Ask Leah! The Ingles Dietitian

Sponsored: Sugar occurs naturally in milk

ingles dietitianQUESTION: Why is there sugar in my milk?

ANSWER: When you see grams of sugar listed on the nutrition facts panel of plain (unsweetened/unflavored) cow’s milk it’s lactose or milk sugar. Dairy farmers and milk processors haven’t added any sugar to that milk, it's just the naturally occurring sugar in milk (lactose) that is considered a carbohydrate.

 

Some individuals have lactose intolerance caused by a deficiency in the small intestine of the enzyme known as lactase. Your doctor can prescribe a test for lactose intolerance. Lactose intolerance occurs more often in older adults, Native Americans and those of African and Asian descent. You need the enzyme lactase to help break down lactose. When you don't have enough lactase this creates digestive problems like gas, bloating and diarrhea when milk and some dairy products are consumed. If you have lactose intolerance:

1.Try a lactose free or lactose reduced milk (e.g. Fairlife or Lactaid).

2.Try tablets that contain the enzyme lactase which will help you digest the lactose. 

3.Try eating dairy or drinking milk in smaller quantities with a meal instead of by itself.

Related Items

4.Switch to non-dairy beverages and products. 

5.Try dairy with live cultures like yogurt and kefir.

6.Use aged cheeses like chedder rather than soft unaged cheeses like mozzarella. 

Source: Mayo Clinic and WebMD

 

Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN

Ingles Markets Corporate Dietitian

twitter.com/InglesDietitian

facebook.com/LeahMcgrathDietitian

800-334-4936

Smokey Mountain News Logo
SUPPORT THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS AND
INDEPENDENT, AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
Go to top
Payment Information

/

At our inception 20 years ago, we chose to be different. Unlike other news organizations, we made the decision to provide in-depth, regional reporting free to anyone who wanted access to it. We don’t plan to change that model. Support from our readers will help us maintain and strengthen the editorial independence that is crucial to our mission to help make Western North Carolina a better place to call home. If you are able, please support The Smoky Mountain News.

The Smoky Mountain News is a wholly private corporation. Reader contributions support the journalistic mission of SMN to remain independent. Your support of SMN does not constitute a charitable donation. If you have a question about contributing to SMN, please contact us.