A lactose question

Hello all, somewhat feeling uncomfortable posting here since my question is not in relation to Crohns disease. I came here through google searching for a source of information on lactose and yoghurt. I searched everywhere, and this seems like the better forum to ask my question (don't hesitate to tell me if you know of another forum that's more appropriate).

I am heavily lactose intolerant, in a sense that even butter will "blow me up". Yoghurt however is supposed to be lactose free, or at least, the type that you make yourself (or know that it didn't have any powdered milk added). So I have bought a yoghurt machine, and am making my own yoghurt.

I get excellent success, however, it seems I have the development of lots of air in my intestines when I eat my home made yoghurt. Not my typical lactose intolerance symptoms, but still sufficiently uncomfortable to prohibit a good night rest.

So I wonder whether the lactose fermentation from my home made yoghurts is complete (and that all lactose is gone)? How can I know? Is there a test that will tell me for sure all lactose is gone, so I know whether this is a bacterial of some sort in the home made yoghurt that is doing this, or whether there is always a sufficiently large portion of the lactose that does not get degraded in home made yoghurt?

Good morning!
Try looking up the yogurt information on the website breakingtheviciouscycle.com . There is a very good article on there about making your on yogurt and lactose content. The starter you use is very important as well as processing the yogurt for 24hrs. The gas issue could be from die off or the probiotics themselves. This fairly common and will usely subside in a few days or so. There are several posters on here that make their yogurt. Hopefully they will have more info.

Good luck in your quest. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

Wendy

hi there... not having ever made yoghurt, i can't really answer that part of your query, but i have discovered a brand here in the UK called Lactofree, which makes yoghurts amongst other things.

not sure where in the world you are, or if this brand is available to you, but there could well be more than one manufacturer of lactose-free yoghurt around - maybe worth a search on Google?

HI there, we know about lactose intollerance. First you could have IBS which is a common sydrome but not a disease. Depends on what country you are in as we all have different products that some others dont. I use Dream Rice but I think it is in Canada only...not sure about the US. You could use digestive enzymes to help break down sugars and lactose. Alot of yoghurts today have lactose free but it could be the milk sugar affecting you. Have you ever seen a doctor about this? Or a dietician? Hope this helps. Take care.

Thanks for all the feedback! Still feels strange posting about yoghurt and lactose on a forum for Crohns.

I've been reading on breakingtheviciouscycle.info and many other sites, and it strikes me in everything I read that it would be impossible for lactose to remain after a proper fermentation.
I thought about all the batches I made, and think (didn't keep a diary, but will from now on) the following happened:
I made 7 successful batches of yoghurt using a totally organic yoghurt as starting culture. No symptoms.
I made 4 batches with a commercial culture. 2 batches (of different packets bacteria) yielded the belly ballooning problems. These go on for approx 48 hours, which is uncommon - when I get lactose in, it is always out by the next morning.

So it makes me wonder, would the commercial bacteria overheat? Could it mean there is a bacterial spoilage of some sort that ferments my food in my intestines for about 2 days before being pushed out of competition? What could be the cause of the ballooning (if we were to accept that there would be no lactose left)?

Maybe I just google wrong, but it strikes me that there doesn't seem to be an awful lot of information around (as in understanding the yoghurt chemical and bacterial processes, the possible spoilages, the intolerances, etc.)? Hope to find info!