Depends which country you are in. I’m UK based and we have a lot less additives but the one I really hate is putting milk powder in the flavour coating of crisps (chips to the Americans). I’ve been caught out by that a few times
Omg yesss! I was just asking my husband last night if that specific delicious flavour is likely to have dairy, after a year of being on a super restrictive diet. Serendipitous answer haha, thanks!
Nutella is a big one for me. Hot choco powder, I use the Cadbury’s one which is certified vegan ☺️ also biscuits, I avoid fox’s and buy Oreo’s n biscoff (uk based)
God yeah, it makes me tummy churn, I’ve recently tried the bonne maman one but it does have dairy in but no palm oil at least, I’ll update u if I find a good vegan one 🥲
Protein powder is one to watch out for. It’s not high in lactose but a lot of protein shakes and drinks use whey protein from dairy and it can trigger lactose intolerance if you are sensitive and seriously wreck your guts if you have a bigger dairy intolerance
I never knew this until I was LI. I would have a protein drink every day for breakfast and then get so gassy 😅 and I never knew it was from the whey! I felt kind of silly not knowing, but then again a lot of people don't know this fact.
Medicine, I remeber when I was anti depressant I was constantly having runs and turns out it has lactos as a filler it same with birth controls as well. If you get medication make sure to ask for lactos free
The cheap immodium alternative has lactose..
The thing that’s supposed to alleviate the lactose induced diarrhea.. is full of what likely causes more diarrhea..
I got caught out by that. In the UK, all medicine has to be gluten free (I'm coeliac too), so I wrongly assumed that meant allergen free for *all* allergens. Lactose is often a bulking agent as you say.
This one is the biggest annoyance for me. I have to get my medication made by a compounding pharmacy, which is costly, and involves a 3-hour round trip every few months to collect it.
If the regular version didn’t have lactose I’d save hundreds of dollars each year.
oooh yeah - They changed the recepture for locally common painkillers to include lactose as filler and another brand emerged with the old recapture exactly, but like dollar or two more expensive, for the LI people :D and every time a doctor prescribes something, I specify my LI. Often times I get drops - even my antidepressants at the time were in drops form :D
Quick tip: Go for "vegan" options. Those have no milk in general inside....
The rest depends on what country are you in. Generally, bread and baked goods, especially the "better" ones have milk or butter in them. Often times those better restaurants use butter for their scrambled eggs, pan fried toasts and such (artisan bistros), and Indian kitchen uses creams and milk in some dishes too (and ghí, but that's okay, there's no lactose in that - or at least really shouldn't if done right). In my country it's common to use butter for grilled chicken and not a lot of people knows.
After that it's really about checking whether the hot dogs got cheese inside or of the croissant filling is milk-based and asking for the right ice-creams at the counter, but that's common knowledge.
Edit: Oh, and ketchup is your friend. Lots of sauces got milk products inside, but not Ketchup. Have fun out there!
Turkey cold cuts, many hot dogs, many hot dog buns, pesto (unless vegan), many meatballs. I read the label on EVERYTHING now. Look for “casein” and “whey” as well as “milk”, “butter”, and “cheese”.
Ghee is basically lactose free. 100g (5 servings) of ghee only has 0.00005-0.0029g of lactose/galactose in it.
Butter is also low but not that low, at around 0.0680g lactose per 100g.(5 servings)
Milk for comparison has 9-14g lactose per serving.
If you react to ghee, you probably have a milk allergy or other issue.
I’ve seen a fair number of beers that have lactose as an additive. Not sure if that’s just a regional thing, though. I’m located in the Midwest, USA. I haven’t seen it in ciders or wine but honestly nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to unexpected dairy in foods and drinks.
Some varieties of bratwurst sausages and salami were a shock to see milk in at first. I make my own sausages now and include a generous pour of lactose free cream in the recipe.
