do you drink LACTAID brand lactose free milk??

[MarkG]

is it my imagine or is there a sweetish after taste that you dont have with regular lactose milk??

[Sinicle]

IMO, yes. I have not noticed this with some of the other lactose free milks. It is not unpleasant, just a little different.

[Ruth Lafler]

Interesting. I wonder if to make it lactose-free they convert the lactose to another form of sugar that tastes sweeter? Did you compare the grams of sugar on the label to "regular" milk?

[MarkG]

the sugar content is the same according to the nutrition panel

[geekyfoodie]

Lactase would break down lactose into glucose and galactose, which are sweeter than lactose. Galactose is less sweet than glucose, but it's still sweet, so that's two simple sugar molecules for every molecule of lactose. Like Amyzan says below, the actual sugar content doesn't change because it's measured by weight and there's no gain or loss in terms of weight.

I agree with Will Owen that Lactaid doesn't seem to taste differently than the generic supermarket brands (I'm also in So. CA). It lasts so much longer that Mr. Geeky (who is lactose-tolerant) switched to it because he wasn't drinking his regular milk fast enough to keep it from spoiling.

With regard to better tolerance with cheese and ice cream, this Wikipedia article might answer why:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactase

Apparently, lactase is used in the manufacturing of ice cream because of the sweeter simple sugars produced. Lactose also crystallizes at low temperatures, whereas glucose and galactose stay syrupy.

As for cheese, I read recently (it might be on another CH thread, but I can't remember) that there's less lactose in cheese because the bacteria involved will usually break down lots of the lactose, making it more tolerable.

[piccola]

Definitely. I like that for cheap coffee, it balances the bitterness.

[amyzan]

Yes, I think the lactose free milk tastes sweeter. The added lactase probably breaks down the lactose sugars into simpler molecules, making the taste different. Nutrition labels don't break down sugars by type, so while the label is the same amount, the sugar makeup comprising those grams may be different.

[Will Owen]

One more thing about the different composition of Lactaid is that it and all the other lactose-free brands I've tried have shown much greater resistance to souring or "turning" than regular packaged milk. As there are stretches around our house during which the milk is used only, one spalsh at a time, for Mrs. O's coffee, this alone justifies the price difference.

[Diane in Bexley]

While I am usually very good at reading labels, I bought some Lactaid milk and used it Saturday morning for my oatmeal. I was spoiled by my mother as a child and the only oatmeal I like is the 20 min long cooking steel cut oats simmered in full milk. I used 1/2 cup oats to 1 1/2 cups milk and added brown sugar Splenda and a few raisins. OMG! I spent the remainder of Sat morning having lactose intolerance! What happened?? I thought the purpose of Lactaid was so that I could AVOID lactose intolerance?? The very sever LI has happened very recently and I was so looking forward to having oatmeal again but don't think I will every do that. Was it the 1 1/2 cups of milk? Was it just way too much, even Lactaid? It was skim milk Lactaid by the way.

[Ruth Lafler]

Have you actually been tested to be sure that your symptoms are caused by lactose intolerance instead of something else (like a milk allergy)? A lot of people when they start having reactions after consuming milk products just assume it's lactose intolerance, when is may be something else.

[Will Owen]

I have the same unfortunate reaction to chugging down a glass of Lactaid as I do with regular milk. What is more, I have NO intolerance to cheese or ice cream. This leads me to believe that I am therefore not in fact lactose intolerant, but that something else in fluid milk triggers the EVACUATE button. I hate that, because I really love a good glass of milk.

One thing that helps me is to remember something I read somewhere: to think of milk as a FOOD instead of a beverage, and to eat it slowly. I put just a good splash on steelcut oats (cooked in water for much more than 20 minutes), and have no difficulty digesting this.

[amyzan]

What Ruth and Will have said, and also I want to add that it's possible you're sensitive in some way to Splenda or even possibly raisins or oatmeal. It sounds from your post like you haven't eaten oatmeal in a long time? I've not yet heard or known anyone allergic to oats, but I've learned over the years, that with allergies, anything is possible and allergies and food sensitivities do change over time.

