Milk is good for health and bone strength, but it is also one of the most common food allergies.
So what actually is the difference between being allergic to dairy and having a dairy/lactose intolerance?
First of all dairy allergy and lactose intolerance are NOT related!
Say what now? Yes you’ve been reading correctly. They are absolutely not related.
Let’s talk about lactose intolerance first.
If you are lactose intolerant your digestive system can’t digest the Lactose (which is basically the milk sugar). This is because you have a lack of the enzyme called “Lactase”. Sounds very similar, I know but it’s not the same. Basically because of the lack of this enzyme you can get symptoms like abdominal gas, diarrhea or abdominal cramps.
It’s gross I know, but it needs to be mentioned.
Now let’s see why a dairy allergy is so different.
If you have a dairy allergy your immune system thinks that milk and other dairy products are dangerous invaders! Shocking right?
Just because your immune system doesn’t know the difference between dangerous invaders and dairy you might suffer from hives, an upset stomach, vomiting and even an anaphylactic shock (which can be life threatening), if you consume something containing dairy.
As someone who loves dairy and everything related to it, this is just sad. One more reason to give you all those good recipes to enjoy your life without dairy (even if it is still sad).
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