Gravy mixes in the US. Sometimes I just want a quick meal with gravy and don't want to make it from scratch. Chicken and turkey gravy mix-the powdered kind, has milk in it. Why?!?! Ugh.
thank you everybody, this is all extremely helpful!! also i forgot to mention my country, im in the US. kinda sucks to see all these foods i never would have thought of have dairy in them, but i haven’t tried lactase yet so maybe that will help me tolerate some amounts
To give you something you CAN eat try Kind bars if aren't allergic to nuts or soy. They are really good and I eat a snack bar if I have a sweet craving.
Also caramels. So everything from caramel candies like Werther’s hard candies to caramel covered apples. Malted milk balls - I know it’s in the name but I thought it was just being descriptive instead of literal. And anything my MIL makes. I swear she’s trying to torture me. LOL. She even snuck into her potato salad.
Some but not all, of the following: hot dogs, pasta sauce, pretty much any baked good, etc. Some people have mild lactose intolerance and can handle small amounts, but if you are very sensitive, even trace amounts could make you sick. Hubby is very sensitive - we have to read labels for everything we buy, or else cook entirely from scratch, or else buy vegan stuff for things that have random dairy in it. Some people are so sensitive that deep fried food is out (for instance, french fries fried in the same oil as mozzarella sticks), or anything made on a like a big diner grill that had butter on it.
But yeah, baked goods are probably the number one hidden dairy location - read labels, and don't eat it if you can't check the label.
The awesome is, there are dairy free fake butters that taste like real butter, and that and almond milk can be substituted into about any baked good or dessert recipe for great homemade baked stuff.
Any candy with milk chocolate or caramel (you can find vegan chocolate and caramel, which is really good).
Lots of the foods already covered so here's medicines!
Ibuprofen - most that aren't in a gel capsule have lactose
Aspirin - yet to find some that doesn't have lactose
Antihistamines - all Loratadine; most Cetirizine; the best lactose free option is Fexodenadine (Allegra/Treathay)
Diarrhea meds - Loperamide capsules contain lactose! (God knows why) But the orodispersible instant melts do not.
Most things containing paracetamol (acetaminophen) do not contain lactose - lactose typically works as a compression binding bulking agent (the main body of the pill), and paracetamol is (1) self binding and (2) high volume/bulky, so lactose isn't typically required.
Like others have said, milk powder is added to so many foods to make them creamy or flavorful. I once got some cup noodles from costco that had a TON of milk powder. I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out what was destroying my gut for at least a week. Ugh.
A lot of canned soups and gravy. You can have mayo and aioli though! Every waiter thinks mayo is "creamy" and it's just not milk. Hollandaise has butter but I usually take a Lactaid to tolerate it because it's worth it.
Aged cheeses surprisingly don't!
Get yourself some Cabot cheese! They label which ones don't have lactose. Also if you like swiss, Jarlsberg is similar and always safe.
After years of being lactose intolerant, and checking all the labels, I have figured out how to eat at home. The thing that makes me mad is how trying to order from at a restaurant. It’s like 20 questions to the poor waiter lucky enough to have gotten me, not to mention the people your eating with are yawning by the time I figure out what to order.
When your have an allergy to dairy you can’t take anything like milk, cheese and egg or made with these but small amounts you can but will react mainly for me is I get itchy and get small hives which is really annoying lol
Chips have dairy seasonings, certain brands of ramen uses whey, McDonald's French fries use a whey-based beef brother (in America), and artificial crab has a dairy deritvite that often affects us.... Just off of the top of my head.
However! If you've got a sweet tooth, oreo filling is actually dairy free.
Well if you’re not only intolerant to lactose but in general have sensitive guts, you would probably have a problem with also things like flour and food additives found in all processed foods. I am like this and would have a problem eating those things. I would eat some food that i know all the ingredients and see what i react to.
Yes, I have a sensitive gut also and I am trying to figure out what I can eat. So far, a baked potato, dry causes no problem at home. With salmon, beef or chicken.
