Narrator:
A walk down the grocery store dairy aisle can be inviting and comforting for some shoppers. For Becky Bunnell it brings back memories of a physically painful childhood:
Becky Bunnell:
From a young age I can remember always having severe bloating and pain. I could lay on my bed and it just hurt.
Narrator:
It wasn't until college that Becky realized she was lactose intolerant.
Marisa Moore:
If you look you'll see some sour cream, buttermilk. Those are all sources of lactose that you may not always suspect
Becky Bunnell:
Well this explains a lot!
Narrator:
With the help of registered dietician, Marisa Moore, she's now learning about the less obvious, hidden sources of lactose.
A visit to the bakery department reveals more surprises.
Marisa Moore:
Sometimes with baked goods it might be in there as cream, milk solids.
Becky Bunnell:
Is that the same with bread then?
Marisa Moore:
Exactly.
Narrator:
With many latcose free products on the market today, it's not hard to find fortified milk that is easy on the system. Cheese is a different story.
Becky Bunnell:
Some cheese it seems we can handle and others we can't
Marisa Moore:
The more aged products are generally going to be lower in lactose, so if you stick with cheddar, swiss, parmesan you really shouldn't have any problem at all. They only have about zero to 1 gram of lactose per serving.
Narrator:
Yogurt can also be tolerated. Look for active cultures on the label since they break down lactose for you. Getting some dairy ensures you'll get some Calcium.
Marisa Moore:
Of course it's going to have Calcium because it's from milk, but some also have added vitamin D
Vitamin D is a critical nutrient for Calcium absorption. It sort of enables Calcium to be absorbed
Narrator:
You need both for strong, healthy bones. There are alternate food sources for Calcium, you just need to know what to look for.
Marisa Moore:
there are some great, leafy greens that you can incorporate, bok choy is one right over here as well as kale,
also collard greens are a good choice and dandelion greens is a newer one on the scene but works good in salads.
Becky Bunnell:
I think I'll take a bunch of the dandelions.
Narrator:
Adding almonds or sesame seeds to your salad will provide even more Calcium. It's trickier though, when it comes to Vitamin D.
Marisa Moore:
The unfortunate thing about Vitamin D is there aren't a ton of food sources, but there are a couple. So salmon and cod are some of the better sources of Vitamin D.
Narrator:
both nutrients can be found in fortified orange juice.
Marisa Moore:
You can see exactly how much Calcium is in there, you get 35% of your daily needs and 25% of Vitamin D.
Narrator:
OR try fortified lactose-free milk options.
Marisa Moore:
You want to check the label because they're not all created equally.
Narrator:
If you can't pass up a buttery-rich dessert or a favorite ice cream flavor, you can try over-the-counter lactase enzyme tablets to help you digest the dairy…and satiate your craving.
