Milk Intolerance

Dairy is often very common in many of our favourite dishes, from creamy pastas to decadent desserts. While in previous years an intolerance or allergy to milk might have meant making huge changes to your shopping and eating habits, the rise of dairy-free and vegan-friendly alternatives in UK supermarkets over the last 10 years means there are lots of options for those suffering from a milk intolerance.

Intolerances can show in different people in different ways – some of the common milk intolerance symptoms can include vomiting, diarrhoea, swollen lips or tongue and hives. Some people may start to show symptoms soon after consuming milk, while others will experience a more delayed reaction.

If you suspect you may have a milk intolerance, it’s important to speak to a doctor to diagnose any underlying health conditions. Taking a food intolerance test can help pinpoint the specific ingredients you’re intolerant to, so you can start making changes and living more comfortably.

Milk Intolerance in Children

A reaction to dairy is one of the more common food intolerances in children. If you suspect that your child is intolerant to milk, it’s important to make sure you have all the facts before changing their diet. First stop? The doctors – to make sure you’re not confusing a milk intolerance with something else, and if necessary be referred to an allergy specialist.

Is milk intolerance the same as lactose intolerance?

A milk intolerance has often been confused with lactose intolerance, but these conditions are very different.

Lactose intolerance sufferers have a lifelong deficiency of the enzyme lactase, which helps to break down lactose – the sugar in milk. This can cause lactose intolerance symptoms such as nausea, bloating and diarrhoea, which are also known effects of other food intolerances.

A milk intolerance meanwhile refers to the body’s reaction to the specific protein found in milk. The sufferer’s immune system wrongly interprets the proteins as a harmful invader and sends IgG antibodies to ‘attack it’, resulting in a range of inflammatory responses.

How to Overcome a Milk Intolerance for Children

Food intolerances don’t always mean suffering with symptoms forever. In many cases, an intolerance isn’t a lifelong condition, and with the right diet and treatment you may be able to carefully reintroduce milk to your child at a later stage.

After completing a Junior Intolerance Test to pinpoint the intolerance, you may want to test alternative diets. Our experts recommend substituting trigger foods with nutritional alternatives for a period of 12 weeks, before gradually reintroducing them back into the diet after this time.

Some children will find that their immune system has then “reset” and that they no longer experience the same milk intolerance signs when consuming their problem food.

Does Milk Have Other Names?

Since December 2014, the Food Information Regulation classified 14 major food allergens which fall under the Food Safety Authority (FSA). It is a legal requirement that food businesses must provide allergen information in any food they sell or provide, making it easier for people with food allergies or intolerances to identify the trigger foods they need to avoid.

You will notice the main allergens on product packaging in bold and milk is one of them. However, milk can also take on other names that may not necessarily be in bold.

Milk can also be called:

Lactoglobulin

Lactalbumin

Casein

Caseinate

Lactose

If you notice these names on product packaging, it’s best to steer clear of these ingredients if you are actively avoiding milk products.

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Take our most comprehensive food and drink intolerance* test to find out whether you have an intolerance to 200 food and drink ingredients. Simply take a finger-prick blood sample and return by post for testing. Receive your results within 7 days! No social interaction required.

Optimise your lifestyle with our support, knowing which foods you’re reacting to.

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Measures all four subtypes of food-specific IgG
Simple finger-prick blood test
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Results listed in easy-to-read traffic light values: high, borderline, and normal reactivity
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Representative Example

Representative 23.9% APR (variable); Purchase rate 23.9% p.a (variable); Assumed credit limit £1200.

Credit subject to status. Terms and conditions apply. YorkTest acts as a broker and offers finance from a restricted range of finance providers.

PayPal Credit is a trading name of PayPal (Europe) S.á.r.l et Cie, S.C.A, 22-24 Boulevard Royal L-2449, Luxembourg.

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Discover your child’s IgG Reactive foods and improve their health at home

Begin the journey to safely optimise your child’s diet by finding out which foods they are reacting to. Simply take a quick finger-prick blood sample from the comfort of your own home and return it in the post. You’ll receive the results within just 7 days!

Suitable for children aged 2-17.
Convenient home-to-laboratory testing kit, no travel or social interaction required.
Test IgG reactions to over 100 food and drink ingredients.
Includes one 30-minute consultation with one of our nutritional therapists.
Aftercare includes an easy-to-read traffic light intolerance values guidebook, a formal letter to your child’s school, and continued customer care guidance throughout.

Pin-pointing a milk intolerance

Visiting your GP should always be your first port of call if you suspect you or your child has a food intolerance. They will be able to rule out any underlying conditions.

Plus, if they too suspect an intolerance, they may recommend that you keep a food diary and cut out potential trigger foods one by one.

Another option is to undertake a Premium Food Intolerance† Test from YorkTest. Using a simple home-to-laboratory, finger-prick blood test, we will analyse IgG antibody reactions to over 200 different foods at the same time, providing you with a fast result and actionable information. This comprehensive list of 200+ foods includes cow’s milk.

Our experts have developed a special programme for identifying food intolerance† in children. If your child shows some of the common milk intolerance signs and you worry they might have a sensitivity to milk protein, try our Junior Food Intolerance Test to identify your child’s trigger ingredients.

Suitable for children aged 2 to 17, not only does it include laboratory testing and a comprehensive results pack, you will also receive expert advice on your 30-minute telephone consultation with our qualified nutritional therapists. They will help you to safely remove trigger foods from your child’s diet and replace these with nutritious alternatives.

Living with a milk intolerance

It can be very difficult for a parent to make the necessary changes to cater for their children’s food allergies and intolerances.

Replacing an ingredient like cow’s milk in your child’s diet presents a challenge because milk provides many important nutrients such as calcium and the vitamins B12 and B2.

By following a yorktest programme, our team of nutritional therapists can help you and your child to find the right nutritious alternatives to cow’s milk and safely optimise their diet.

How Do I Get Enough Calcium On A Milk-Free Diet?

Milk can be an important source of calcium and, therefore, it is natural to become cautious when removing this from your diet, due to a risk of Osteoporosis or calcium/Vitamin D deficiency.

If your results show you have a milk intolerance, YorkTest’s Nutritional Therapists are here to help. Nutritional consultations are provided with any of YorkTest’s full food intolerance† programmes which gives you a worthwhile opportunity to discuss a range of alternatives not listed above that could support with your elimination diet and your calcium levels. They will also give you bespoke advice on what foods and drinks you need to avoid which contain milk/dairy that are currently in your diet.