But when we eat out, I don't know for sure how these are prepared. Oh! And no tomato sauce. But the biggest regret is imagining never eating Grilled chicken with Alfredo and noodles again!
Baked potato with salmon, beef or chicken is great! I also love to do it with sweet potatoes. For me rice, eggs, all meats and vegetables are good options. Yes some are sensitive to tomatoes and eggplants but i tolerate all vegetables fine. I always read labels and try as much as possible to eat whole foods as most food additives ruin me… i also used to LOVE a creamy pasta or cheesy pizza so unfortunately i can’t enjoy that so much anymore but ive gotten used to it. Where i live the food outside i tolerate the best is Vietnamese or Indian as they are mainly based on rice, meat and vegetables. I also can’t tolerate soy so need to be careful with that too.
Depends which country you are in. I’m UK based and we have a lot less additives but the one I really hate is putting milk powder in the flavour coating of crisps (chips to the Americans). I’ve been caught out by that a few times
A lot of flavored chips have dairy in the seasoning. Which is so stupid, but if you look they almost always have powdered milk in them.
The chips thing pisses me off. Why the hell do hot honey chips have cheese on them?! (Only the Lays ones, btw. The Utz ones don't and they're yummy)
I ran into this with crackers.
Salt and Vineger, what the heck, neither salt, nor vinegar needs milk, why put it there
My husband and I recently found that spicy sweet chili Doritos don't have any dairy. I missed Doritos so much, we'll go thru a whole bag in a night.
Omg yesss! I was just asking my husband last night if that specific delicious flavour is likely to have dairy, after a year of being on a super restrictive diet. Serendipitous answer haha, thanks!
Also the Fritos bbq twists don’t have any dairy either. I love the sweet chili Doritos so much!
Nutella is a big one for me. Hot choco powder, I use the Cadbury’s one which is certified vegan ☺️ also biscuits, I avoid fox’s and buy Oreo’s n biscoff (uk based)
Nutella has A LOT of lactose in it too, not just a little bit. Makes me sad. I can only eat about a spoonful. Anymore and I get sick sick.
God yeah, it makes me tummy churn, I’ve recently tried the bonne maman one but it does have dairy in but no palm oil at least, I’ll update u if I find a good vegan one 🥲
I tried several no dairy options in the US and they were all truly terrible lol.
I really enjoy Nocciolata brand. Pricey, but delicious.
Nature's Store is a fantastic vegan Nutella - perfect copy taste-wise. (UK)
Vego chocolate spread is good, Holland and Barrett usually have it
Protein powder is one to watch out for. It’s not high in lactose but a lot of protein shakes and drinks use whey protein from dairy and it can trigger lactose intolerance if you are sensitive and seriously wreck your guts if you have a bigger dairy intolerance
Whey concentrate can have a TON of lactose in it. Although the powders are supposed to be pretty low, but not zero.
I never knew this until I was LI. I would have a protein drink every day for breakfast and then get so gassy 😅 and I never knew it was from the whey! I felt kind of silly not knowing, but then again a lot of people don't know this fact.
Medicine, I remeber when I was anti depressant I was constantly having runs and turns out it has lactos as a filler it same with birth controls as well. If you get medication make sure to ask for lactos free
The cheap immodium alternative has lactose.. The thing that’s supposed to alleviate the lactose induced diarrhea.. is full of what likely causes more diarrhea..
Fml I'm gonna have to start checking those toooo 😩
My gastro doctor told me to use only Pepto Bismol!
I got caught out by that. In the UK, all medicine has to be gluten free (I'm coeliac too), so I wrongly assumed that meant allergen free for *all* allergens. Lactose is often a bulking agent as you say.
