Please, please can anyone help over food allergy costs.

kittymary

Lactose isn't a protein, it's a sugar, found in all milk- cow, goat, or human. The only milks that would not contain lactose are soya milk, rice milk, or other similar milk substitutes that aren't really milk.

The other substance found in milk that some people have a problem with is casein, a protein that again is found in all milks. Goats milk has a different type of casein to cows milk, which is why some people who can't have cows milk find goats milk is ok.

Lazy_Runner

I am lactose intolerant and there are two solutions not mentioned yet.

You can get lactose free semi-skimmed milk from the supermarket.

Another option is to buy lactase, which breaks down the lactose into things your body can handle. One way to use it is to put it into the dairy product and give it time to work before use. Or eat/drink the dairy product, then add some lactase to liquid and take. The lactase will break down the lactose in your stomach. As lactase is an enzyme, it stops working if the temperature gets above about 38 degrees C. Basically don't have a hot drink after taking some lactase.

HTH

clairehi

Sandeze wrote: »

Hello everyone,
I had a food allergy test last week as I have suffered with stomach problems for many years, cutting a long story short I am allergic to Wheat and Lactose (in cows milk) and so had to change my eating habits drastically. As I have to change all my food my shopping bill has nearly doubled from £55 per week to over £95, I simply cannot afford this and hope that someone can help me. My consultant (who I trust) advised me to get all Goats products (milk, cheese etc) and this with other wheat free products has made my shopping bill, well, astronomical.
Please help.

So the consultant told you a. you are allergic to lactose and b. therefore you have to get all goats products.

However, goats (milk) products do contain lactose!

And you still trust the consultant? Consultant in what exactly, snake oil?

savagevixen

It all sounds very 'iffy' to me to. My fifth child, 16 months old, has been suffering from reflux for months and months. As there is no specific test for milk/soya/wheat allergy or intolerance, we have been put on a 'challenge diet' these are far more effective than tests. She has been dairy-free, with the help of the hospital nutritionist, and paediatritions. We are vegi, so she is meat-free/dairy-free and as tomatoes seem to affect her, tomato-free.

We were told that it is very difficult to determine whether a sufferer has an allergy or intolerance. People who present with very high scores can never have a strong reaction, and people who do not show any level of intolerance can have massive reactions.

I suggest you see a GP and ask for a referral following your diagnosis. But your right, it is very expensive!!!


But very weird, no lactose, but have goats milk!!!

MrsJ2008

I'm animal milk intollerent - I found that tesco's own stuff was really helpful as lists all the allergy products. Rice, oats milk, soya milk - to be honest they are all horrible. I like normal skimmed normal milk & couldn't get use to any of the milks so went without. Asda have a little allergy section too.

I too found it really expensive so ended up just making my own food (basic stuff though like salads, veggies) as I found pre-packaged foods had so many additives and milk. Even pre-packed sliced meats had milk in it!!!!

I gave up all milk for about 2 months. Amazingly all my cellulite dissapeared.

mtm81

try this site - don't know about cost but my ex-gf said they did a wide range of choice.:

http://www.gffdirect.co.uk/

littlesos

littlesos wrote: »

Lactose is a milk protein, it is in EVERYTHING that contains milk, so all cheese/yoghurt/butter/spreads/mayonnaise/cream/ice cream for definate (apart from PURE spreads which are dairy free). You have to check the labels on everything, it's in virtually all pates I've seen, shop bought cakes/biscuits/breads you need to be wary of. It's in chocolate, hot chocolate, some flavours of crisps the list goes on and on.

It might be that you have a problem with cows milk protein, which is different to Lactose. Goats milk has lactose, but the protein structure is different and is more easily digestable than cows milk protein. If these were proper medical tests and you have an allergy then they should have been specific.

My daughter is lactose/soya/egg intolerant, as far as I'm aware there are no specific tests for intolerances, it's a matter of excluding things from your diet and seeing if the systems disappear. I'm not sure what tests you could have had to tell you of these intolerances, but the fact that you have been told you are lactose intolerant, and then told to substitute goats milk makes me think that they were not medical tests.

Oops I meant Lactose is a milk sugar, as corrected by the next poster, thanks. Typing too fast and not checking properly, got my cows milk protein and milk sugar crossed over.

You need to find out whether you are cows milk protein intolerant, or lactose intolerant. The only way to know for sure is to try an exclusion diet, but I wouldn't do this without a dieticians input. As you haven't mentioned a dietician I'm assuming that you haven't had proper medical tests. It really isn't advisable to start cutting things out of your diet on the recommendation of someone not qualified.

If you are about to cut dairy and wheat products out fo your diet where are you going to get your calcium from??? Most people get a proportion of calcium from bread/cakes as they are fortified, and obviously dairy products are a good source. You need to look seriously at what you eat to make sure you are getting all the needed vitamins and minerals.