Living with Lactose Intolerance

You don't have to give up milk products!

In most cases, eliminating milk products from your diet is not necessary. Milk products contain many essential nutrients that are important to our health. Following a few simple strategies allows most people to consume the daily servings of milk products recommended in Canada’s Food Guide symptom-free.

First, find your degree of tolerance

The digestive system of people with lactose intolerance still produces some lactase, which means that they can digest some lactose. The key is to find your level of tolerance. Experiment by consuming small quantities of milk products at a time and gradually increase the amount to assess your tolerance. Then you can know how much and what kinds of milk products you can consume enjoyably.

Spread your milk products throughout the day

For strong, healthy bones, adults need 1000 to 1200 mg of calcium a day, depending on their age. The Easy Milk Product Menu shows a day’s example of how to eat milk products that is usually easy to tolerate. You’ll see that consuming milk products with other foods improves tolerance. The suggested menu gives you about 900 mg of calcium. The rest of your diet, if it follows Canada’s Food Guide, gives you about 300 mg.