SareWeather

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?

janisj

Try re-posting on the Europe forum (see the change forum pull down menu).

Someone there may know what is different about dairy in Europe.

I lived in the UK for several years and do know that the milk in the UK generally wasn't pasteurized. But that was years ago and I'm not sure if that is still the case. There also may be hormones and antibiotics in the American versions that aren't in European.

suze

I read several posts about this recently. People were saying it was about the way the dairy was pasteurized or not.

hetismij2

Milk has been pasteurised in the UK for decades Janis, since long before you were there. It isn't generally homogenised though.
Elsewhere in Europe homogenisation is normal.

hetismij2

Milk throughout Europe is pasteurised. It is illegal in many countries to sell raw milk.

janisj

oops -- i <i>knew</i> that . . . .



I was thinking homogenized. . . . which is why I still to this day always shake my milk before pouring

thursdaysd

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.

flpab

Hormones and crap in feed. Cows never see the light of day. I am 60 and girls did not develop until nineth grade or maybe tenth. Now they have need for bras in fourth grade.

Tabernash2

Try getting milk in the US from a local dairy that doesn't use all those additives and hormones. I love milk and cheese, and our local dairy has the BEST nonfat milk anywhere.

sparkchaser

I'd say it was diet and all the hormones that are injected into 'murican cows. Mrs. sparkchaser has similar issues.

mlgb

Have you tried introducing products back into your diet one at a time? Maybe first yogurt or aged cheeses? I find I can tolerate those in small amounts and those are the two things I missed the most. You could also buy those items which are from Australia or the UK over here.

Ice cream, cottage cheese, forget it.

It is possibly not even lactose intolerance. My gastroenterologist says there are a lot of different proteins in milk, not all of them have allergy tests. Adult milk allergy is rare but not impossible.



You might also want to read about "FODMAP" type diets. It may not even be the milk that is causing your problems.

Finecheapboxofwine

I don't know if the production or whatever is that much different in Europe. I live in Sweden and it seems that everybody and their brother are lactose or gluten intolerant.

sparkchaser

No such thing as gluten intolerance. Celiac, yes. Intolerance? No

Finecheapboxofwine

Ok, I just know there are many that can't eat foods with gluten- for whatever reason.

thursdaysd

The jury may be out on a gluten allergy, but there definitely is a wheat allergy.

See: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-c...n/con-20031834

http://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/di...en-sensitivity

itspat

I had the same experience. I am food specific here in the US, though, I cannot have milk or cream but I can have yogurt, most cheeses and generally ice cream, so it's still a discovery for me. But in Europe, I had zero problems. Put regular milk and cream in my coffee and actually enjoyed it. I'm sure it has to do with attitudes and practices of food preparation in different areas, I just don't know the specific changes that make it a completely different experience for me.