If drinking a glass of milk or indulging in ice cream leaves you bloated, gassy, and making frequent trips to the bathroom, you might be part of the lactose intolerant club. But don't jump to conclusions just yet - we're about to dive into some simple at-home tests to uncover the truth about your digestive woes.
Too Long; Didn’t Read
- Lactose intolerance is when your body can't properly digest lactose, the sugar found in dairy products.
- A cheap (but daring) way to test for lactose intolerance at home is pretty simple: consume dairy products and see what happens.
- If you don’t want to suffer the pain of our at-home experimental test, you can ask your doctor for a hydrogen breath test or a blood test.
- If you are lactose intolerant, you can either stop eating dairy (who wants that??), eat dairy and suffer the consequences, or take a lactase enzyme pill like DairyPill.
Understanding Lactose Intolerance
Before we dive into the testing methods, let's quickly go over what lactose intolerance actually is. Basically, it's when your body can't properly digest lactose, the sugar found in dairy products. This leads to a range of unpleasant symptoms like bloating, gas, and diarrhea – the holy trinity of gastrointestinal misery.
Now, you might be thinking, "But I love cheese more than life itself!" Don't worry. Being lactose intolerant doesn't mean you have to give up all dairy products forever. It's all about finding your personal tolerance level, which is where testing for lactose intolerance can come in handy.
The Lactose Intolerance Test
If you’re a brave soul who wants answers quickly, there’s an easy (and pretty effective) way for you to test at home.
Step 1: Prepare for Battle
Before you start chugging milk like a frat bro on a dare, it's important to set the stage. Stock up on gas relief medication and maybe invest in some air fresheners (you've been warned). If you want, you can also keep a journal or diary to document your symptoms and level of discomfort. You know, for science (and your future memoir).
Step 2: The Dairy Challenge
Here's where the real fun begins. Start by consuming a small amount of lactose, like a glass of milk or a few bites of high-lactose cheeses. Cheeses generally have about 1g of lactose per oz and a cup of milk has about 13g of lactose (about 1.6g of lactose per oz). Most lactose intolerant people can tolerate up to 12g of lactose, but some start to suffer before then, so start small!
Once you’ve consumed a glass of milk or a slice of pizza, wait and observe. If you experience any discomfort, bloating, or sudden urgent bathroom trips 30 min to 2 hrs after consuming dairy, congratulations! You’re probably lactose intolerant.
If about two hours have passed and you don’t have any symptoms, increase the amount of lactose you consume over the next few days to find your personal tolerance threshold. Just remember to pace yourself and listen to your body – no one wants a full-blown bathroom disaster on their hands.
Alternative Testing Methods
If the thought of voluntarily subjecting yourself to gastrointestinal torture doesn't appeal to you (fair enough), there are a few other testing options you can explore.
The Hydrogen Breath Test
A hydrogen breath test measures the amount of hydrogen in your breath after consuming a lactose-loaded beverage. If your body can't break down the lactose properly, it'll produce excess hydrogen, which can be detected in your breath. This test is a more medical way of doing the at-home test since you’ll still get your typical symptoms of lactose intolerance. The test ranges from $145-$400, so if you don’t have the money for this, just DIY.
Ask your doctor for more information on this test.
The Lactose Intolerance Blood Test
A blood test is probably the most common way to test for lactose intolerance. With this test, your blood is tested before and after drinking some lactose-filled liquid. If your glucose levels don’t rise after drinking the liquid, your body is not properly digesting the lactose and you are likely lactose intolerant! Same as the hydrogen breath test, if you are lactose intolerant, you’ll have your usual post-dairy symptoms. This test is about $129.
Ask your doctor for more information on this test.
The Elimination Diet
If you're not a fan of medical tests and don’t want to go all-in on chugging a glass of milk in one sitting, you can always try an elimination diet. Cut out all lactose-containing foods for a few weeks and see how you feel. If you feel ok, you can slowly reintroduce dairy products one by one while paying close attention to any symptoms of bloating, gas, and diarrhea to identify your personal dairy tolerance level.
Embracing Your Lactose Intolerance
If your test for lactose intolerance comes back positive (aka you exploded your toilet after the DIY test), you have a few options:
- Cut dairy out of your diet completely / go vegan (gross)
- Continue to eat dairy but the consequences every time
- Simply take a lactase enzyme pill before enjoying dairy
DairyPill is the strongest & most convenient lactase enzyme pill on the market and has helped thousands of happy customers enjoy dairy continue to enjoy dairy without the consequences.
Join The Herd today and enjoy all of your favorite dairy foods without any discomfort! ;) We’ve got you covered!