US dairy vs European Dairy
 

I thought I was lactose Intolerant my entire life!

I get very sick when I eat dairy in the United States, only to find this out when I went backpacking through Europe in College and never once got sick.

I came home and once again very sick so I completely cut dairy out of my diet like before.

Two and a half years later I moved to England to get my Master degree and again never once got sick. I was so excited I had milk with my cereal, ice cream, cheese! You name a dairy product and I probably tried it and I felt great!

I backpacked again this last fall through eastern Europe and again felt great and was having dairy regularly.

I have recently moved back to the US and I am getting ill again. I cannot eat dairy at all and have again cut it out of my diet completely.

Ive been to the allergist and they tell me I am a mystery! I read a very old forum about people that possibly had similar experiences, did anyone ever get an answer?

is it possibly something to do with how the milk is treated? in the UK the vast majority of milk is pasteurised, ditto cream and cheese.

how is it treated in the US? I seem to remember that it was homogenised i.e. the cream was distributed through the milk. I wonder if that's got anything to do with it.

[no, I don't remember that old thread, sorry].

Milk that is sold in stores in the US is, by regulation, pasteurized and has been for decades. It is usually always homogenized, too, so that the cream does not rise to the top.

Contrary to what janisj said in your other thread milk throughout Europe is pasteurised, (or sterilised or UHT treated) and has been for decades. Whilst you can still buy raw milk from some farms in many countries it is illegal to sell raw milk, certainly in shops.
It may or may not be homogenised, depending on the country.
What European milk (and meat) doesn't have is bovine growth hormones in it, since they are banned. US milk and meat does. Whether that is the difference to your allergy I don't know.

Have you tried organic grass fed dairy products? I grew up on a dairy farm and the milk products are not the same. My Uncle stopped farming in the 80's when they wanted hormones put in the feed. I know Italian butchers that would not eat our eat in the US.

I am European and I have developed lactose intolerance when I was around 40 years old. Your phenomenon has nothing to do with lactose. It has nothing to do with pasteurizing either.

It still appears to be mystery. Sometimes, these things have very strange causes: it may be the packaging or the detergent which is used to clean the glasses.

I have to specify my previous post: My wife has a stronge allergy against a certain make of wall paint. I talked to the chief chemicist of the manufacturing company and he said the reason was a certain chemical that is used as a preserving agent. He said that nowhere in Germany this preservative is used and that she must have developed the allergy elsewhere. After some talk, he said that this chemical is frequently used in French household products. And yes, we have very often vacationed in France!

Maybe it is a similar little chemical that is used in the U.S. but not in UK. Maybe it reacts with milk. So you have the symptoms when drinking milk, but it is not the milk but another thing which does not react with beer. So you can drink U.S. beer but not U.S. milk.

The only way to find out is an extensive series of experiments with your body. Good luck!

Lait cru, raw milk, is quite readily available in SW France, both cow's and and goat's milk.

Our supermarket has a large chilled dispenser. You bring your own container. I've not been tempted or curious.

I thought I was lactose intolerant (i live in the US). For years I avoided most dairy except those with minute amounts of lactose with little improvement. My gastro doc recently told me to not consume any dairy. This upsets me greatly because it's difficult enough to dine out in the U.S. and feel assured my food is not cooked in butter or contains cheese, milk, etc so how much more difficult it will be in foreign countries.

I will be interested in other's experiences as they travel abroad. Hopefully there will be anecdotal evidence that European dairy is safe for those like myself!

We should probably move this to another forum.

Only you can judge your level of intolerance but generally speaking, compared to milk, hard cheeses such as cheddar and parmesan have very small amounts of lactose.

I try to avoid dishes cooked with large amounts of cheese, cream or butter due to the fat content which is the last thing I need. I live in SW France where the cooking is more Med and Spanish influenced--olive oil used for grilling and flavor, rarely any cream and not much emphasis on cheese in main courses.

