Gluten and Lactose Intolerance

I remember when I used to think it was the wine that made my husband feel sick every Sunday night after the big family dinner.  Later, when he tried an elimination diet, we realized the cheese and crackers appetizer was the real culprit! 

Yes, gluten and lactose intolerance often go hand in hand because the intestinal damage caused by gluten impacts the body’s ability to absorb lactose as well.  So for those of you who are following a gluten free diet, but still have occasional symptoms, consider avoiding dairy also and see if it helps.

One day recently, after three years of soy cheese, soy yogurt, and soy ice cream, my husband decided it would be worth the consequences to eat some regular cheese.  So he did…..and nothing happened.  Then he had more the next day….and still felt fine.  How could this be?

According to Dr. Peter Green’s book “Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic” and discussions at the 2009 Bellingham Gluten Intolerance Group Conference, the intestine begins to heal once it is no longer being repeatedly exposed to gluten.  After enough time, the body’s ability to absorb lactose eventually returns. 

In my husband’s case, it was three years later.  Now we’re happily back to regular cheddar in our corn tortilla wraps and goat cheese on our rice crackers (KAME brand rice crackers are sooooo good!)  Haven’t pushed the envelope yet with regular milk and yogurt (remember that cheese is comparatively lower in lactose than milk and yogurt overall). 

But that’s okay – I feel no need to go back to regular ice cream ever since we found Almond Dream non-dairy ice cream – it’s made from almond milk and in my opinion it’s better than regular ice cream anyway!