probably already tried soy milk – the most popular alternative milk on the market.