All large cities and really almost everywhere in Europe cater to all types of diets, diet restrictions, ethnic preferences, etc. You certainly won't go hungry.

I've never heard that European dairy products are easier to digest that those in the U.S. but as others have said, difference in feed content or processing could make a difference. Much of the milk, cheese, etc. in Europe is mass-processed, not hand-churned by dairy maids with cute blond braids.

I would not stress over it. You will have many delicious non-dairy options. Try a bit and see how you react. If no problem, try a bit more. Obviously, I am assuming your intolerance makes you uncomfortable not deathly ill. If the latter, learn how to inquire about ingredients in the languages of the countries you are visiting.

I have a good friend who is gluten-intolerant and carefully avoids gluten in the US. When she vacationed in France, she couldn't resist trying the baked goods and had no trouble at all. Here were her doctors' ideas about this: 1. In Europe no GMOs are allowed in foods, and she may be sensitive to the GMO wheat 2. Some recent research has revealed that most commercial bakeries in the US use a yeast "booster" which consists of a number of ingredients, including a large dose of gluten. There may be other factors in how wheat is processed or what kinds of additives are used which may account for the difference.

I would guess that the same general things may be true for dairy in Europe.

For years my wife has taken a soy lecithin supplement because she has proven that it helps her with a particular medical issue.

A few years ago she started feeling miserable whenever she took the stuff, same amount, same brand. To make a long short, turns out they had recently switched to a GMO soy product. She changed brands to a non-GMO lecithin and immediately had no more problems.

Obviously not a rigorous study, but based on that experience I'd second flpab's and Kathie's suggestion to try non-GMO / organic grass fed dairy products and see what happens. GMO corn is fed to many (most?) dairy cows in the U.S.

May not solve your problem, but it would be interesting to hear if that makes a difference.

Sareweather, I have had the same experience as you. In the US I am quite lactose intolerant and when I travel in Europe I can have dairy products without a problem. It is wonderful to eat gelato everyday in Italy. When I eat ice cream in the US, I have digestive problems shortly after I eat.

Several years ago, I discussed this with my doctor who was originally from Europe.He told me that he and his mother who was still living in France had similar experiences with dairy products in the US.

He was guessing that maybe there were different methods of pasteurization and that perhaps the method in the US killed more of the helpful bacteria or enzymes.

As I posted on your other thread:

I don't think it has anything to do with pasteurization or homogenization. I believe it has to do with the junk they inject into cows in the US. I, too, have an allergy to American dairy, but am fine not just with imported cheese, but with organic American dairy.

My DH is lactose intolerant in the US and Europe.

I would think the issues of how the animals are treated in the US, drugs, hormones, large farms, are critical to how milk develops (stuff in = stuff out)

On the other hand the whole idea of forcing animals into lactation seems like the some of the worst part of the animal slavery industry.

In Australia they sell a brand of milk called a2, taken from cows who are selected for their ability to provide milk with the a2 protein as opposed to the a1 protein. A2 milk is supposed to produce fewer allergic symptoms than normal milk (which has both a1 and a2 proteins) and so those who are intolerant are recommended to drink a2. Could it be that in Europe or parts thereof there are more cows with the a2 protein? And in your part of the world, more cows with a1 protein? I don't know how you would test this out because I don't think a2 milk is international (yet). Interesting no-one has brought this up yet, hope you find out what it is.

http://a2milk.com.au

Lavandula

The explanation about the hormones etc. sounds most logical to me.

I know this is from a year ago but I think still relevant & it doesn't appear that anyone has been able to find any type of medical solution.

You are not alone! I am Australian and grew up eating dairy. I moved to USA (Oregon) and after about 2 years developed a dairy intolerance. It took me a couple weeks to really narrow it down. At first I could still eat mozzarella or anything with Tillamook brand but now 4 years later, all dairy in america causes problems. I recently went back to Australia and discovered I could eat all the Australian dairy I could get my hands on without as much as a stomach rumble. Life was good. Now, I'm back in the states and met with the same problem. I am literally a human 'bad dairy' detector.

