Lactose intolerance in India?

oneiota

Hello everyone :)

This is my first post, but I've been lurking for a while. I couldn't find lactose intolerance anywhere in the archives so I figured I'd jump in and ask.

I'll be visiting India for the first time in November, my partner and I will be visiting his family in Chennai, Mumbai and many smaller towns in between.

I've been 'warned' that the various aunties will take it upon themselves to fatten me up with ridiculous amounts of food, which is just fine by me - I love Indian food. But I have a problem....I'm lactose intolerant. Small amounts of dairy are bearable, but dairy in Indian quantities (especially sweets like rasmalai!) will have me spending a lot of time in the bathroom.

I know I can't just turn down food or chai, especially when it's offered lovingly by V's relatives. His immediate family here in Australia understands why I can't have dairy, but the consensus is that his extended family in India will be shocked/confused that anyone could possibly live a life without milk! ;) I certainly don't want to offend anyone or cause "oh god, what on earth are we going to feed her?" crises, but I'd also prefer not to feel bloated and ill all the time (I'm sure I'll have enough Delhi belly to deal with without lactose intolerance confounding the problem).

So, my questions are, has anyone had any success with lactase tablets, or other anti-lactose-intolerance medications? Do they work, or are they just a gimmick? Are there ayurvedic medicines I could try? V's mum says that sometimes the milk in India is actually buffalo milk - does this make it easier or harder to digest? Do you have any suggestions for minimising your dairy intake while not offending family members? Is there a way to explain lactose intolerance that the locals won't think is just me being a strange, picky white girl?

Aside from all this lactose nonsense, I can't wait to finally visit my beloved's birthplace! :) It's going to be an incredible experience for both of us.

mira4bai4

Hi oneiota, I to have some difficulties with lactose and 'tis difficult being a vegetarian and sensitive to lactose.

It really depends how intolerant you are, I found buffalo milk was ok but then my Homoeopathic doctor in India told me to stay away from anything that was white as flour, bananas, dairy etc all were problematic. Interestingly ghee which one cannot avoid contains less allergens than most cooking oils. Curd and Paneer seemed to be ok so I am presuming that there is something different about the Indian home made style and the Aust commercial stuff.

Anzac biscuits are my worst problem - love them, they hate me.
Sorry can't be of much help otherwise.

oneiota

Thanks mira4bai4

I've had no problems with ghee, since it's the milk solids that cause problems for me, not the fat (although ghee and butter do make me break out in terrible acne!). Paneer, on the other hand, is a nightmare. Things like paneer, curds/yoghurt and of course most sweets all seem to be a problem. I actually realised that I was lactose intolerant we were staying with my partner's (immediate) family around Diwali. All that burfi and gulab jamun, along with paneer and curds, wreaked absolute havoc with my digestion, and I finally realised the connection.

I'm also vegetarian, but that isn't a problem as V's family is pure vegetarian too. I know there'll be plenty of vegetarian food around, but I have no idea how I'm going to avoid dairy

I always joke that the universe has a sick sense of humour to make a lactose intolerant woman fall in love with an Indian bloke!

ruins_explorer

I am lactose-intolerant and I have found taking a lactaid tablet (one or two dependng on the amount of dairy) to be fairly effective. Anyway, yogurt should be okay since the yogurt-making process de-activates the lactose.

Also, I have been experimenting in Indian restaurants by ordering things that do not contain as much dairy, dishes without cream sauces. I know you may not be able to do this when visiting friends, but perhaps you could explain how sick milk makes you and they could make some dishes without milk? cuz it's a pain to take lactaid all the time (you may run out of it).

You can also build up your tolerance to milk by havng a bit at a time and increasing your consumption.

ruins_explorer

Oh & goat milk should be fine for lactose intolerance as well.

crvlvr

That's true. I have never met an indian in india who was lactose intolerant. So people might find your predicament strange. I am glad to hear that you are going prepared. It will be difficult to avoid lactose in India. Milk is added to almost everything.

somari

In India, you are fed with so many milk based products from the moment you are born that any signs of lactose intolerance is beat into submission before it knows what hit it!!!

I was also surprised that people could be allergic to milk products, nuts etc when I first came to US!!

Nick-H

Been talking about this with my Tamil partner: she confirmed that there is little or no cheese used in South Indian cooking and not milk either ---but lots and lots of gee.

All these creamy sauces is a much more Northern thing.

The only thing to really worry about is the sweets: best, as far as possible to forwarn people.

__________________
.


Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

ruins_explorer

Not to mention that Indians as well as most Europeans are much less likely to be lactose intolerant in the first place due to the amounts of milk they have historically had.

Asians, Native Americans, and Africans (and people from those descents) are much more likely to be lactose-intolerant. For Native Americans, it is something like 90%.

mira4bai4

A while back I had to write a paper on addictions and alcoholism and found some interesting info on the relationship between cultural use of sugar and alcohol. Essentially if one comes from a culture that has been consuming sugar and alcohol for many hundreds of years, then one is less susceptible to becoming an alcoholic as there is a natural tolerance for the stuff. This may also relate to the lactose as that is also a sugar, milk sugar and if culturally one has not been exposed to continual quantities of milk products then like the Africans, American Indians, Asians and Pacific Islanders intolerance is part of life.

oneiota

I remember reading that too. The theory is that as humans were evolving, some people needed to get vitamin D, calcium etc from milk to survive, while others could make do with the Sun for vitamin D, and other local foodstuffs for calcium. Apparently average lactose tolerance in India is actually in the middle, between the cheese-loving Northern Europeans and Southeast Asians who tend to be more lactose intolerant. But golly, the Indians manage to do a lot with the tolerance they have! ;-)

I *ought* to a cheese-lover since I have partly Dutch heritage, but I suppose I also have a few rogue Indonesian genes, which have conspired to give me a damn good tan, frizzy, uncontrollable hair, and....lactose intolerance ;-)

I suppose I"ll just have to resign myself to a mixture of turning down milk when it's not *too* offensive to do so, and just eating it and suffering the consequences to keep the Aunties happy. I'll try this lactaid stuff though, it's certainly worth a try.

oneiota

Yeah, I suppose at least I'm lucky my beloved's family is from the South, but they do tend to add curds (yoghurt) to just about everything, and oh, the sweets and chai! Maybe I should start training myself up before I go.

"But i *have* to eat Indian sweets every day, it's *medicinal!*"

Jaya

just take all the supply of lactose intolerant tab with you.

__________________