It's that time again for another tip.
Do you have lactose intolerance like me?
I grew up in a small village with cow farms within walking distance. My grandma would go the the farm at 5 o'clock every morning and buy plastics of fresh-from-the-cow milk. FYI, the milk comes out already warm from the cow. So you can just drink it (if you don't care about sanitary reasons). Sometimes, my mom would boil the fresh milk and mix it with with Ovaltine or Milo for flavoring. I always enjoyed consuming my fresh milk before school. Somehow it made me feel smarter :-) haha (oh wait, not haha, but Moo Moo).
Unfortunately, I no longer have that convenient access to fresh milk here in the States. Instead, I have a new Calcium buddy - milk carton. Too bad, no matter what brand I choose (Lactose free or not), I always find myself having uncomfortable digestive consequences after a glass of milk. Something is different between my childhood milk and the US milk!
Many people recommended that I should switch to soy milk. To my defense, "But, it's not the kind of milk that would remind me of home, of grandma, of Mamah." :-( . I know, I'm so particular about it huh? Psychologically to me, milk is from cow (not goat, not horse, or any other animal/plant -- including soy beans). If I don't drink cow milk, I haven't had a cup of milk yet. Just like most Indonesians say, "If I haven't had rice for lunch, I haven't had lunch yet." :-)
This past weekend, my bestie Evelyn (Epe) came to stay with me. She saw the 3 bathroom trips I had to make after a glass of milk. She said, "So what's the use of drinking milk then? It's in and out for you!" Well, she has her point. That's true.
So she gave me a tip (pure from her parenting experience) that I feel so thankful for her sharing. The solution to lactose intolerance? Warm Milk. Yes, you heard it. It's still the cow milk from the cartoon. But it's warm.
Last night, I had a glass of warm milk after shower. Oh boy, it's so comforting. I haven't been going to the bathroom for lactose intolerant reason. Yayy, warm milk works for me. Thanks, Pe!
So if you are like me, maybe try to warm up your milk. Hopefully it will sooth your tummy instead of upsetting it.
May you find this helpful.
4 comments:
I came across your blog while researching why I feel okay after drinking a latte but feel digestive upset after drinking a cup of cold milk. I am digging for the answer but I hypothesize that heat may help us digest the disaccharide lactose into monosaccharides glucose and galactose. Your thoughts on why and how this happens?
Hi there. Though I am not an expert in this field, I believe your thought is correct. Lactose is a type of complex sugar that needs to be broken down for our body to absorb. Since lactose intolerance can't digest the sugar, lactose goes through our body as is and comes in contact with bacteria in our body along the way resulting in the inconvenience symptoms. Hope you feel better. Have a great rest of the week.
And I'm the opposite. Mine gets worse with warm milk or cheese.
Hi Lise Levin, that is interesting. Does it still fall under lactose intolerance then? So what would you do, for example, to add milk/creamer to your hot coffee? Since once the milk is mixed in, then it will be as hot as the coffee.
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