Lactaid helps but still feel pretty crappy. A2 milk from USA doesn't affect me but i'm really not into drinking milk anymore (the problem is in buying food out anywhere - dairy seems to be in EVERYTHING - breads, sauces, crackers, dips, anything cooked in butter etc).

I've heard people say it's the hormones or steroids they shoot up the cows here with, others say it's the method of processing dairy and even heard some fool saying it's phycological...lol.

I have not seen a doc about it but imagine they will tell me, 'avoid eating dairy' which I already do and really, it's easier said than done.

Interested to hear of any solid answers or any other cases of this & what you have found helpful?

The indiscriminate use of antibiotics as "growth stimulants" in the US which is destroying world wide antibiotic availability (a bigger disaster on the horizon than mere lactose intolerance) is probably also a key issue.

Basically the American food industry is &&&&&d from the top to the bottom with crisis levels of obesity, etc etc.

Milk contains some elements of whatever the mother has eaten, and this applies to all mammals, including cows. If a cow eats an antibiotic, some traces will be in its milk. When I was a kid, sometimes the milk would have an oddish taste, which was explained by the cows eating certain weeds (there was a lot more field grazed cows in those days). So I suspect that if European cows ate American feed, and vice versa, the odd phenomenon if geographic milk intolerance would be reversed.

I am not dairy intolerant but for the last 3 years I have terrible stomach problems almost all the time living in California. However whenever I travel abroad (Europe, Asia) the problem disappears within 24 hours. When I mentioned that to my physician, he laughed because he said usually it's the other way around. He said that my problem is usually a sign of inflammation along the digestive lining probably due to some kind of a sensitivity not quite an allergy. We can never figure out what I am sensitive to but I always wonder if it has something to do with animal feed/antibiotics or plant gmo's.

Inflammation is dangerous, your physician should not be laughing. Can't you try eliminating different classes of food - dairy, gluten, etc. - or switching entirely to organic to see what changes? Have you tried visiting an allergist rather than a GP? Do you have the same problem in other parts of the US?

Interesting that someone who knew they were allergic to dairy products would go to Europe and eat them anyway but obviously what was learned was beneficial. The indiscriminant use of antibiotics IN HUMANS is a much greater danger.

There are huge differences in how food is processed - not only from country to country but based on how it is made. Most supermarket breads have incredibly long shelf life (weeks) since they are full of all sorts of preservatives. But if you get bread from an actual bakery it is not treated that way and will get stale in 3 days or so - and can go moldy fairly fast.

So the problem might not be gluten but other ingredients. I had a friend who found out "gluten" was not her problem when she switched to fresh bread (granted easily available here but may not be in most places). You just have to make up your mind that you have to buy bread every 3 days (in europe it's often bought daily) versus keeping it on a shelf for weeks.

Not sure of the details of lactose intolerance, which often appears with age - never mind where or when the milk if processed. But in the case of the OP sounds like a different means of pasturization.

I am just intolerant.

Milk and beef without Baghdad or other hormones is widely available in the US. So if the OP has tried those milks in the US and still has trouble, that is not the issue. If she has not, it is worth a try.

Interesting autocorrect, sorry. BGH

Why don't you just eat Kerry Gold or President french cheese and butter? Dubliner cheese is excellent also. I can get those at my regular supermarkets.

Melig: If your food intolerance disappears in 24 hours on a trip, you can try a conceptually simple process that may identify the cause of your problem. The idea is to change your diet to entirely different foods from what you usually eat, starting with very few substitute foods. Your symptoms should disappear if you have removed your offender from your diet. Then add back foods one at a time and see which one(s) cause symptoms.

For example, if your usual starch is wheat-based plus potatoes, change to rice. If you eat fish, beef, pork, and chicken, switch to lamb or lentils. Eliminate every vegetable you usually eat, same for fruits. You will probably end up with only a very few foods, but you only need 2 days to see if you are well. Then add one former food to the mix for 2 days, observe, and repeat.