[Diane in Bexley]

Have never been tested for lactose intolerance HOWEVER I have a "dumpng" reaction to large quantities of sugar or fat in one sitting. Last night I looked at the Lactaid carton and realized that I consumed as much as 30 grams of sugar in my 1 1/2 cups of milk. (fat free Lactaid!) Don't have any regular milk in the house at the moment, but I think this stuff has 2 to 3 times more sugar in it than regular milk. I have been using Splenda since it first came on the market, don't think this is the issue. This weekend I will experiment with oats cooked in soy milk and splash of FF 1/2 & 1/2 and see if I have the same reaction. Thanks for the guidance!

[bellywizard]

Diane,
If you had a reaction (after consuming Lactaid), it could not have been a reaction to lactose. It probably wouldn't have been a sugar reaction either, since the sugars in Lactaid are very easily absorbed - more easily than the sugars in regular milk OR soy milk. As Amyzan said, Lactaid has the same amount of sugar as regular milk, it just tastes more noticeable.

You could have had a reaction to the oats - either the fibre or the carbohydrates. Google "small intestine bacterial overgrowth" for more on that. I doubt that using Splenda would help you - and milk allergies are extremely rare. I find rice milk very easy to digest, btw.

[Diane in Bexley]

BW, did an experiment a couple weekends ago using half regular skim milk and water and cooked McCann's oatmeal in that. Again used brown sugar Splenda. Everything went well, absolutely no reaction whatsoever! All I can conclude from my experiment is that there was too much milk (whether Lactaid or regular) the first time and that 1/2 water and 1/2 skim milk works better for me. How weird!

[toodie jane]

You may be intolerant of the oatmeal itself. Check out IBS diet websites for a good discussion of soluable and non-soluable fiber and what they mean to indigestion issues.

I recently changed to Trader Joe's Rice Milk. No lactose, no cholesterol, and at $2.49 a 1/2 gallon, MUCH cheaper than Lactaid. It's lighter and sweeter than cow's milk, but great so far in coffee, on cereal and in rice and bread pudding.

[howboy]

Me too! I just started using TJ's rice milk, and I like it. Good in coffee and cereal.

[typetive]

I have to agree with the others, it may be a sensitivity to oatmeal as much as a milk allergy.

(I used to lover and tolerate oatmeal very well as a kid. Not any more ... strangely I don't have a problem with straight oat bran.)

[nskadra]

It was probably the Splenda which is known to cause gastric issues.

Oops - just saw your post about having been eating splenda for years.

[TFB]

I am reading this well over a year after you posted it, but I wanted to write with the suggestion that perhaps the lactase enzyme that is added to Lactaid "denatured" when it reached boiling point, thereby making it ineffective. I am not a scientist and may be way off on this, but I seem to remember something from chemistry about enzymes "denaturing" when heated.

[thebarkers0218]

Try using dairy ease by land of o'lakes it wont cause this problem. I cannot drink lactaid milk either It causes me to have problems like there is still lactose in it. If you cant find it try a store brand lactose free milk.

[tom porc]

Yes, I also noticed a sweeter taste esp with the 1% variety. And I love how it lasts longer before spoiling. I can buy the half gallon instead of the quart and save money.

I see the stores now carry "Special Request" lactose-free milk. Does it taste the same as Lactaid?

[Will Owen]

That is no doubt a regional brand not sold where I live (Southern CA), but all the proprietary brands I've tried taste pretty much the same. Safeway has their Lucerne brand, and I think the Kroger-affiliated stores have one as well, or at least they did back in Nashville. It's apparently as well-understood a process now as pasteurization.

[goodhealthgourmet]

"special request" is a regional product - it's the latest "skim plus" item from farmland dairies. btw, it's the best skim milk on the market. i've spent 7 years here in SoCal wishing they'd distribute it to the west coast!

