Beware of Hidden Lactose in Your Post Op Bariatric Diet

Did you know that 10% of post op bariatric patients will also become lactose intolerant?  Lactose is a sugar that is commonly found in dairy. It’s often in places you’d never even suspect (or intend for it to be). 

Lactose Intolerance in Bariatric Patients  

By now, most of you have heard of “Dumping Syndrome” and some of you may have experienced it, too.  General advice for coping is to eat slowly and take smaller meals.  When your body has difficulty digesting lactose, you’ll want to do the same thing. If consuming smaller amounts of lactose at each sitting doesn’t work, you may want to eliminate lactose completely. 

Lactose intolerance in a bariatric patient works along the same premise, but the pouch is is now so small that lactose goes right through the stomach to the small intestine.  This happens so quickly that some bariatric patients may not be able to keep up with lactase production in their small intestines 

Lactose intolerance occurs when the lactase enzyme produced by the cells in the small intestine are not able to process all of the lactose.  This results in rather unpleasant side effects such as bloating, diarrhea, flatulence, and mild to severe cramping.  Although these problems are uncomfortable and sometimes embarrassing, they are also easy to prevent. 

Try to Find the Hidden Lactose  

Some gastric bypass patients eliminate milk and other dairy products, only to keep experiencing the same symptoms.  At this point, you want to start searching the labels for lactose.  Lactose is commonly used as a preservative in many processed foods. 

Of course, you are going to look for the big no-no’s like milk, milk solids, sour cream and lactose.  Other milk products include whey, curds, skim milk powder, skim milk solids, buttermilk, and malted milk. 

Now here’s the one that trips people up a little.  The following list includes many of the possible culprits of hidden lactose: 

• Bread
• Candy, cookies, dessert mixes, frosting
• Sugar substitutes
• Cold cuts, hot dogs, bologna
• Commercial sauces and gravies
• Cream soups
• Ready-to-eat cereals
• Salad dressings 

The Most Important Hidden Lactose to Watch Out For 

Once you have gone through bariatric surgery, you are now responsible for taking care of your body in a whole new way.  You can no longer digest foods in your small intestine like you used to.  This means that your body will not get the vitamins from the foods as efficiently as it used to, which is why supplements are important.  

Unfortunately, a great many supplements use lactose as a preservative.  It’s best to find a bariatric vitamin built specifically for the weight loss surgery patient.  Make sure you find a powder-based (capsule-form) bariatric supplement that is free of common allergens, sugars, binders, and fillers–this kind will be unlikely to have hidden lactose as well.