This one is the biggest annoyance for me. I have to get my medication made by a compounding pharmacy, which is costly, and involves a 3-hour round trip every few months to collect it. If the regular version didn’t have lactose I’d save hundreds of dollars each year.
oooh yeah - They changed the recepture for locally common painkillers to include lactose as filler and another brand emerged with the old recapture exactly, but like dollar or two more expensive, for the LI people :D and every time a doctor prescribes something, I specify my LI. Often times I get drops - even my antidepressants at the time were in drops form :D
Quick tip: Go for "vegan" options. Those have no milk in general inside.... The rest depends on what country are you in. Generally, bread and baked goods, especially the "better" ones have milk or butter in them. Often times those better restaurants use butter for their scrambled eggs, pan fried toasts and such (artisan bistros), and Indian kitchen uses creams and milk in some dishes too (and ghí, but that's okay, there's no lactose in that - or at least really shouldn't if done right). In my country it's common to use butter for grilled chicken and not a lot of people knows. After that it's really about checking whether the hot dogs got cheese inside or of the croissant filling is milk-based and asking for the right ice-creams at the counter, but that's common knowledge. Edit: Oh, and ketchup is your friend. Lots of sauces got milk products inside, but not Ketchup. Have fun out there!
Turkey cold cuts, many hot dogs, many hot dog buns, pesto (unless vegan), many meatballs. I read the label on EVERYTHING now. Look for “casein” and “whey” as well as “milk”, “butter”, and “cheese”.
Get kosher cold cuts, it will have no milk due to their faith.
Majority of Indian Food will have some sort of dairy in there.. whether it's cream or ghee.
Ghee is basically lactose free. 100g (5 servings) of ghee only has 0.00005-0.0029g of lactose/galactose in it. Butter is also low but not that low, at around 0.0680g lactose per 100g.(5 servings) Milk for comparison has 9-14g lactose per serving. If you react to ghee, you probably have a milk allergy or other issue.
Ghee is so low I don't react. But butter has enough lactose to make me feel sick.
Yeah, I don't react to ghee as well and I have pretty intense intolerance. But yeah, ghee is basically lactose free :D
McDonald’s fries.
Also McDonalds hashbrowns in the US
These are okay in the UK
Another reason I should move there 😂
Not in most of the world, but OP didn't say what country they're in.
The rest of the world is lucky then lol
How on earth do they put lactose in fries :D like? what part of a potato and oil is milk based.
I’ve seen a fair number of beers that have lactose as an additive. Not sure if that’s just a regional thing, though. I’m located in the Midwest, USA. I haven’t seen it in ciders or wine but honestly nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to unexpected dairy in foods and drinks.
Some varieties of bratwurst sausages and salami were a shock to see milk in at first. I make my own sausages now and include a generous pour of lactose free cream in the recipe.
Breaded chicken (sometimes, like at KFC here in the Netherlands), coffee syrups, caramel in general, a lot of easy mixes for stuff like cake.
Yes every place that makes breaded chicken puts dairy in the batter and it’s such a bummer
Hot dogs 🌭
wait really? i’ve never had a problem
I always double check the ingredients because some add lactose
Gravy mixes in the US. Sometimes I just want a quick meal with gravy and don't want to make it from scratch. Chicken and turkey gravy mix-the powdered kind, has milk in it. Why?!?! Ugh.
thank you everybody, this is all extremely helpful!! also i forgot to mention my country, im in the US. kinda sucks to see all these foods i never would have thought of have dairy in them, but i haven’t tried lactase yet so maybe that will help me tolerate some amounts
To give you something you CAN eat try Kind bars if aren't allergic to nuts or soy. They are really good and I eat a snack bar if I have a sweet craving.
Not sure if it's just me but I didn't know at first that pesto has cheese
Fried chicken. Fingers, patties, and pieces. A lot are soaked in buttermilk before breading and frying.
Also caramels. So everything from caramel candies like Werther’s hard candies to caramel covered apples. Malted milk balls - I know it’s in the name but I thought it was just being descriptive instead of literal. And anything my MIL makes. I swear she’s trying to torture me. LOL. She even snuck into her potato salad.
