Natural Low in Lactose

6 Dairy Foods That Are Naturally Low in Lactose

People with lactose intolerance often avoid eating dairy products.

This is usually because they are concerned that dairy may cause unwanted and potentially embarrassing side effects.

However, dairy foods are very nutritious, and not all of them are high in lactose.

This article explores 6 dairy foods that are low in lactose.

What Is Lactose Intolerance?

Lactose intolerance is a very common digestive problem. In fact, it affects around 75% of the world's population (1Trusted Source).

Interestingly, it's most prevalent in Asia and South America, but much less common in parts of the Western world like North America, Europe and Australia (2Trusted Source).

Those who have it don't have enough of an enzyme called lactase. Produced in your gut, lactase is needed to break down lactose, the main sugar found in milk.

Without lactase, lactose can pass through your gut undigested and cause unpleasant symptoms like nausea, pain, gas, bloating and diarrhea (1Trusted Source).

Fear of developing these symptoms can lead people with this condition to avoid foods that contain lactose, such as dairy products.

However, this isn't always necessary, as not all dairy foods contain enough lactose to cause problems for people with an intolerance.

In fact, it's thought that many people with an intolerance can eat up to 12 grams of lactose at a time without experiencing any symptoms (3Trusted Source).

To put that in perspective, 12 grams is the amount found in 1 cup (230 ml) of milk.

Additionally, some dairy foods are naturally low in lactose. Below are 6 of them.

1. Butter

Butter is a very high-fat dairy product that's made by churning cream or milk to separate its solid fat and liquid components.

The final product is around 80% fat, as the liquid part of milk, which contains all the lactose, is removed during processing (4).

This means that the lactose content of butter is really low. In fact, 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of butter contains only 0.1 grams (4).

Levels this low are unlikely to cause problems, even if you have an intolerance (1Trusted Source).

If you are concerned, it's worth knowing that butter made from fermented milk products and clarified butter contains even less lactose than regular butter.

So unless you have another reason to avoid butter, ditch the dairy-free spread.

SUMMARY:Butter is a very high-fat dairy product that contains only trace amounts of lactose. This means it's usually fine to include in your diet if you have a lactose intolerance.