The Highs and Lows of Lactose Intolerance

HIGH: Finding a "cure"

Last year I found a product to help ease my lactose intolerance. The brochure used the word "solution," so of course in my mind it meant a cure. (yippee!) I spent $150 and did the 38-day program in which I had to ingest powder every day and abstain from any form of dairy. It wasn't easy because dairy is in EVERYTHING we eat: spaghetti bolognese, eggs with hollandaise sauce, salad dressing... I was down to noodles and crackers. Then my stomach started reacting (bloating, cloggage) and before you know it I was spending Saturday nights alone in my room.

But after 38 days I had my first Chai Latte with real milk and felt A-OK! "Wow, it actually worked," I thought, and continued along the high road of dairy tolerance. That is until....

Low: A year goes by and I can't digest dairy anymore =(

It crept up slowly, but surely. Now I'm back to square one. The thing is, I love dairy. I still buy milk, but I sip cautiously.

HIGH: Saying "screw it" and going to a MILK event.

This week Chef Bret Thompson, along with people behind the GOT MILK campaign, threw a dairy food promotional (read as 'orgy du la creme') . I threw colon-caution to the wind and decided to go. My two robot friends were getting a last-minute lube job so we were incredibly late, but there was still a lot of good stuff left, plus I got to talk to the chef.

That Bret is a swell guy. He may be high-profile, but he's humble enough to man his own cash register. That's where I found him the first time I visited MILK, last year. Julie Delpy had come in with some friends and Bret was taking their order en francais. Little did I know, world-famous designer Phillipe Starck was part of the entourage, as Bret excitedly pointed out. I had no clue. Both of us were star-struck that evening but for different reasons. Fancy that.

You can see Bret in this picture:

He's not always that blurry 'cept for when the focus is on the sweets. From left to right: a mini cone with banana ice cream, savory butternut squash soup, an ice cream sandwich sprinkled with rice crispies, and a 'tres leches' berry cake. I settled in by popping a Lactaid. The body tends to build a tolerance against it, but since I'd been away from pills for a while it seemed to do the trick. Hallelujah.

All the desserts were heavenly, especially the banana ice cream with its nutty hard shell. The robots loved the soup and cornbread (not pictured).

Here's another shot:


The day ended well and my colon was hanging in. I'd been taking the Activia challenge this week, eating yogurt to regulate my system. So maybe it was working? =)


The Final Low: Getting bad news from the doctor.

I had a physical exam this week. They took x-rays, drew blood, and made me pee in a plastic cup. During the doctor's consultation I asked if lactose intolerance was curable and he gave me an emphatic but regretful "no." "But you can still maintain your digestive system by taking things containing acidophilus," he added. So I left the office somewhat optimistic. So as long I continue eating yogurt and popping pills regularly I should be okay.

A few hours later, the doctor called with the results from my blood test. He said my cholesterol was high and that I needed to cut back on high-fat dairy. Do'h! I was speechless. For the past year I'd worked to get back something only to be told it was never meant to be. How depressing.


Cheese. Ice Cream. Milk. I miss you already.

Lactose Intolerance (an update on last year's experiment)

A reader sent this email yesterday:

Hi Pirikara!

I was just reading your blog and I was very happy to find an objective review on your experience with Lactagen. I have been contemplating buying that product for a while, and I was so glad to find an objective review.
Now that it's almost a year later, I'm curious how you are doing? Are you still struggling with the intolerance, or are you largely "cured" at this point?
Thanks again for your helpful blog! I am an LA local and depend on sites like yours for "pre-screening" of my eating choices.

Mr. Lactose Intolerant

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Hi Mr. Lactose Intolerant,

Funny you should write to me about Lactagen. Yes, a year has passed and sadly, I'm noticing slight but increasing signs of lactose intolerance, but it's still not as bad as before. I still drink milk every day (albeit, only the good stuff like Brouguire and Trader Joe's) and plan to continue doing so because basically I'm no longer afraid of dairy.

That said, I don't think of Lactagen as a bogus product. It did as much as it could do in trying to reintroduce lactobacillus into my system, and anyone who's done their research would know that a single dose of antibiotics could kill the bacteria as quickly as it was introduced. (I had to take antibiotics a few weeks later. Oh the heartbreak!)

I do believe, though, that there are cheaper alternatives. Lactagen is basically lactobacillus powder in bulk. It's nice because they give you a daily chart of how much to take, but it is certainly not scarce commodity. Trader Joe's sells it for far cheaper, in pill form. I also noticed Whole Foods promoting lactose intolerance products recently.

Good luck and may the force be with you~!

Piri

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So my question now is, has anyone found other ways of curing/easing lactose intolerance? I'm curious, so let me know!

MILK @ Beverly Blvd.

Let it be known that it's a good omen if French actress Julie Delpy patronizes your eatery. Afterall, by default of being French you have a keen sense of taste, culture and ... okay, well not necessarily but the last time I spotted her it was at Pinkberry's flagship store in West Hollywood. That was over two years ago when the place actually had a bathroom for customers. Cut to the following week and bam! the line is out the door and the neighbors are fuming. It must be the Delpy factor. Well, either that or Daily Candy.

So tonight, when Mikey and I found ourselves crossing the same intersection towards MILK with Julie Delpy and a grip of her chain-smoking French pals, we had some major de ja vu. Her entourage was huge so we darted ahead to get a spot in line.

Mikey read about this corner ice cream parlor on Jeni's site and wanted to check it out. They're open til 11 pm so we got there by 10 only to circle the block for a good 20 minutes for parking. (Yikes! That's one strike against you, MILK.)

Aside from a vast menu of sandwiches and coffee drinks, they have a mouthwatering showcase of sorbets and ice cream. Being the lactose intolerant one, I was recommended the lychee sorbet in a sugar cone, which they'd just introduced a day earlier. Being the lactose intolerant one-in-denial, Mikey got the mint chip ice cream in a cup. Both were $2.50 but mine was but a baby scoop compared to Mikey's. Still, the lychee was lovely. It had a winning combination of being both light and full of flavor. Mikey's mint chip was fairly tasty if not hampered by too many chocolate chips.

Nothing stood out from their display of baked goods (scones, cookies, pound-cake type breads, all a tad too heavy looking) but their ice cream sandwiches and bon bons looked divine. I would've gotten some for the road if I was sure it'd actually survive the trip.

Owner Bret Thompson (a really nice guy who spoke in French to Delpy's friends) is the former corporate executive chef of Patina. He was doing double duty in the kitchen and at the register, a sure sign that this joint is his labor of love.

He's hoping to get more parking in the back for customers, which seems to be most problematic for the month-old store. I really hope he's successful because if my premonition comes true, he might find himself with a line out the door.

MILK
7290 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 939-6455