Can You Eat Pizza If You Are Lactose Intolerant?

Each patient has a different level of intolerance. It is possible to eat pizza without presenting any symptoms, while another person can take some precautionary measures before eating pizza. Cheese is easier to digest, but for some people with severe intolerance, eating pizza can lead to symptoms (flatulence, swelling, abdominal pain, diarrhea and nausea).

If a patient with this condition continues to take lactose, this will cause irritation and inflammation in their intestine increasingly difficult to cure, leading to cause symptoms beyond the localized in the gastrointestinal system. It happens very often that the patient is not aware of their sickness; they think their condition is normal since they’ve lived in that way for a certain period of time.

This was a few years ago, however, the situation has advanced considerably. Every day we listen and read more about this topic, and we are even getting used to see in the supermarkets different variants of dairy products, lactose-free products and references to milk intolerance.

The effects and time in which the disease manifests vary depending on each patient; of the person´s sensitivity and their tolerance level. There are even people with low tolerance levels who tolerate certain foods with little lactose such as cheeses or yoghurts.

Also, not all intolerances are the same. The primary or genetic is the one many of us suffer, this means that over time we lose the enzyme (lactase) needed to digest lactose. This is a progressive and irreversible intolerance, it has no cure, and it is a gradual loss of the enzyme in our body, which makes it more difficult for us to digest it. Fortunately, the disease itself is not serious because it is not vital, but it does condition our daily life. You must be careful with those foods where lactose may have been added, which means practically everything, from bread, a prepared soup, some appetizers, sausages, etc.

At the beginning, it is difficult to follow the diet, because the patient is not usually careful with it, changes are hard, especially when you are used to taking certain products that you cannot try again afterwards. It is also difficult because although it does not look like most of the products contain lactose, they do, and many patients do not get used to the idea of how many products contain it: Bread, hamburgers, sauces, even most frozen products.

Fortunately, in most cases the treatment consists of suppressing foods that have lactose in the diet and above all, be patient because lactose is everywhere!

If you are lactose intolerant, it is because your body cannot digest the natural sugars of dairy products. While you may think that this also automatically vetoes cheese, the fact is that many people with lactose intolerance can eat cheese, since they contain less lactose than milk or ice cream. Experts recommend that if you are lactose intolerant, start with small amounts of a new dairy food to test your reaction. If eating mozzarella cheese leads to unpleasant results, try tofu or another lactose-free alternative.

Lactose Content in Mozzarella Cheese

Mozzarella cheese contains less lactose than many other dairy products. On average, each 1-ounce serving contains only 0.02 grams. Therefore, adding a pinch of mozzarella to your pizza or a slice inside your sandwich may be appropriate, even if you are lactose intolerant. In comparison, 1 glass of cow’s milk contains an average of 13 lactose grams, as does 1 cup of low-fat yogurt. Most cheeses are fairly low in lactose: cheddar cheese contains 0.07 grams and Swiss cheese 0.02 grams. Low-fat cheeses contain a little more lactose than those with natural fat indices.

Fortunately, we no longer have to renounce to enjoy all the flavor of the Italian cuisine best known dish. Currently there are different varieties of lactose-free cheese, so that we can make in our own home a magnificent pizza and eat it with the security that we will not have any discomfort or symptom derived from our lactose intolerance.

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Can You Eat Pizza If You Are Lactose Intolerant?