Can You Drink Almond Milk If You Are Lactose Intolerant?

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If you are lactose intolerant, it is challenging for you to be able to handle eating dairy products. Many lactose intolerant people will get sick after eating a dairy product.

Almond milk, especially unsweetened almond milk, is a perfect choice for people suffering from lactose intolerance. Almond milk does not have any lactose, which is essentially the sugar found in dairy products such as dairy milk. This makes unsweetened almond milk the perfect choice for people who may be suffering from lactose intolerance.

Almond Milk And Lactose Intolerance

Almond milk does not contain lactose as it is not an animal product. Because Almond milk does not contain any lactose, it is the perfect milk for you to drink if you are lactose intolerant.

Compared to many other milk choices, we feel almond milk is the best choice for people who are not only on the keto and lower low carb diet but also suffering from lactose intolerance.

Lactose Is The Natural Sugar In Milk

Because almond milk is lactose-free, it is a popular choice among people who suffer from lactose intolerance. It is also a healthy and tasty alternative to traditional dairy drinks such as whole milk.

Lactose is the natural sugar that is in dairy milk. Our bodies use an enzyme called lactase to break down that sugar so that we can absorb it into our bodies. Lactose intolerance is when you do not have enough of the lactase enzyme. The lactase enzyme is an enzyme that is produced in the small intestines.

Some people with low lactase enzyme levels can absorb and drink dairy milk products just fine. Some people who have low lactase enzyme levels are lactose intolerant.

Lactose And Low Carb Eating

Even if you are not lactose intolerant, we do not recommend drinking dairy milk on a low-carb or keto diet. The reason is that even though milk may be a healthy drink, the milk’s lactose or sugar is relatively high. Dairy Milk is also very high in carbohydrates.

Dairy milk has both high carbohydrates and high sugars or lactose. Even lactose-free milk is still relatively high in sugar.

Nutritional Value Unsweetened Almond Milk And Whole Milk

When you are suffering from lactose intolerance, it can be good to compare whole dairy milk with almond milk. The sugars in dairy milk are what make the milk not suitable if you suffer from lactose intolerance.

Here is a chart that shows Almond Milk and Whole Milk Nutritional comparisons:

Serving/1 CupUnsweetened
Almond Milk
Whole Milk
Calories30 149
Total Fat2.5 grams8 grams
Cholesterol0 mg30 mg
Sodium170 mg120 mg
Carbohydrate 1 gram12 grams
Sugars 0 grams11 grams
Protein1 gram8 grams
Nutritional Value Unsweetened Almond Milk Vs. Whole Milk

Whole Milk has lactose as you can see, the grams of sugar is 11 grams, whereas almond milk has no sugar or lactose. That is why we still consider almond milk the best choice for someone who is lactose intolerant.

We also recommend unsweetened almond milk for anyone on the keto and low-carb lifestyle diet. It is the best choice for any of those diets and lifestyles.

Nutritional Value Unsweetened Almond Milk And Lactose-Free Milk

We also compared the nutritional value between unsweetened almond milk and lactose-free fat-reduced milk.

Serving/1 CupUnsweetened
Almond Milk
Lactose-Free
Reduced Fat Milk
Calories30 130
Total Fat2.5 grams5 grams
Cholesterol0 mg19 mg
Sodium170 mg130 mg
Carbohydrate 1 gram12 grams
Sugars 0 grams12 grams
Protein1 gram8 grams
Nutritional Value Unsweetened Almond Milk Vs. Lactose-Free Milk

As you can see from this chart that with the lactose-free fat reduced milk, the milk still has 12 grams of sugar, in fact, a gram of sugar more than the whole milk.

When producing lactose-free milk, dairy food manufacturers do not take out lactose from the dairy sugar; instead, they add the enzyme lactase to regular cows’ milk. This means that lactose-free milk is essentially regular milk with the enzyme lactase added to it, so those lactose intolerant people can still drink it.

You can see that the carbohydrates are pretty high in lactose-free milk. That is why we recommend you drink unsweetened almond milk if you are lactose intolerant, as it is still a healthier choice.

Unsweetened almond milk it’s just a far better choice because it has no lactose, very few carbohydrates, and no sugars. Overall it is a much better choice than lactose-free milk, which is essentially regular milk with the lactase enzyme added.

If you are lactose intolerant or on the keto or low-carb lifestyle, unsweetened almond milk is the best choice for you to drink milk. We do not recommend sweetened almond milk as it has quite a bit of sugar, so it’s high in carbs and sugars.

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Can You Drink Milk On A Low Carb Or Keto Diet?

If you are on a low-carb or keto diet, milk is something that you should not drink. You can drink almond milk, but dairy milk, you should not be drinking because dairy milk has a lot of natural carbs and natural sugars.

You can read more about Can You Drink Milk On A Low Carb Or Keto Diet? by clicking here.

What Happens If You Eat Too Much Cheese On Keto?

Cheese can be eaten on a keto diet, but it should be used as a flavoring, not the main course. If you overeat cheese, it could affect your weight loss. Some people have a hard time handling a lot of cheese. When on a Keto Diet, we recommend that you look at cheese as a way to flavor your food and not as the main course for your keto meal.

You can read more about What Happens If You Eat Too Much Cheese On Keto? by clicking here.

Anita Hummel
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Reluctant Low Carb Life explores the keto and low carb lifestyles, fitness, health, wellness, and aging gracefully. We give you honest advice, accurate information, and real stories about what it means to change your life.

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