This used to called something like the elimination diet, and was used to detect food allergies.

Just doing some searching on this again, as I miss yogurt so much!

I have the exact same issue - complete mystery. I have always had sinus issues immediately after eating dairy (my brother does, too, which is how we figured it out), then the stomach issues come later. So I do eat dairy sometimes as it's not life or death for me, just living with the consequences.

Between a few trips abroad and returning it's been completely clear that it's the US vs. elsewhere. I've been to a nutritionist about it, who had never heard that before. I recently went to a naturopath (amazing!) and she agreed that it's the processing and ingredient differences. Just the way it is here...

So frustrating to know there is food elsewhere in the world that your body can handle just fine, but you don't have access to it. I have tried non-homogenized (local, organic, etc) milk here with no success. Different states have different laws regarding the different types of processing, so maybe you can find something that works. I've had some luck with European yogurts, but they get pricey, so I don't do it often.

I'm currently trying to be strict about it again. Even though it's a lot of work to cut it out, I want to do what I can to control my health. I'm sick of living within the norm here of dairy in everything.

If organic milk, yogurt, cheese etc. still causes the symptoms it's a bit surprising that European equivalents don't affect you. Are you sure they're truly organic?

note that organic does depend on stuff like the environment being the same in two places, high levels of hormones and plastics in parts of the world will still allow a product to be "organic" and have drastically different content, Lake Eire springs to mind.

>.You just have to make up your mind that you have to buy bread every 3 days (in europe it's often bought daily) versus keeping it on a shelf for weeks.<<

My compromise (as a single person) is to buy sliced wholemeal and keep it in the freezer, and just use slices as I need them. It means you only ever have it toasted, but I can live with that rather than waste food or go without it altogether.

"Organic" does have some kind of official definition, and I thought it included not injecting cows with hormones and antibiotics, but could be wrong. I do have trouble with "normal" American dairy, but can eat Whole Foods plain organic whole milk yogurt with no issues. Haven't tried low fat, at least recently, that processing might have an effect too.

I have never been lactose intolerant but I have always built up very thick mucus in my throat when I drank milk but cheese does not bother me. As with others that have gone to Germany and not suffered I went for college this summer and enjoyed my milk to a great degree. No coughing no mucus I love this freedom. Boy that sounds dumb but it is true I enjoyed my milk. I hoped when I came home I would again be able to have milk, but I have not found that to be the case. It would be terrible to want to live you birth country because of milk but I do or did enjoy being able to have it while I was there.

the critical use of antibiotics in any animal is that mutation of microbes rather than the mutation of the animals.

Hence overuse in animals is just as dangerous as overuse in humans

That, in the US, they confuse anti-biotics with growth hormones is just lunacy.

I've had a dairy allergy for decades and it doesn't matter where I am in the world I'm still allergic to dairy as I've accidentally come in contact with it in foods in various, overseas places, and have had an immediate reaction to it there just as I have reactions here in the U.S. The only exception is butter which I usually don't have a reaction to, either at home or overseas, but not always.

Happy Travels!

Its the type of casein protein the European cows have that is different than American cows. The protein in Europe is much easier digestible than it is America. And it seems like Australia is going with the easy digestible protein also.

I had a colesterol test just after Christmas, my doctor started to perform the last rites after she opened the results. My BMI is very good I just seem to be very dense !!!

Doctor told me, amongst everything else, to cut out all dairy. Her argument was that you would have great difficulty explaining to an alien,who'd just landed on the planet, the whole process of dairy production and consumption.

To me, now, it is a pretty revolting process. I've cut it out of my diet totally and combined with more balanced sugar/carb intakes, over the past few weeks have seen huge increases in energy levels.

The downside is that for those weeks my digestive system is in crisis without the comforting Cadburys Dairy milk for breakfast or Fish and Chips twice a week.