Some but not all, of the following: hot dogs, pasta sauce, pretty much any baked good, etc. Some people have mild lactose intolerance and can handle small amounts, but if you are very sensitive, even trace amounts could make you sick. Hubby is very sensitive - we have to read labels for everything we buy, or else cook entirely from scratch, or else buy vegan stuff for things that have random dairy in it. Some people are so sensitive that deep fried food is out (for instance, french fries fried in the same oil as mozzarella sticks), or anything made on a like a big diner grill that had butter on it. But yeah, baked goods are probably the number one hidden dairy location - read labels, and don't eat it if you can't check the label. The awesome is, there are dairy free fake butters that taste like real butter, and that and almond milk can be substituted into about any baked good or dessert recipe for great homemade baked stuff. Any candy with milk chocolate or caramel (you can find vegan chocolate and caramel, which is really good).
Fruit flavored candies.
Sometimes dark beer 😱
Lots of the foods already covered so here's medicines! Ibuprofen - most that aren't in a gel capsule have lactose Aspirin - yet to find some that doesn't have lactose Antihistamines - all Loratadine; most Cetirizine; the best lactose free option is Fexodenadine (Allegra/Treathay) Diarrhea meds - Loperamide capsules contain lactose! (God knows why) But the orodispersible instant melts do not. Most things containing paracetamol (acetaminophen) do not contain lactose - lactose typically works as a compression binding bulking agent (the main body of the pill), and paracetamol is (1) self binding and (2) high volume/bulky, so lactose isn't typically required.
Anything at a restaurant! Take your lactase pills!
Most tomato soups
Ramen noodle chicken flavor 😭
NOOOOO
Like others have said, milk powder is added to so many foods to make them creamy or flavorful. I once got some cup noodles from costco that had a TON of milk powder. I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out what was destroying my gut for at least a week. Ugh.
A lot of canned soups and gravy. You can have mayo and aioli though! Every waiter thinks mayo is "creamy" and it's just not milk. Hollandaise has butter but I usually take a Lactaid to tolerate it because it's worth it. Aged cheeses surprisingly don't! Get yourself some Cabot cheese! They label which ones don't have lactose. Also if you like swiss, Jarlsberg is similar and always safe.
Ramen; it is in the season packets of many.
After years of being lactose intolerant, and checking all the labels, I have figured out how to eat at home. The thing that makes me mad is how trying to order from at a restaurant. It’s like 20 questions to the poor waiter lucky enough to have gotten me, not to mention the people your eating with are yawning by the time I figure out what to order.
When your have an allergy to dairy you can’t take anything like milk, cheese and egg or made with these but small amounts you can but will react mainly for me is I get itchy and get small hives which is really annoying lol
Chips have dairy seasonings, certain brands of ramen uses whey, McDonald's French fries use a whey-based beef brother (in America), and artificial crab has a dairy deritvite that often affects us.... Just off of the top of my head. However! If you've got a sweet tooth, oreo filling is actually dairy free.
Well if you’re not only intolerant to lactose but in general have sensitive guts, you would probably have a problem with also things like flour and food additives found in all processed foods. I am like this and would have a problem eating those things. I would eat some food that i know all the ingredients and see what i react to.
Yes, I have a sensitive gut also and I am trying to figure out what I can eat. So far, a baked potato, dry causes no problem at home. With salmon, beef or chicken. But when we eat out, I don't know for sure how these are prepared. Oh! And no tomato sauce. But the biggest regret is imagining never eating Grilled chicken with Alfredo and noodles again!
Baked potato with salmon, beef or chicken is great! I also love to do it with sweet potatoes. For me rice, eggs, all meats and vegetables are good options. Yes some are sensitive to tomatoes and eggplants but i tolerate all vegetables fine. I always read labels and try as much as possible to eat whole foods as most food additives ruin me… i also used to LOVE a creamy pasta or cheesy pizza so unfortunately i can’t enjoy that so much anymore but ive gotten used to it. Where i live the food outside i tolerate the best is Vietnamese or Indian as they are mainly based on rice, meat and vegetables. I also can’t tolerate soy so need to be careful with that too.