Lactose intolerance affects up to 25% of people of European descent and 90% of other ethnic groups worldwide. Lactose intolerance causes uncomfortable symptoms in the gastrointestinal tract that vary in intensity depending on the individual. For many of these people it becomes necessary to find alternatives to the main stream dairy products that we all know and love.

Milk is the biggest offender of all the dairy products having the highest amount of lactose overall. There are a number of different alternatives to drinking regular cow’s milk, from drinking reduced lactose varieties, to lactose free cow’s milk, as well as a number of milk alternatives.

First it is important to note that for those with lactose intolerance, goat and sheep milk are not suitable alternatives. All mammal milk contains lactose and as such can cause the symptoms of lactose intolerance.

There are a number of products on the market that are marketed as lactose free, or lactose reduced. The lactose reduced products contain 70% less lactose and may be suitable for those that can tolerate small amounts of lactose. These lactose free/reduced products are cow’s milk that simply has the lactose removed. They still contain all the other nutrients that regular cow’s milk contains.

Soy milk is perhaps the next best well know milk alternative. Soy milk has a lot going for it, it is low in fat, high in protein and most soy milks are enriched with calcium and vitamin D. Soy milk substitutes very well in most recipes calling for cow’s milk and has a rich texture that is excellent for sauces. Soy milk is widely available and easy to get, its only drawback is that some people do not like the taste.

Rice milk is another widely available milk substitute for cow’s milk, also low in fat it comes enriched with vitamins and the taste is better tolerated by many people. Nut milks are the last alternative to cow’s milk that you might consider; they taste great, are low in calories, and are high in nutrition.

There are a large variety of milk substitutes available for those that cannot drink milk and there is sure to be at least one for everybody’s taste buds. Each milk alternative will work differently in recipes so some experimentation may be necessary to find the right alternative to use when cooking.