Monday, December 22, 2008

Lactose Intolerance and Irritable Bowel Syndrome



Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS, can be triggered by a wide range of foods. Certain foods can trigger abnormal functioning of the digestive system, thereby causing a number of symptoms. If you have determined that your syptoms are related to milk intake, you have several options available to enable you to continue enjoying the taste of milk, without consuming milk products. Some experts claim that cow’s milk actually contains some substances that are not ideal for consumption by humans. They also claim that certain dairy products can be problematic for our digestive system. It has been noted that processed milk can produce more adverse affects.


Following are a number of tips that will help those whose inability to tolerate dairy products causes suffering from IBS. Milk, cheese, yogurt and other types of dairy products often trigger symptoms in people with IBS. They contain ingredients that cause bloatedness and flatulence. If you are accustomed to having milk and dairy products, you may think it hard to find enjoyable dairy alternatives but read on.


If you decide to eliminate dairy products from your diet, be sure to take vitamins and calcium supplements to replace vital nutrients that will be absent from your diet. You might find it effective to take a calcium supplement to ensure that you are satisfying your daily calcium requirement. However you may also want to revamp your diet to capture these nutrients, as there are certain vegetables and other calcium-rich foods that you can include.


There are a wide range of dairy substitutes available. For example, milk can easily be substituted by commonly-available soy. Soy milk will provide you with conventional milk taste but will be gentler on your digestive system. Also available are rice milk and nut milk are also available from most health food and some grocery stores. All of these will provide you with a substitute for the taste of milk yet are absent the ingredients that cause adverse reactions. If you like yogurt, cheese, and ice cream, there are also good-tasting substitutes available for these. There are several types of no-dairy yogurts on the market. You can consume gluten or casein-free cheeses to satisfy your cheese cravings and using these will prevent your IBS symptoms.


As lactose intolerance is one of the largest triggers for IBS, by choosing dairy substitutes, you will be able to enjoy dairy taste without having the resulting problematic digestive reactions. Evaluating alternative recipes that use dairy alternative products will definitely help to alleviate the symptoms of IBS. Removing dairy products from your diet, or substituting them with other products as well as removing other trigger foods, aid normal digestive tract functioning.


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