[joerudy]

Lactaid brand milk definitely tastes better. Also it never works for me. I don't think it is 100% lactose free. The store brand works better for me, why is it? Are there other people out there that have problems with Lactose brand milk?

[toodie jane]

In our household, the objection to Lactaid brand was flavor. Lactaid had a unpleasant off flavor. We switched to Knudsen's Acidophilus milk because it was sugggested for the IBS-like diet imposed by Doc Painless. It worked, so we stuck to it, but began having freshness issues which I believe were due to poor storage at the only grocery carrying it. We then tried Lucerne's Lacotse Free, which is cheaper (and better tasting than Lactaid to our household milk drinkers).

As I reported above, we recently tried TJ's Rice Drink ("milk") in the cardboard container. I like the flavor, though it is sweet and lacks the fat feel of cow's milk. Also dissapointed to see it was 0 grams of protein. It seems to fill the bill for cereal, hot cocoa and other uses.

[foodperv]

i find the taste is just like the milk in the bottom of the bowl after you eat cereal

[MarkG]

i came to like the sweetish taste and custardy mouth feel of lactaid but also like Dean's Easy (to digest) lactose free, which is less sweet.

[MarkG]

i have been buying ORGANIC VALLEY lactose free milk and give it a BIG thumbs up. almost no sweetness. lovely mouth feel. I am pretty sure this is a national brand more or less.

[amyzan]

That's the one we've settled on, and I second your rec!

[Vetter]

Have any of you ever tried a week on raw milk? I can't digest regular dairy without unpleasant side effects (and that's with popping extra strength lactaid pills) but I can do raw milk with no problems at all. An acupuncturist I know started out her professional life as a food anthropologist, and she was the one who told me that many cultures can digest raw and fermented dairy (eg kefir). I still can't stomach her recommendation of fermented veggies, but the raw milk suggestion has been a revelation.

I guess it's the still living enzymes and friendly bacteria in the raw milk that make it digestible. It doesn't hurt that it tastes delish, specially in the spring when their is an explosion of new grass.

[amyzan]

I've only ever had raw milk once, when I was in college, years and years ago. Because it can only be bought straight off the farm here, it's a little tricky to find. I have found it here now, but am still pondering whether it's for me. I'm the only milk drinker in the household, other than the cat's occasional tablespoon or two, and we have issues with it going bad, so the lactose free is helpful in that regard. There's also the time issue, which is a shame, but I haven't yet worked out getting to a remote farm once a week for milk. I do appreciate the suggestion, and will consider making that change. For my situation, there are health concerns to consider as well, so food safety issues such as there are with the particular farm producing the milk is something not to consider lightly, too. Sigh, nothing is ever cut and dried, is it?

[happyfinediner]

I know this is very late and this thread may be dead, but I had to add my two cents. I have slowly become more and more intolerant to milk, ice cream ... I have found a great tasting 1%, 2% and skim milk (veeeery creamy) By Farmland --sooo good! I hated Lactaid waaay too sweet and funny tasting... and soy milk is too sweet for me too. This brand has16 grams of sugar-its not sweet at all. Hope you like it!

http://www.skimplus.com/

http://www.farmlanddairies.com/Specia...

[roxlet]

My son, who is the only one in our house who actually drinks milk, does think that it tastes sweet and it is not his preferred milk to drink. I love the fat free stuff in coffee since I find that it is less watery than regular fat free milk, plus it lasts forever, which is important to me since I am the only one in our house who puts milk in coffee.

[Will Owen]

Yes, I've noticed that the lactose-free milk seems almost rot-proof. I won't even buy regular milk more than a quart at a time nowadays unless I know I'll use the half-gallon in a week or so. And yes, it does taste sweet, but I'm the only one who actually drinks it and puts it on cereal and I don't mind. Mrs. O just uses it in coffee.

[foodperv]

as i see here most everyone agrees as to the sweet taste
but for those reading this who may not have tried it
the sweet taste is exactly like regular milk in the bottom of your cereal bowl you know the last spoon or 2 of milk

[MarkG]

other lactose free brands dont have the sweetness. however i like it.